In an endeavour to create mass awareness for adoption of climate resilient technologies, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will dedicate 35 crop varieties with special traits to the Nation on 28th September at 11 AM via video conferencing, in a pan India programme organised at all ICAR Institutes, State and Central Agricultural Universities and Krishi Vigyan Kendra KVKs. During the programme, the Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the newly constructed campus of National Institute of Biotic Stress Management Raipur.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister will distribute Green Campus Award to Agricultural Universities, as well as interact with farmers who use innovative methods and address the gathering.

Union Minister of Agriculture and Chief Minister Chhattisgarh will be present on the occasion.

About crop varieties with special traits

The crop varieties with special traits have been developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research ICAR to address the twin challenges of climate change and malnutrition. Thirty-five such crop varieties with special traits like climate resilience and higher nutrient content have been developed in the year 2021. These include a drought tolerant variety of chickpea, wilt and sterility mosaic resistant pigeonpea, early maturing variety of soybean, disease resistant varieties of rice and biofortified varieties of wheat, pearl millet, maize and chickpea, quinoa, buckwheat, winged bean and faba bean.

These special traits crop varieties also include those that address the anti-nutritional factors found in some crops that adversely affect human and animal health. Examples of such varieties include Pusa Double Zero Mustard 33, first Canola quality hybrid RCH 1 with 2% erucic acid and 30 ppm glucosinolates and a soybean variety free from two anti-nutritional factors namely Kunitz trypsin inhibitor and lipoxygenase. Other varieties with special traits have been developed in soybean.