Indian Immunologicals  Ltd (IIL) launched ‘Shashthi’, an indigenous in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) media developed in collaboration with National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). 

“Use of embryo transfer using IVF has been increasing worldwide to accelerate genetic progress. With recent emphasis and support from the GoI under Rashtriya Gokul Mission, 36 IVF laboratories have been established. Presently, all IVF laboratories are using imported IVF media which is not only costly, and it has limited shelf life. Indigenous IVF media suite will help reduce the cost of embryo production facilitating acceptability of the technology for our dairy farmers,’‘ Meenesh Shah, Chairman, NDDB, said in a release.

K Anand Kumar, Managing Director, IIL, said, “IIL is the first in India to get into the manufacturing of a series of Indigenous IVF media. The current cost of commercial media, per embryo is ₹1,000.00. In contrast, the indigenously developed media is 33 pc less than the imported media and would cost ₹650.00 per embryo. This reduction in the cost of media would lead to decrease in the cost of embryos and, subsequently, the cost of pregnancies”.

Farmer-centric model

The launch of IVF media would make the IVF technology more affordable to farmers, reducing costs and enhancing the farmer-centric model of animal husbandry and dairy development. This will promote self-reliance and reduce dependency on imported media and aligns with the vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a significant advancement in reproductive technology. IVF involves fertilising an egg in a controlled laboratory environment and selecting the healthiest embryos for transfer. During the last couple of years, Ovum Pick Up and In vitro Embryo Production (OPU-IVEP) have emerged as a replacement for the in vitro embryo production technique. It is envisaged that using this technology to multiply the superior bovine germplasm can change the face of dairying in India.

Currently, around 8,000-10,000 embryos are transferred annually in India, leading to the birth of approximately 2,000 to 2,500 calves, benefiting the same number of farmers. However, with increasing coverage of IVF and generous government subsidies, this penetration is expected to rise significantly.

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