The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has officially started commercial sale of two new herbicide-tolerant basmati rice varieties - Pusa Basmati 1979 and Pusa Basmati 1985. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, these are the first Non-GM herbicide tolerant basmati rice varieties in India, developed to address weed control challenges under direct-seeded rice (DSR) cultivation. Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh, Director of IARI, emphasized that these varieties will help economize basmati rice cultivation costs while addressing labor scarcity, water shortage, and methane emission concerns in northwestern India.
The Centre has initiated a comprehensive review of India's approved basmati varieties, seeking to prune the list of export-eligible aromatic rice strains and preserve the brand identity of popular varieties. According to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine, the government currently recognises 45 aromatic rice varieties as eligible for export as basmati, but exporters argue this list is too extensive as only a handful of varieties are actually sought after by overseas buyers.
The review aims to align basmati varieties more closely with export market demands, addressing a key challenge where scientists typically release improved versions under new codes. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, this creates marketing problems because foreign buyers only recognise famous varieties such as Pusa Basmati 1121, which is the world's longest elongated rice after cooking. The popularity of Pusa Basmati 1121 is so significant that even Pakistan, the other major producing country, sells its aromatic rice using the 1121 code.
Pusa Basmati 1979 is a MAS-derived herbicide tolerant near-isogenic line of Basmati rice variety PB 1121, possessing mutated AHAS allele governing tolerance to Imazethapyr 10% SL. According to IARI data, it has seed-to-seed maturity of 130-133 days and an average yield of 45.77 q/ha under irrigated transplanted conditions across two years of testing in National Basmati trials. Pusa Basmati 1985 is a MAS-derived herbicide tolerant near-isogenic line of Basmati rice variety PB 1509, with seed-to-seed maturity of 115-120 days and an average yield of 5.2 t/ha under irrigated transplanted conditions across two years of testing. Recent developments show that ICAR and State Agriculture Universities have also developed additional high-yielding short-duration basmati varieties including Pusa Basmati 1509 (115 days), Pusa Basmati 1692 (115 days) and Pusa Basmati 1847 (125 days).
To qualify as basmati, one of the key parameters requires a minimum 12 mm length after cooking. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, Pusa Basmati 1121, which was released in 2005, demonstrates exceptional performance with its length expanding to 22 mm after cooking. The variety has contributed significantly to India's basmati export growth, with exports reaching over ₹50,000 crore in 2025-26 compared to less than ₹3,000 crore in 2004-05, as noted by Vijay Setia, former President of the All India Rice Exporters Association. These early maturing varieties mature about 20-25 days in advance which enables farmers to straw management and preparation of the fields for wheat sowing.
