NBAGR has registered Frieswal, Karan Fries, Vrindavani as synthetic breeds
To improve milk production and increase tolerance to climate change, several synthetic breeds of cows have been developed in the country and have received recognition from the Indian government. These breeds combine high-yielding foreign genetic traits with indigenous traits adapted to Indian conditions, resulting in improved milk production.
The Indian government’s National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR), Karnal, Haryana, has so far registered three synthetic breeds of cattle. These breeds are Frieswal, Karan Fries, and Vrindavani.
Frieswal is a hybrid breed of dairy cow developed by the Indian government’s Central Institute for Research on Cattle (CIRC), Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, by crossing Sahiwal and Holstein Friesian breeds. In December 2023, the NBAIGR registered the Frieswal cow, making it the first artificially developed cow breed in India.
This breed is well-suited to the agro-climatic zones of the country. The Frieswal cow is known for producing a good quantity of milk.
This cow gives milk for approximately 300 days in a single lactation period. Its average milk yield per lactation is 3,300 kilograms. Its milk contains 4% fat.
The NBAGR registered two more artificial (synthetic) breeds of cows in India, Karan Fries and Vrindavani, during the 2025-2026 period.
The Karan Fries breed has been developed by the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal.
It was created by crossbreeding Holstein Friesian (HF) and indigenous Tharparkar breeds.
The average milk yield of a Karan Fries cow in one lactation is 3,550 kg. This breed has the potential to produce up to 5,851 kg of milk in a single lactation of 305 days.
The Vrindavani breed has been developed by the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. This breed is a crossbreed of Holstein Friesian (39.5%), Haryana (26.9%), Jersey (22%), and Brown Swiss (10.7%).
The Vrindavani breed is prevalent in Bareilly and surrounding areas of Uttar Pradesh. This breed yields 3,000-3,500 kg of milk per lactation.
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