By TC News Desk
Agartala, 25th August 2025: The Animal Resources Development Department (ARDD) of Tripura has won the prestigious ‘Centre for Innovation in Public Service’ Award for pioneering the use of Artificial Insemination (AI) through Sexed Semen Technology.
Announcing the achievement, ARDD Director Neeraj Kumar Chanchal said the award was received from Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Manoj Sinha. He explained that the initiative was crucial for Tripura, where the cattle population is largely non-descript, with unrecognized local breeds that have very low milk productivity. This has long resulted in poor overall milk output and low per capita availability of raw milk in the state.
According to the 2019 Livestock Census, Tripura had 6.16 lakh female cattle, of which only 1.18 lakh were crossbred or exotic. Although various breed upgradation programmes using non-sexed semen have been implemented, they brought only modest improvements, and milk production still remains below the national average.
To tackle this challenge, the state officially introduced AI using Sex Sorted, or Sexed Semen, Technology on October 28, 2020. This method significantly increases the chances of female calf births, which is vital for improving milk production. Initially launched in four districts on a pilot basis, the programme was later expanded to cover the entire state, with services delivered directly at farmers’ doorsteps.
Over the past four years, Tripura has emerged as the leading state in India in terms of improved female calves born through this technique. By December 2024, a total of 46,746 female calves had been produced out of 2.58 lakh inseminations carried out with sexed semen.
Chanchal said the technology is now being extensively implemented across the state, with field-level acceptance growing rapidly. He expressed confidence that milk production in Tripura would rise by nearly 49,000 tonnes over the next two to three years, from 2.47 lakh tonnes in 2023–24 to almost 2.96 lakh tonnes by 2026–27. This increase, he added, would also raise the per capita availability of milk from 163.38 grams per head per day to about 199.70 grams per head per day, ensuring a stronger and more sustainable dairy sector in the state.
