India’s first genome-edited rice varieties will boost rice yields by 20-30%, reduce water consumption: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday unveiled India’s first genome-edited rice varieties, DRR Dhan 100 (Kamala) and Pusa DST Rice 1, developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). These varieties promise to increase rice yields by 20-30%, offer superior drought tolerance, high nitrogen-utilisation efficiency, reduce water consumption and lower greenhouse gas emissions from rice cultivation.The newly launched genome-edited rice varieties are the first of their kind in the world and are expected to help achieve…