Research on Agriculture in India

Last Updated29/07/2021

India has one of the world’s largest Agricultural Research System viz., National Agricultural Research System (NARS) including ICAR institutes and State Agricultural Universities (SAUs).
The NARS has contributed immensely to make India self-sufficient in food production and serves the agricultural technology and information needs of the country.
India is a major producer of paddy, wheat and pulses.

In production, India ranks 2nd in paddy & wheat and 1st in pulses in the world including neighbouring countries.

NARS is a very robust system and continuously strengthening its Agricultural Research Activities for the benefit of Indian farming community for producing various crops.
NARS has a research network of 102 ICAR Research Institutes, 11 Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes (ATARIs) and 73 Agricultural Universities (including 3 Central Agricultural Universities and 5 Universities with Agriculture Faculty) spread across the country. For popularization of ICAR technologies, 725 Krishi Vigyan Kendras are operating throughout the country for different extension activities.

It is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare , Government of India.
Formerly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, it was established on 16 July 1929 as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in pursuance of the report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture.
The ICAR has its headquarters at New Delhi.
The Council is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country.
With 101 ICAR institutes and 71 agricultural universities spread across the country this is one of the largest national agricultural systems in the world.
It has enabled the country to increase the production of foodgrains by 5.6 times, horticultural crops by 10.5 times, fish by 16.8 times, milk by 10.4 times and eggs by 52.9 times since 1950-51 to 2017-18

It is an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS), which aims at the assessment of location-specific technology modules in agriculture and allied enterprises, through technology assessment, refinement, and demonstrations.
KVKs have been functioning as Knowledge and Resource Centre of agricultural technology supporting initiatives of public, private and voluntary sectors for improving the agricultural economy of the district and are linking the NARS with extension system and farmers.
These are 100% funded by the Government of India.
The first KVK was established in 1974 at Puducherry.