<p>The continuous exposure of cadmium to rice genotypes in the heavy-metal-polluted coastal regions restricts plant growth and development, inducing detectable toxicity at the physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. In addition to the stress-inducing saline environment, the cadmium content of coastal waters and paddy fields adds to the toxic load of the rice crop. Cadmium toxicity hampers rice productivity. In the present study, seven commonly cultivated rice genotypes of the coastal regions, which are also salt-tolerant, were subjected to 10&#xa0;µM cadmium chloride stress at their seven-day-old stage. On their 14th day, seedlings were harvested for the analysis of important physiological parameters and stress markers. The genotoxic effects of cadmium were studied by analysis of genome template stability percentage using nine decamer RAPD molecular markers. Under cadmium stress, the least reduction in plant growth and photosynthetic pigment content was observed in genotypes Dudheswar and Nonabokra, which also exhibited low contents of proline and MDA. These genotypes had higher genome template stability and were clustered together during factor analysis, suggesting their tolerance towards cadmium stress. The genotypes CSR4, Pakali and Canning with higher damaging effects and lower genome template stability were clustered distantly, indicating their susceptibility towards cadmium stress. This article aligns with SDG-15 (Life on Land) of the UN Agenda for Sustainable Development.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>