Indigenous and exotic cattle breeds in India: utilization patterns, biodiversity significance, and threats to native genetic resources

India has a wide variety of indigenous cattle with rich biodiversity. The Indian cows and theircharacteristics play an important role in the lives of people. They are widely used in the dairy anddraught purposes thus help in the development of the rural economy of the country. Some exoticvarieties were also introduced in India from other countries that have adapted and flourished wellin India. This review reports and describes some important indigenous and exotic cattle breeds ofIndia and their uses. On the basis of main uses, Indigenous cattle breeds are classified in to milch(cow and buffaloes for milk), draft (load carrying such as ox), and dual purpose (i.e. milk anddraft).These important cattle varieties are declining because of the various threats they are facingsuch as mismanagement, high import of exotic varieties, outdated dairy policies etc. which havealso been mentioned in this review. Despite the conservation efforts, the population of some of thebreeds have declined over years and reason for such decline in numbers of such breeds is reducedproductivity which is an uneconomical proposition for farmers. The solution therefore lies in thegenetic improvement of these breeds for milk production. Efforts in improving indigenousvarieties rather than importing exotic ones is the need of the hour. This will not only ensure thatthese breeds become more productive, it will also stop their further decline.