BL Agro Plans ₹1,500 Crore Investment in Leads Genetics
BL Agro announced the investment at the Cattle Genomics Summit 2026 in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. The company said the funding would support an integrated model bringing together breed-improvement farms, IVF-ET, Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer, pathology, genomics laboratories and other breeding services.
Leads Genetics is developing a Centre of Excellence in Bareilly and has set a target of producing 15,000 embryos a month by the end of 2027. The company is also discussing expansion of the model with the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
Genomic selection and reproduction
The summit brought together scientists, breeders, researchers and industry representatives to discuss genomic evaluation, advanced sequencing, IVF and data-based breeding. Leads Genetics displayed what it described as the first Zebu-optimised bovine SNP chip to arrive at the company. It also demonstrated sequencing with Illumina’s NovaSeq X platform.
SNP chips assess animals across thousands of genetic markers. The company said this can help identify cattle with traits linked to milk-production potential, fertility, growth, health, heat tolerance and resistance to ticks and parasites. Genomic selection uses genetic information earlier than conventional breeding, which generally relies on several generations and progeny data.
Leads Genetics said its breeding programme would produce elite bulls, embryos and sexed semen domestically while supporting indigenous cattle breeds. The programme includes the use of IVF, embryo transfer and sex-sorted semen. Uttar Pradesh’s animal-husbandry minister, Dharampal Singh, stressed the importance of raising productivity per animal and reducing reliance on imported high-end germplasm.
Farmers and domestic capacity
BL Agro chairman Dr Ghanshyam Khandelwal said farmers were central to the company’s “360-degree circular economy model”. The company said genetically selected cows were expected to produce 40–60 litres of milk a day, with the stated objective of improving opportunities for farm-level income. It also said the investment would support capacity building, scientific dairy practices and employment for rural youth.
Dr Sarvannan Durairaj, head of IVF-MOET at Leads Genetics, said the Bareilly centre was being developed to reach the monthly embryo-production target by the end of 2027. The company also linked the initiative to the India-Brazil cattle-genetics partnership formalised through an agreement in Brasília. BL Agro said its programme included an objective of making selected cattle genetics available at greater scale and supporting breeding suited to India’s climatic conditions.
