Soon, a diabetic-friendly, designer rice from CSIR-NIIST

The CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST) describes it as ‘diabetic-friendly, nutrient-rich designer rice.’ And if everything goes according to the plan, NIIST will release this healthy rice next year.

C. Anandharamakrishnan, Director, CSIR-NIIST, told The Hindu on Wednesday that human trials are under way on its ‘designer rice.’ Part of what CSIR-NIIST has done is increase the protein content of the rice. The end result is a rice that is high in protein but low  Glycaemic index (GI), Dr. Anandharamakrishnan said.

NIIST’s rice has a protein content of 20% and a Glycaemic Index (GI) of 54, which is a low GI. GI is a measure of how foods cause blood sugar levels to rise. To compare, white rice has a GI above 70, which is high on the scale.  

NIIST, a constituent lab of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has been working on this project since December 2024.

As opposed to fortified rice, NIIST’s diabetic-friendly variety can be directly cooked and consumed. “In the case of fortified rice, you cannot directly cook and eat it. You have to mix it with normal rice at a 1:100 ratio,” he said.

The rice project was among the major initiatives on NIIST’s to-do list  that the NIIST director highlighted at the finale of the CSIR-NIIST golden jubilee celebrations on Wednesday. He said India has the largest diabetic population after China, underscoring the urgent need to address this challenge.  

Parallelly, NIIST is also working on fortified rice kernels (FRK) with the aim of addressing the nutritional needs of vulnerable population groups. In April 2025, NIIST had established a pilot plant for the FRK project. Here, micronutrients are blended with rice flour and the mix is extruded into rice-shaped kernels.