Advancing Dairy Productivity: NDDB’s Role in Animal Breeding and Health

India is the world’s largest milk producer, and that position didn’t come by accident. Behind the numbers – over 230 million tonnes of milk produced annually – is decades of deliberate, science-backed work to improve the animals doing the producing. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) sits at the center of this effort. Founded in 1965 by Dr. Verghese Kurien to replicate the Amul cooperative model across India, NDDB has since expanded far beyond milk procurement. Two of its most consequential areas of work are animal breeding and animal health – both directly determining how much milk a farmer’s cow or buffalo can produce, and whether that animal stays healthy enough to produce it.

Why genetic improvement matters for dairy productivity 🔗

A dairy animal’s milk yield is ultimately bounded by its genetic potential. You can feed an animal well and manage it carefully, but if the genetics aren’t there, production stays low. This is the core problem NDDB set out to solve. Improving the genetic potential of India’s dairy herd requires identifying the best-performing animals, selecting them as parents for the next generation, and ensuring their superior traits are widely distributed – a process that demands both scientific precision and large-scale infrastructure.

India’s dairy herd is vast and diverse, spanning 53 registered cattle breeds and 21 registered buffalo breeds. Managing genetic improvement across this diversity, spread across smallholder farms in thousands of villages, is a formidable challenge. NDDB addresses it through several interlinked programmes: Progeny Testing, Pedigree Selection, the Open Nucleus Breeding System (also called Sib Selection), and increasingly, Genomic Selection.

Progeny testing: identifying bulls that actually pass on good genes 🔗

Progeny Testing (PT) is considered the most scientifically rigorous method for identifying genetically superior bulls. The logic is straightforward: a bull’s true genetic worth is best revealed not by how it looks or how its mother performed, but by how its daughters perform. According to NDDB, a typical PT programme involves putting a set of young bulls – produced from elite dams and proven sires – through a structured evaluation. Semen from each test bull is distributed across selected herds and villages, with the goal of obtaining 80 to 100 complete first-lactation records from daughters per bull. The more widely the daughters are distributed across different herds, the more reliable the breeding value estimate becomes.

This is a long-term programme. It can take five to seven years before a bull is proven and its semen cleared for wide distribution. To address this time lag, NDDB also deploys a young sire programme alongside classical PT. Young bulls produced using top progeny-tested semen and the best recorded dams are used in parallel. Since these young bulls represent the genetics of the next generation rather than the previous one, using them on the sire-to-dam path significantly reduces the generation interval – often achieving genetic gains comparable to, or better than, waiting for full PT results.

Under the National Dairy Plan Phase I (NDP-I), 14 Progeny Testing projects were implemented across 9 states, evaluating 1,830 young bulls and performing over 40 lakh test artificial inseminations. By the project’s end, 2,185 High Genetic Merit (HGM) bulls had been made available for distribution to semen stations across the country – a tangible output with direct implications for farm-level productivity.

Embryo transfer technology: multiplying the best females faster 🔗

While Progeny Testing focuses on bulls, Embryo Transfer Technology (ETT) is NDDB’s primary tool for accelerating genetic gain on the female side. The principle is that an elite cow or buffalo, left to natural reproduction, can produce only one calf per year. ETT breaks that constraint. Embryos are collected from a genetically superior donor animal, assessed for quality under a microscope, and then either transferred fresh into recipient animals or frozen for later use. NDDB notes that embryos are transferred into recipients approximately seven days after the recipient’s heat date. The result: from one elite animal, multiple calves can be produced in a single year.

NDDB was the first organization in India to establish an ETT project at scale, setting up a central ET laboratory at Sabarmati Ashram Gaushala (SAG), Bidaj, in 1987. The project was funded by the Department of Biotechnology and ran for five years, establishing one main ET lab and four regional ET labs across Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. SAG alone has since produced over 14,000 viable embryos and more than 755 calves – the highest by any single organization in India. Notably, the first buffalo calf in India born from a frozen-thawed embryo was produced under this programme in 1991.

NDDB has since moved to more advanced reproductive technologies. OPU-IVEP (Ovum Pick-up and In Vitro Embryo Production) takes things further: oocytes are aspirated directly from ovarian follicles using an ultrasound-guided device, then fertilized in a laboratory setting. Where conventional ETT (MOET) can yield 10-20 calves from a superior female in a year, OPU-IVEP can yield 20-40 calves annually. NDDB established a state-of-the-art OPU-IVEP facility at Anand in 2018, and has since deployed a Hub-and-Spoke model to scale the technology – NDDB’s Anand facility acts as the hub producing embryos, while Milk Unions across states serve as spokes responsible for donor selection and embryo transfer in the field.

To reduce costs further, NDDB developed an indigenous IVF media suite called ‘Shashthi’ in collaboration with its subsidiary Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL). Previously, all IVF media had to be imported at high cost and with limited shelf life. Shashthi addresses both problems, making the technology more accessible to Indian dairy farmers.

Open nucleus breeding system and genomic selection 🔗

The Open Nucleus Breeding System (ONBS), referred to by NDDB as Sib Selection, is designed for breeds where individual performance records across large populations are harder to accumulate. In this approach, the best animals from both the nucleus herd and the wider field population can move into the breeding nucleus based on performance – keeping the gene pool dynamic and preventing inbreeding within a closed elite group. NDDB’s animal breeding framework explicitly lists Sib Selection alongside Progeny Testing, Pedigree Selection, and Genomic Selection as core methods for producing High Genetic Merit bulls.

Genomic Selection is the newest addition to this toolkit and the most technologically advanced. Rather than waiting for daughters to complete lactation records, genomic selection uses DNA markers across the genome to predict a bull’s breeding value far earlier – sometimes at birth. NDDB developed a customized medium-density genotyping chip called “INDUSCHIP” for cattle and, in collaboration with ICAR-NBAGR, NIAB, and BAIF, developed “GAUCHIP” for cattle and “MAHISHCHIP” for buffaloes. Under NDP-I, 9,576 cattle were genotyped using INDUSCHIP, and genomic breeding value estimation procedures were standardized for Gir, HF crossbred, and Jersey crossbred cattle. NDDB also maintains a DNA biobank of 2.2 lakh samples covering 30 cattle breeds and 12 buffalo breeds – a resource that underpins long-term genomic selection programmes.

Another important innovation is Gausort, an indigenous sex-sorting machine developed by NDDB and launched in October 2024. Sex-sorted semen allows farmers to produce predominantly female calves – directly increasing the proportion of future milking animals in the herd. By indigenizing the technology, NDDB has significantly reduced the cost of sex-sorted semen doses, making it viable for a broader range of farmers.

Veterinary services and disease control 🔗

Genetic improvement and animal health are two sides of the same coin. A genetically superior animal that falls sick or loses a pregnancy to disease delivers nothing. NDDB’s animal health mandate covers disease surveillance, diagnostic support, disease control model development, and technical input into national policy – covering the full spectrum from laboratory research to farmer-facing veterinary services.

The two diseases that cost India the most 🔗

Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis are the two diseases NDDB and the Government of India have identified as priority targets, and for good reason. FMD is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, and pigs. It reduces milk yield, causes infertility, impairs working capacity, and – critically for India’s dairy export ambitions – creates trade embargoes in international markets. Brucellosis, caused by the bacterium Brucella abortus, is a reproductive disease that causes abortion, infertility, interrupted lactation, and loss of calves. It is also a zoonotic disease, meaning it can infect humans – a factor that adds public health urgency to its control.

The Government of India’s response is the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP), launched by the Prime Minister in September 2019 with a total outlay of Rs. 13,343 crore over five years. The programme aims to vaccinate 100% of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and pigs against FMD at six-monthly intervals, and to vaccinate 100% of female bovine calves aged 4-8 months against Brucellosis in a once-in-a-lifetime vaccination. The target is to control FMD by 2025 and eradicate it by 2030.

INAPH: the data infrastructure behind disease control 🔗

Vaccination at this scale only works if it can be tracked, verified, and acted upon. This is where NDDB’s Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health (INAPH) becomes critical. INAPH serves as the technological backbone of NADCP. Every vaccination, treatment, and health intervention is recorded against the animal’s unique 12-digit ear-tag number, along with the owner’s details. This creates traceable, animal-level health records that enable real-time monitoring of vaccination coverage – state-wise, district-wise, block-wise, and village-wise – through an online dashboard. As of the NADCP’s implementation, over 3.45 crore bovines belonging to approximately 1.83 crore dairy farmers had been registered in the INAPH system.

INAPH does more than track vaccinations. It records every service an animal receives – artificial inseminations, treatments, milk recording events – creating a longitudinal dataset that supports both productivity management and health monitoring. For managers, AI technicians, and farmers, INAPH generates decision-support information in near real time.

Disease-specific control projects and diagnostics 🔗

Beyond FMD and Brucellosis, NDDB runs targeted disease control projects covering conditions like mastitis – one of the most economically damaging diseases in dairy herds worldwide. NDDB’s mastitis control model, initiated in Sabarkantha Milk Union in Gujarat in 2014 and later extended to more than 1,500 villages across 25 milk unions and producer companies, focuses on subclinical mastitis – a form that causes greater losses than clinical mastitis precisely because it often goes undetected. The model also promotes rationalized drug use, including Ayurvedic Veterinary Medicine (AVM) as a cost-effective alternative for managing common ailments, and has been presented at international forums including the International Dairy Federation (IDF) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

NDDB’s R&D laboratory is accredited to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standards and has been designated by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying as the central reference laboratory for disease screening under NDP-I and for screening imported animals for diseases endemic to India. The lab provides diagnostic services for around 19 diseases to more than 60 agencies across the country, and conducts ongoing surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in mastitis-causing bacteria – a growing concern globally.

NDDB’s subsidiary, Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL), manufactures a wide range of veterinary vaccines, including the world’s only combined vaccine against FMD, Haemorrhagic Septicaemia, and Black Quarter (Raksha-Triovac), as well as Brucellosis vaccines and cattle feed products. IIL has become a major exporter of veterinary products to over 50 countries across Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, South America, and CIS regions – extending NDDB’s scientific contributions well beyond India’s borders.

Sustaining dairy growth: the bigger picture 🔗

India’s milk production has grown from 55.6 million tonnes in 1991-92 to well over 230 million tonnes today – making India the world’s largest milk producer, a status it achieved in 1998 and has held since. Sustaining and accelerating that growth requires more than just more animals. It requires smarter animals – with higher genetic potential – and healthier animals that can actually realize that potential.

NDDB’s approach addresses both dimensions simultaneously. On the breeding side, the move from classical Progeny Testing toward Genomic Selection compresses the generation interval and accelerates genetic gain. The OPU-IVEP hub-and-spoke model scales elite female genetics to the field level. The indigenization of key technologies – Gausort for sex-sorted semen, Shashthi for IVF media – reduces costs and democratizes access for smallholder farmers who make up the backbone of India’s dairy cooperative system.

On the health side, the integration of individual animal records into INAPH creates an accountability chain from vaccination campaign to individual animal that was previously impossible to maintain at national scale. The emphasis on disease-free semen production at NDDB’s four mega semen stations ensures that the AI delivery system – the primary channel for genetic improvement – doesn’t simultaneously become a disease transmission vector.

Together, these efforts represent a systems-level intervention in Indian dairying. No single technology or programme works in isolation. The data from milk recording feeds into genetic evaluations. Genetic evaluations produce better bulls. Better bulls improve the next generation of animals. Healthier animals convert their genetic potential into actual milk. And more milk means more income for the millions of smallholder farmers whose livelihoods depend on their cows and buffaloes every morning and evening.

What do you think? As genomic selection and advanced reproductive technologies like OPU-IVEP become more accessible, how might they reshape the economics of smallholder dairy farming in India – and could smaller cooperatives realistically benefit from these tools at the village level? And given that diseases like Brucellosis affect both animal health and human health, should animal disease control programmes be integrated more formally with public health systems?

References

1. https://www.nddb.coop/
2. https://www.nddb.coop/services/animalbreeding/geneticimprovement
3. https://www.nddb.coop/services/animalbreeding/geneticimprovement/bullproduction/progeny
4. https://www.nddb.coop/services/animalbreeding/project/ndp
5. https://www.nddb.coop/services/animalbreeding/animalreproduction/assisted
6. https://www.nddb.coop/services/animalbreeding
7. https://beta.nddb.coop/services/animal-breeding/innovations-and-achievements/
8. https://www.nddb.coop/services/animalhealth
9. https://dahd.gov.in/schemes/programmes/nadcp
10. https://beta.nddb.coop/information/press-release/nddbs-inaph-backbone-of-flagship-national-animal-disease-control-program/
11. https://www.nddb.coop/services/animalhealth/diseaseproject
12. https://www.nddb.coop/services/animalhealth/research
13. https://www.nddb.coop/services/rdbiotech/immunology
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Dairy_Development_Board