By IANS,
New Delhi : India’s lone surviving cloned buffalo calf is growing well in Haryana, Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan said Wednesday, adding that the country is improving technology for “faster multiplication of elite” animals.
Chavan said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha that farmers would be benefited through faster multiplication of “elite male and female animals”.
“The technology for the production of cloned animals is in the experimental stage. This is likely to result in making available quality semen for artificial insemination,” he added.
The minister said the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, produced two cloned buffalo calves.
The first calf was born Feb 6, 2009 but died in a week due to pneumonia, he said.
“The second calf was born June 6, 2009 and is growing well. Both cloned calves were born through a novel hand guided cloning technology,” he added.
A project on buffalo cloning was funded by National Agricultural Innovation Project/Indian Council of Agricultural Research in February 2009. The total approved cost of the project is nearly Rs.9 crore and it will be completed in June 2012.