Eighth Interface meet under “Mission towards zero non-descript AnGR of India” was organized by ICAR-NBAGR for Punjab state on 8th February, 2022 in virtual mode. Theme of the Meet was “Characterization and Documentation of Animal Genetic Resources of Punjab: A Mission towards Zero Non-Descript Populations”. The virtual meeting was attended by 49 participants, including the senior officers of ICAR, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary & Animal Science University, Animal Husbandry Department of Govt. of Punjab, NGOs etc.
Dr BP Mishra, Director, ICAR-NBAGR in his welcome address, presented activities and achievements of the Bureau and also outlined the strategies of the Mission.
Dr Inderjeet Singh, Vice Chancellor, GADVASU, Ludhiana appreciated the efforts for initiating such Country wide mission by NBAGR and stressed the need to redefine breeding tract of registered breeds as per present status and recognition of well adapted strain/breed. Dr V K Saxena, ADG (AP&B), ICAR highlighted the need to develop breed signatures to identify and distinguish the native breeds. Dr HS Kahlon, Director AHD, Punjab emphasized on studying the native populations in detail, specifically using genomic tools. Dr T K Datta Director ICAR-CIRB underlined importance of breed standards of some important native breeds like Nili-Ravi buffalo of Punjab.
Dr. Simarjeet, Head AGB, GADVASU, presented the AnGR of Punjab and suggested prospective populations that can be taken up for characterization in future. Dr Sahil from Animal Husbandry Deptt., Govt. of Punjab provided details of the development programs and policies for the AnGR of the state. Dr M S Tantia, Principal Scientist, ICAR-NBAGR, Karnal in his presentation mentioned that majority of AnGR of the Punjab state are descript and suggested the strategies that can be adopted for identification and registration of new populations as distinct breeds.
During the interface meet, a panel of experts from ICAR institutes, State Veterinary University, State Animal Husbandry Dept. and NGOs provided important inputs for documentation of non-descript AnGR and conservation and improvement of native breeds of the Punjab state.