Leads Agri Genetics initiative is a giant leap in advancing India’s agricultural biotechnology and livestock genomics capabilities. The Centre of Excellence (CoE) and laboratory will have a full-stack genomics service platform designed exclusively for the agri-genomics and agricultural biotechnology sector.

Leads Agri Genetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leads Connect launched India’s first privately-owned Integrated Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Cattle and Plant Genomics Laboratory in Greater Noida. This landmark initiative is a giant leap by Leads Connect in advancing India’s agricultural biotechnology and livestock genomics capabilities. Leads Agri Genetics is also the first Indian private company to have imported the Gir embryos – genetic material from Brazil to India under Breed Improvement Program.

The new centre was inaugurated by Ghanshyam Khandelwal, Chairman, BL Agro, India’s leading FMCG brand and the holding company of Leads Connect. The Centre of Excellence (CoE) aims to catapult India at the forefront of global agri-genomics research and innovation. The newly launched Leads Agri Genetics Lab will have a full-stack genomics service platform that is designed exclusively for the agri-genomics and agricultural biotechnology sector.

Ghanshyam Khandelwal, Chairman of BL Agro Group, addressed the media during the launch event, expressing his strong support for government initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of farmers. He emphasized the importance of genomics studies in enhancing agricultural productivity and yield. He said, such advancements will not only benefit the farming community but also contribute to the overall well-being of society.

Speaking on the inauguration, Navneet Ravikar, Group Chairman & Managing Director, Leads Connect Services said, “Indian agriculture is at an inflection point. Sustainability, climate challenges and pressure on higher yields are stressing the resources thin for our farmers. Our newly inaugurated Centre of Excellence for Cattle and Plant Genomics Laboratory is a landmark step towards self-reliance in agricultural biotechnology. With world-class genomic capabilities, we aim to empower India’s researchers, breeders, and farmers to innovate faster, build resilience, and create a sustainable future for agriculture.”

Industry veteran with over two decades of experience Dr. Ashish Dubey is the Chief Business Officer of Integrated Centre of Excellence for Cattle and Plant Genomics Laboratory. Dr. Dubey, who also co-founded Redcliffe Labs, India’s fourth-largest diagnostics laboratory, is an expert in genomics projects spanning agriculture, human health, and diagnostics will strengthen the lab’s mission to advance genetic diversity research and genomic selection in cattle and crops.

“Genomics has transformed global science in the last decade, and agriculture stands to benefit immensely. At Leads Agri Genetics, our focus is on delivering end-to-end genomics solutions—from trait discovery to breeding acceleration—that directly impact productivity, sustainability, and food security,” said Dr. Ashish Dubey, CBO, Leads Agri Genetics.

Genomics has evolved over the decade exponentially due to its affordability and immense usage across the species including humans, plants and animals. After the Human Genome Project in 2003, there has been a paradigm shift in the field of research. The outcome from Genomics using Genomics selection in cattle and trait improvement in plants has been the biggest success stories with new GM Crops to BT cotton, and ultimately helping humankind for the sustainable and safer future.

By integrating world-class sequencing, genotyping, and bioinformatics, the lab empowers crop, livestock, and microbial researchers to accelerate trait discovery, breeding, and innovation with unmatched precision. The laboratory houses a cutting-edge suite of instruments including Illumina IScan for high-throughput SNP genotyping, NovaSeq for deep resequencing, PacBio and Oxford Nanopore for long-read assembly and structural variation analysis, and 10X Chromium for linked-read and single-cell assays. Together, this unique technology stack enables discovery across the full spectrum of genetic variation—from single nucleotide changes to complex structural rearrangements and haplotype phasing.

With access to multiple complementary sequencing and genotyping platforms, the Leads Agri Genetics Lab offers unmatched versatility, completeness, and customization. From comprehensive variant discovery and trait mapping to high-quality reference genome assembly and advanced transcriptomics, the lab is equipped to address challenges across crops, livestock, pests, and microbiomes—including non-model and polyploid species.