Recently, Maharashtra Cabinet approved the ‘Maharashtra Gene Bank’, a first-of-its-kind project in India which has been formed to conserve genetic resources in Maharashtra including marine diversity, seeds of local crops, and animal diversity. The ‘Maharashtra Gene Bank Project’ will work on seven themes:
- Marine biodiversity
- Local crop/seed varieties
- Indigenous cattle breeds
- Freshwater biodiversity
- Grassland, scrubland, and animal grazing land biodiversity
- Conservation and management plans for areas under forest right
- Rejuvenation of forest areas.
In the next five years, an amount of ₹172.39 crores will be spent on these seven focus areas.
Major activities under the project include Indigenous knowledge resources will be tapped, The species and the knowledge of local communities will be well documented, genetic and molecular samples will be preserved and their breeders will be supported and the government will encourage genome carriers who conserve seeds of local crop varieties and create seed banks to preserve crop biodiversity,
It needs to be mentioned here that the Indian National Gene Bank has been established by the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) to conserve the national heritage of germplasm collections in the form of seeds, vegetative propagules, tissue/cell cultures, embryos, gametes, etc. National Gene Bank can preserve about one million germplasm in the form of seeds.
