India receives its 1st homegrown COVID-19 vaccine for animals

India received its first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine for animals, Anocovax, developed by the ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines in Haryana (NRC).

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who presided over the vaccine's virtual launch, stated, "Scientists' tireless efforts have helped the country become more self-sufficient in generating its own vaccines rather than relying on imports. This is a huge accomplishment."

Surra ELISA kit was also released, which is a suitable diagnostic assay for 'Trypanosoma evansi' infection in numerous animal species.

Surra is a haemoprotozoan disease caused by Trypanosoma evansi that affects a variety of cattle species. The illness is found in all of India's agro-climatic regions. Surra is predicted to cost India Rs 44,740 million in annual cattle productivity losses, according to the ICAR.

The minister also launched the Equine DNA parentage testing kit, which is a powerful genomic technology for parentage analysis among horses.

ICAR Director General Trilochan Mohapatra, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Secretary Atul Chaturvedi, and ICAR Deputy Director General (Animal Science) Bhupendra Nath Tripathi were also present.

ICAR is the country's premier agri-research institute that functions under the Union Agriculture Ministry.