National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)

Why in NEWS ?

• NDDB Dairy Services, a subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), said that it has developed indigenous sex-sorted semen technology to ensure birth of only female calves.

About

• Currently, sex-sorted semen technologies are proprietary to a few multi-national companies, which makes the technology expensive for dairy farmers.
• The ability to assure the birth of only female calves provides huge financial advantage to dairy farmers.

Indigenous Sex-Sorted Semen Technology

• The project to develop indigenous technology for sex-sorting bovine sperms was taken by NDDB Dairy Services Services a few years ago with an objective to significantly bring down the cost of sex-sorted semen doses so that it becomes affordable for dairy farmers in India.
• The field trials of the technology were encouraging and the first female calf from the sex-sorted semen dose, produced at Alamadhi Semen Station (Tamil Nadu), was born in a farm near Chennai in October 2020.
• The sex sorted semen dose produced using the indigenous technology is reported to be meeting the industry quality and production benchmarks.
• This development would lead to a large-scale adoption of the technology.
• The new technology would help in achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi''s vision of ''Make in India'' programme and the current quest for an ''Aatmanirbhar Bharat''.
• The technology will help bring down the cost of artificial insemination using sex sorted semen significantly from the existing Rs 1,000. This will also be a turning point in overcoming the problem of stray cattle in the country.
• Sex-sorted doses are expected to be commercially available in January 2021 and would go a long way in doubling farmer’s income.

National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)

• NDDB is an Institution of National Importance set up by an Act of Parliament of India.
• It was founded by Dr. Verghese Kurien in 1965 with headquarters at Anand, Gujarat.
• The National Dairy Development Board's (NDDB) creation is rooted in the conviction that our nation's socio-economic progress lies largely on the development of rural India.
• The Dairy Board was created to promote, finance and support producer-owned and controlled organisations.
• NDDB's programmes and activities seek to strengthen farmer owned institutions and support national policies that are favourable to the growth of such institutions.
• Fundamental to NDDB's efforts are cooperative strategies and principles.
• NDDB’s efforts transformed India’s rural economy by making dairying a viable and profitable economic activity for millions of milk producers while addressing the country’s need for self-sufficiency in milk production.
• NDDB has been reaching out to dairy farmers by implementing other income generating innovative activities and offering them sustainable livelihood.
• NDDB's subsidiaries include- IDMC Limited-Anand, Mother Dairy, Delhi, NDDB Dairy Services, Delhi and Indian Immunologicals Ltd, Hyderabad.

NDDB Dairy Services (NDS)

• It is a not for profit Company under section 25 of the Companies Act, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the NDDB.
• It functions as a delivery arm of the NDDB for field operations relating to promoting Producer Companies and Productivity Services and is providing technical and management services for some activities under the National Dairy Plan
• It has professionals drawn from the cooperative, private and developmental sectors.
• NDS is assisting producers in establishing Producer Companies which are producer owned enterprises incorporated under provisions of Part IX A of the Companies Act but run on principles of mutual assistance and cooperation and managed by competent professionals.
• NDS has already established five large Producer Companies in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.
• Preliminary work for setting up a Producer Company in the backward regions of Maharashtra- Vidarbha and Marathwada has also been initiated.
• NDDB Dairy Services has partnered with Jiva Sciences, a Bengaluru-based research and development (R&D) organization, for developing indigenous sex-sorting technology.
• Some of the key components used in the technology are developed by premier institutes like Bengaluru-based National Centre for Biological Sciences and Indian Institute of Science as well as Indian Institute of Technology-Madras.
• NDDB Dairy Services manages four large semen stations in the country -- Sabarmati Ashram Gaushala near Ahmedabad, Animal Breeding Centre near Lucknow, Alamadhi Semen Station near Chennai and Rahuri Semen Station near Pune.These semen stations together produce about 35% of the total semen produced in the country.