In a major breakthrough in Indian animal biotechnology, the ICAR–National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, has successfully produced a Gir calf using ovum pick-up and in vitro fertilisation (OPU-IVF) from oocytes (developing eggs) retrieved from a cloned Gir cow — a first-of-its-kind achievement in the country, experts at the institute said.
The institute stated that this success highlights NDRI’s leadership in cattle reproduction innovation. The entire process, which usually takes five to seven years through traditional breeding, was accomplished in just 39 months.
The calf, born to a Sahiwal surrogate, was created from oocytes aspirated from ‘Ganga’, India’s first cloned Gir cow, and fertilised with semen from a genetically superior Gir bull, according to NDRI scientists.
The research team responsible for the milestone includes Manoj Kumar Singh, Ranjeet Verma, Kartikey Patel, Priyanka Singh, Nitin Tyagi and Naresh Selokar.
‘Ganga’ was born on March 16, 2023, through handmade cloning technology developed in-house by NDRI scientists. She matured normally and attained puberty by 18 months. At that stage, her oocytes were collected using OPU — a non-surgical, ultrasound-guided method — matured in vitro, and fertilised to generate embryos.
Announcing the development on Monday, ICAR-NDRI director and vice-chancellor Dheer Singh called it a significant step toward self-reliance in dairy genetics. “This achievement marks a revolutionary leap in improving indigenous cattle breeds. It enables faster multiplication of elite germplasm and brings science-backed prosperity to farmers,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Announcing the development on Monday, ICAR-NDRI director and vice-chancellor Dheer Singh called it a significant step toward self-reliance in dairy genetics. “This achievement marks a revolutionary leap in improving indigenous cattle breeds. It enables faster multiplication of elite germplasm and brings science-backed prosperity to farmers,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He added that the newborn Gir calf — yet to be named — is the second-generation offspring of the original elite donor and Ganga. “The fact that this was achieved in just 39 months underscores the transformative potential of combining cloning and IVF for livestock development,” Singh said.
Despite India having over 145 million female cattle and leading global milk production, challenges remain due to low per-animal productivity, Singh noted. He emphasised that integrating cloning with OPU-IVF could rapidly multiply elite indigenous animals, conserve valuable genetic resources, and address future needs for milk and high-quality breeding bulls.
Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) vice chancellor MS Chauhan also hailed the development. He said such technologies are crucial for building a genetically superior and productive dairy herd.
NDRI scientists said that OPU-IVF enables significant improvements in dairy productivity by allowing non-invasive and repeatable oocyte collection, even from young, infertile, or early pregnant donors. The process yields more embryos per donor and supports the production of elite bulls, helping to address shortages in artificial insemination (AI) semen supply.
NDRI has a strong track record in indigenous cattle research. In 2012, the institute produced the country’s first OPU-IVF Sahiwal calf, named ‘Holi’.