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Cattle is one of the important livestock species of the country which forms integral part of the Indian agriculture since time immemorial. The ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cattle, Meerut is the nodal institution of the country for undertaking cattle research. Since its inception, the Institute is striving hard to undertake basic and applied research aiming to improve the production and productivity of cattle in the country. Under the All India Coordinated Research Programme on Cattle (AICRP on Cattle) the Institute has evolved a national milch breed of cattle FrieswalTM, a cross between Holstein Friesian (62.5%) and Sahiwal (37.5%) yielding 3628 Kg of milk in a mature lactation of 305-days. The FrieswalTM cattle has the genetic potential to produce more than 7000 Kg of milk with highest daily yield of 41 Kg. The Institute has also improved the milk production potential of crossbred cattle in four different agro-climatic regions of the country through associated herd field progeny testing program. The Indigenous Breeds Project of the AICRP aims to improve the productivity of important Indigenous cattle breeds Viz., Gir, Kankrej and Sahiwal. ICAR-CIRC is also in the forefront in developing various technologies and processes for cattle development and diagnostic kits for cattle health management. Milk productivity of Gir, Kankrej and Sahiwal has also been increased from 20-35%.
Being a nodal agency for working on Cattle, ICAR-CIRC will focus its research endeavors to develop and disseminate the research and development activities through establishment of working linkages with other national and international organizations to achieve its mission of “Germplasm improvement and technology development for realizing enhanced productivity and profitability”. Commensurate with this, the Institute has the well-established semen freezing laboratory with the State of the Art facilities to handle more than 20 lakh frozen semen doses. The Institute will also play a commanding role to make cattle productivity sustainable and profitable to meet the future demand of the country. The 35 years odyssey of the institute owes the sincere and concerted efforts of the policy makers, former Directors and staff who contributed significantly to develop it as a premier institute in India on cattle research of par excellence.
