INTRODUCTION Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the world's most common food crop, accounting for 23.3 percent of gross planted area in India (Subbaiah et al., 2011). In India, rice accounts for 43% of total food grain production and 46% of overall cereal production. India has the world's largest rice-growing area (about 45 million hectares) and ranks second in rice output behind China (Kaul et al., 2006). Aromatic rice variants are a small but distinct group of rice that has grown in importance as the global demand for high-quality rice has grown (Sun et al., 2008). Because of their wonderful aroma and palatability, they have long been a favourite around the world. Aromatic rice has a prominent significance in Indian culture. Aromatic rice varieties include basmati rice from India and Pakistan, as well as Jasmine rice from Thailand. Basmati rice is mostly farmed in India's north-western states, such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, and sections of Uttar Pradesh. Basmati rice varieties are distinguished by three distinct quality characteristics: pleasant aroma, extra-long superfine grain, exceptional grain elongation, and cooked rice with a soft texture. As a result, small and medium grained aromatic rice is classified as a distinct type of non-basmati aromatic rice. Although no tangible proof exists, indigenous scented rice refers to the native locations of cultivation for the majority of these rice varieties. Farmers are recognised as breeders under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act of 2001 (PPV & FR Act, 2001), which acknowledges farmers as breeders who have developed new varieties and preserved existing varieties. For protection under the Act, plant varieties must meet the distinctiveness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) criteria, which necessitates characterising aromatic short grain rice varieties according to the PPV and FR Authority's DUS test recommendations for rice (2007). Variety identification is crucial for a number of reasons, including avoiding legal claims, establishing intellectual property rights, and maintaining genetic purity. Plant morphological features have long been accepted as the indisputable descriptors for DUS testing and crop varietal characterisation. The current trend of continuous rice variety release by the Central and State Varietal Release Committees has necessitated the development of adequate methodologies for varietal identification at the laboratory level, particularly when seed purity analysis is being performed. Maintaining variety genetic integrity is critical for preventing varietal degeneration throughout subsequent regeneration cycles and ensuring varietal performance at the intended level. Chemical tests reveal variations between seeds and seedlings of various types; they require little technical knowledge or training and can be conducted in a short amount of time. The results of these tests are typically distinct, easy to understand, and aid in genotyping grouping. MATERIALS AND METHODS Seeds of fragrant short grain rice cultivars were soaked for one hour in a 2% NaOH solution, and the colour of the solution changed as a result. The fragrant short grain rice types were divided into six categories based on the strength of colour reaction: yellow, light yellow, brownish yellow, light brown, brown, and wine red. RESULTS Aromatic small grain rice cultivars are less distinguishable, making morphological evaluation much more difficult for identification. As a result, biochemical tests are being utilised in tandem to show chemical changes amongst aromatic short grain rice cultivars' seeds. They don't involve much technical knowledge or talent, and they can be performed in a short amount of time. Because the findings of these tests are usually unique and straight forward to understand, an attempt was made to characterise and identify aromatic short grain rice cultivars. The leachates from the seeds react with alkali to give a colour of varying intensity that can be used to identify rice cultivars. The NaOH test is helpful in determining the identity of red kernel rice genotypes. The leachates from the seeds react with alkali to give a colour of varying intensity that can be used to identify rice cultivars. The NaOH test can be used to identify red kernel rice genotypes. In this study, all thirty aromatic short grain rice cultivars tested positive for sodium hydroxide in the sodium hydroxide test. The aromatic short grain rice varieties were divided into six groups based on the results of the NaOH test: light yellow (V1, V3, V4, V6, V7, V8, V11, V12, V13, V14, V15, V16, V17, V18, V20, V21), yellow (V23, V24, V26, V27, V28 and V29), brownish yellow (V2), light brown (V9, V19, and V25), brown (V30 and V22) and wine red (V5 and V10). The colour reaction of the palea and lemma of seeds to NaOH may thus be discriminated efficiently. In rice, Rohini Devi (2000); Anithalakshmi (2002); Dhanaraj (2001); Nethra et al. (2007); Rimpi Bora et al. (2008) found similar observations. showed that the colour response test of Sodium hydroxide test was efficient in effective genotype characterisation.