Consortium Research Platform on Genomics

Food and nutritional security has been the foremost agenda in the past and continues to be a critical challenge in the face of increasing population, reducing availability of land and water, and increase yield loss due to biotic and abiotic stresses. Fortunately, India is endowed with a wealth of genetic resources and employing high throughput technologies will complement the efforts of utilising these invaluable resources in genetic improvement in crops and breeds. Genetics and breeding have served for long in improving the agricultural productivity and production. However, these are dependent on selection of phenotype based on environment- genotype interactions.

The advent of genomic based technologies has provided the ability to address biological questions or alter phenotypes in ways not previously imagined. Genomics finds its application in generation of highly improved agronomic traits to increase productivity at low input so that the exponentially increasing population can well fed, today and in near future. There is a need to continue and accelerate of such programmes for generation more genomic information in other needful species and their application in upcoming molecular genetics improvement programmes for sustainable utilization of crops, animals fishes, insects, microbes etc.

In this direction, ICAR has launched Consortium Research Platform (CRP) on Genomics in 2015 and as ICAR-NBFGR, Lucknow as the lead centre.

The objectives of the CRP-Genomics are :

• 1. To conduct basic research into structural and functional genomics in species with commercial potential to discover variants of genes, from hitherto unexplored germplasm.


• 2. To facilitate cross learning, intensive genomic research related to agriculture by inter-linking all institutes with diverse capabilities and requirements (across commodities).


• 3. To develop quality human resource in the field of genomics and system biology.

The outcome of CRP on Genomics would give framework and lead towards bio-prospecting of useful genes, marker assisted selection and genetic improvement to enhance productivity and therefore, it contemplates to match with the goal of development agencies. In the platform, nine ICAR institutes are involved.