Cattle and Buffalo Genetic Resources of India

There are 50 registered breed of cattle and 19 breeds of buffalo in the country, these breeds are well adapted to diverse climate of the country and contributing significantly to the livelihood. India possesses 193.4 million cattle and 109.85 million buffalo in the year 2019. The crossbred and buffalo population has increased all the time since the livestock census initiated. Among the cattle and buffalo, 52% cattle and 45.4% buffalo population are non-descript and need to be defined on priority so their development programs can be initiated. India is home of best breeds of buffalo in the world i.e. Murrah and Sahiwal, Gir, Ongole and Tharparkar breeds of cattle. Mehsana and Niliravi the breeds of buffalo those are equally good in performance in the country. Gir breed of cattle and Murrah breed of buffalo had maximum heads in the country. Breed wise trends during the years 2013-2022, showed that among the 37 cattle breeds included in breed survey/census, 15 are showing increasing trends and 22 showed declining trends. In buffalo, 13 breeds were included in breed survey/census, 4 are showing declining trends and 9 showed increasing trends. For improving the bovines in the country, we need to define non-described bovines on priority and registered unique population as distinct breed, if eligible, accurate breed census/survey, performance recording system at farmers door, ensure availability of superior germplasm, more population to be covered through Artificial Insemination and establishment of breed societies and breed nucleus farms adopting open nucleus breeding system.