Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the indigenous SPROUT (SpeedSeed Phenotyping and Resource Optimization for Unified Trait Analysis) facility at BRIC-National Institute of Plant Genome Research (BRIC-NIPGR) in New Delhi. The season-independent, controlled-environment facility is designed for high-throughput phenotyping, precision stress screening, and evaluation of germplasm, breeding populations, mutants, transgenic and genome-edited lines, with a major focus on chickpea. SPROUT will help connect advances in genomics and genome editing with precise trait evaluation and breeding, strengthening the ability to move more efficiently from gene discovery to trait validation and ultimately to crop improvement.
The facility addresses the urgent need for faster agricultural solutions due to climate change and changing weather patterns. NIPGR has also developed SpeedSeed technology for accelerated generation advancement, which can reduce the chickpea generation cycle to approximately 40 days, considerably shortening conventional breeding and research timelines. This technology can be used within SPROUT or adapted to other controlled-environment facilities.
The initiative is part of the wider BioE3 policy and biotechnology push of the government, which includes climate-resilient agriculture among its strategic thematic sectors. Between 2014 and 2026, the Department of Biotechnology supported more than 300 projects in agriculture biotechnology and allied areas, resulting in the development of more than 50 improved varieties across rice, wheat, chickpea, mustard, vegetables and forestry species with enhanced tolerance to drought, floods, salinity, pests and diseases.
A major achievement includes 17 climate-resilient rice varieties developed under a flagship genomics-assisted breeding programme, now cultivated across nearly 15 lakh hectares. The Minister emphasized the need for stronger science communication, suggesting greater use of short films, workshops, and visual content to explain scientific technologies accessibly. He also called for stronger interaction between scientific institutions and industry partners, farmers, and other stakeholders, encouraging regular institutional meetings to involve external stakeholders in discussions.