Since the development of first molecular markers in 1980, a diverse array of molecular marker technologies have come into
being revolutionizing conventional plant breeding efforts for crop improvement. Significant progress has been made in crop
improvement through these classical markers or conventional random molecular markers (RDMs). Still, the biological
function of most of the markers is unknown. Besides throwing light on organization, conservation and evolution of plant
genomes, these markers have also aided geneticists and plant breeders to map QTLs for the traits of economic importance
and to identify genes. Further advancements in genomics with high throughput sequencing methods and bioinformatics aided
in the characterization of these genes and to date sequences of several genes are available in databases. The markers derived
from the genes or ESTs are commonly called as functional markers or genic molecular markers (GMM). The availability of
technologies for precise manipulation of these genes and their deployment is helping plant breeders in a way as never before
for evolving better crop varieties. The following write-up focuses on the advancement of genomic tools and approaches that
are available, strategies for tagging genes, candidate genes for traits of interest, and their applications for improving crop
plants.