| Event | India announces first genome-edited rice varieties |
| Date | May 4, 2025 |
| Announced By | Union Agriculture Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan |
| Location | Bharat Ratna C. Subramaniam Auditorium, NASC Complex, New Delhi |
| Key Varieties | DRR Rice 100 (Kamla) and Pusa DST Rice 1 |
| Developed By | Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) |
| Technology Used | CRISPR-Cas genome editing (SDN 1 & SDN 2 types) |
| Regulatory Approval | Approved under India's biosafety regulatory framework for general crops |
| Aim | Increase rice yield, reduce water usage, enhance stress tolerance |
| Significance | Supports India's ambition of being the food basket of the world, contributes to climate-smart agriculture |
| DRR Rice 100 (Kamla) | Based on Samba Mahsuri (BPT 5204), matures in ~130 days, saves water, reduces greenhouse gas emissions |
| Pusa DST Rice 1 | Based on MTU 1010, yield increases of 9.66% to 30.4% in saline/alkaline soils |
| Impact | 19% increase in overall yield, 20% reduction in GHG emissions, saves 7,500 million cubic meters of irrigation water |
| Export Implications | Boosts India's Basmati rice exports (currently ₹48,000 crore annually) |
| Targeted States | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, MP, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, West Bengal |
| Government Support | ₹500 crores allocated in Union Budget 2023-24 for genome editing |
| Future Research | Ongoing research for genome-edited oilseeds and pulses |
