<p>Blast disease significantly decreases grain and forage yield in pearl millet (<i>Cenchrus americanus</i> L.). The mapping of blast-resistant loci using suitable markers will aid in molecular breeding efforts to develop cultivars resistant to blast, thereby mitigating yield and fodder losses resulting from blast incidence in the crop. In this study, the blast-resistant R line ICMR 356 was crossed with the susceptible line ICMB 99666 to produce an F₂ population. Genetic analysis revealed that blast resistance in this genotype is governed by a single dominant gene. The bulk segregant RNA-seq approach was employed to phenotype extreme bulks and parents in order to map the gene. A total of 67.22&#xa0;Gb of clean read data were generated, from which 8502 filtered SNPs were identified between resistant and susceptible bulks. Fourteen significant SNPs associated with blast resistance were distributed across the chromosomes are identified using the delta SNP index. Differential gene expression analysis revealed 14,831 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between parents. Enrichment analysis of plant pathogenic pathways through KEGG analysis, along with the identification of differentially expressed disease resistance protein genes, suggests that these are candidate genes involved in blast resistance in pearl millet. Among the 14 identified SNPs, the SNP (S4_1276960) located on chromosome 4 is associated with the disease resistance protein RGA 2. Functional annotation of the SNP flanking position, along with validation of this locus within differentially expressed gene encoding disease resistance proteins on chromosome 4 and KASP genotyping suggests that this SNP (S4_1276960) is a SNP linked to blast resistance in pearl millet. The SNP markers developed in this study could be used for marker-assisted selection in pearl millet resistant breeding programmes.</p>