Indian Council of Agricultural Research or ICAR is a body which coordinates guides and manages research and education in agriculture inclusive of horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in India. ICAR is also an autonomous organisation which works under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India. Indian Council of Agricultural Research has its headquarters in Delhi. ICAR 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. At that time it was known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research. As an apex agriculture council of India it has a large number of associations which include institutes, agricultural universities etc.  under its umbrella. These assist ICAR in fulfilling its objectives. The sheer large number of institutes and universities together make it one of the largest national agricultural systems in the world. Apart from the ICAR institutes and Agriculture Universities in India, there are ICAR Divisions and various officials who comprise the organizational structure of ICAR. As of January 2013, Sharad Pawar (Union Minister of Agriculture) is President and Dr S. Ayyappan is Director General of ICAR. The website of ICAR is www.icar.org.in

• ICAR Activities
• Bodies under ICAR
• ICAR Organizational Structure
• ICAR Research Divisions
• ICAR Entrance Examinations
• Agricultural Research Service / National Eligibility Test
• ICAR Logo
• Achievements of ICAR

Some of the ICAR Activities

• It provides financial and professional support to Agricultural Universities for modernization and strengthening of academic facilities
• It has established Accreditation Board for quality assurance in agricultural education and several AUs accredited
• It creates norms, standards, academic regulations and under-graduate course curricula and revises syllabi
• It awards National Talent Scholarships for undergraduate studies, Junior Research Fellowships for post-graduate studies and Senior Research Fellowships for Ph.D. annually
• It promotes excellence at national level through ICAR National Professor and National Fellow schemes
• ICAR facilitates admission of foreign students in Indian AUs by considering the applications received through the DARE, Educational Consultants India Ltd.(Ed. CIL) and Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR)
• The agricultural research information system of the Council showcases and markets the developed technologies to various stakeholders
• It disseminates information through flagship products such as research and popular periodicals, handbooks, monographs, technical and textbooks, popular books etc.
• It publishes about 200 publications every year on topical issues related to agriculture
• ICAR develops superior breeds of cattle and poultry
• It also improves and develops new varieties of high yielding and pest resistant crops
• It collaborates with various international agricultural research institutions for development in agricultural research

Various Bodies under ICAR as of September 2012

Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Delhi: Organizational Structure

ICAR Officials:

• Union Minister of Agriculture – He is the ex-officio President of the ICAR Society
• Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India
• Director General, ICAR - He is the Principal Executive Officer of the Council
• Governing Body is the policy-making authority
• Agricultural Scientists' Recruitment Board
• Deputy Directors-General
• Additional Secretary (DARE) and Secretary (ICAR)
• Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor
• Assistant Directors-General
• National Director, National Agricultural Innovation Project
• Directorate of Knowledge Management in Agriculture

Indian Council of Agricultural Research Divisions

• Administration
• Animal Science
• Agricultural Education
• Agricultural Extension
• Agricultural Engineering
• Crop Sciences
• Finance
• Fisheries
• Horticulture
• Knowledge Management
• Natural Resource Management

ICAR Entrance Examinations

The ICAR conducts an entrance test for a reserved pool of 15% seats in all undergraduate courses in agriculture and allied fields in all agriculture universities of India. The syllabus is parallel to PMTs especially AIPMT. There is a rule aimed at increasing admissions from more number of states by allowing only 40% seats from a state.

For more information on ICAR AIEEA visit - http://targetstudy.com/exams/icar-aieea/

Agricultural Research Service / National Eligibility Test

The Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB) was established on 1 November 1973 as an independent recruitment agency in pursuance of the recommendations of the Gajendragadkar Committee. ASRB conducts all India competitive examination Agricultural Research Service (ARS), to recruit posts in the ARS of Indian Council of Agricultural Research. It conducts National Eligibility Test, which is a prerequisite for the initial recruitment as Assistant Professor/Lecturer in the State Agricultural Universities.

For more information on ARS / NET, visit - http://targetstudy.com/exams/ars-net/

ICAR Logo

ICAR logo was conceptualized and designed in 1958 which was further restructured in 1960-61. The logo symbolizes wheat in growing stage and encircling component shows the strength of research.

Achievements of ICAR

King Boudouin Award - ICAR was awarded the prestigious King Boudouin Development Prize International in 1988 for its ongoing efforts aimed at the training of rural workers, and providing appropriate technology transfer to their advantage.  ICAR again received the King Boudouin Award in 2004 as the Chair of the Rice-wheat consortium.

World Record - ICAR is the first in the world to develop hybrids in grain pearl millet, castor, pigeonpea and cotton in the 1970s.

Green and Yellow Revolution - ICAR played a pivotal role in ushering the era of green and yellow revolutions in the country. ICAR helped to increase the production of foodgrains by 4 times, horticultural crops by 6 times, fish by 9 times (marine 5 times and inland 17 times), milk 6 times and eggs 27 times since 1950-51.

Golden revolution - Developed 711 high yielding varieties and production technologies in horticultural crops leading to the 'Golden revolution'. Through adoption of these technologies, India has emerged as the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. It has substantially improved the food and nutritional security.

Map based Cloning - First ever map-based cloning and characterization of the gene Pi-kh was achieved in the country. This gene confers resistance to blast disease in rice. The gene integration was validated in transgenic rice.

Agricultural Tools - Developed over 150 agricultural tools, implements and machines for timeliness of farm operations, drudgery reduction and efficient input use for various field and horticultural crops; of which 75 machines commercialized.

Development of Skills - About 2,400 scientists trained in emerging areas including cutting-edge technologies through about 90 summer/winter schools organized every year.

New Technologies - ICAR implemented National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) during 1997-2005.The project contributed to the development of about 300 new technologies and their adoption by farmers besides several new research tools, methodologies and intermediate products.

Global Reach - Some of the improved Indian varieties have acclaimed global spread in case of sugarcane, wheat, rice, pigeonpea, sorghum and mustard.

Improved breed of Cattle - Vrindavani breed of cattle developed with production potential of 3,500 kg milk per lactation. Graded Murrah buffaloes with 2,200 kg milk yield per lactation evolved

International Recognition - Its scientists are internationally acknowledged in their fields.

Identification of New Species – ICAR identified 31 new species of fishes from Western Ghats and north eastern region.

Central Agricultural University List

1. Central Agricultural University, Manipur

Central Universities (having agriculture faculty) List

1. Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, U.P.
2. Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, U.P.
3. Vishwa Bharti, Shantiniketan, West Bengal
4. Nagaland University, Medizipherma, Nagaland

State Agricultural Universities List

1. Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University
2. Anand Agricultural University
3. Assam Agricultural University
4. Bihar Agricultural University
5. Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya
6. Birsa Agricultural University
7. Chandra Shekar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology
8. Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University
9. Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidhalaya
10. Chhattisgarh Kamdhenu Vishwavidyalaya
11. Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth
12. Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth
13. Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry
14. Dr. YSR Horticultural University
15. Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology
16. Guru Angad Dev University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
17. Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Chhattisgarh
18. Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya
19. Junagadh Agriculture University
20. Karnataka Veterinary Animal and Fisheries Science University
21. Kerala Agricultural University
22. Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies
23. Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Thiruvananthapuram
24. Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Hisar
25. Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur
26. Maharashtra Animal Science and Fishery University, Nagpur
27. Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth
28. Manyavar Shri Kanshiram Ji University of Agriculture and Technology, Banda
29. Marathwada Agricultural Universitym, Parbhani
30. Nanaji Deshmukh Veterinary Science University, Jabalpur
31. Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Faizabad, U.P.
32. Navsari Agricultural University, Gujarat
33. Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneshwar
34. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
35. Rajendra Agricultural University, Bihar
36. Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Bikaner
37. Rajmata Vijayraje Sciendia Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh
38. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Univ of Agriculture & Technology, Modipuram
39. Sardarkrushinagar-Dantiwada Agricultural University, Gujarat
40. Sher-E-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu
41. Sher-E-Kashmir Univ. of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Shalimar, Srinagar
42. Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupati
43. Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner
44. Tamil Nadu Fisheries University, Nagapattinam
45. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore
46. Tamil Nadu Veterinary & Animal Sciences University
47. University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore
48. University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad
49. University of Agricultural Sciences, Shimoga, Karnataka
50. UP Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhaya Pashu Chikitsa Vigyan Vishwa Vidhyalaya
    Evam Go Anusandhan Sansthan
51. Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwaviddyalaya, West Bengal
52. University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur
53. University of Horticultural Sciences, Venkataramnagudem
54. University of Horticultural Sciences, Navanagar
55. Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Pauri Garhwal
56. West Bengal University of Animal & Fishery Sciences, Kolkata

List of ICAR National Bureaux

List of ICAR Project Directorates

List of ICAR National Research Centres

List of All India Coordinated Research Projects (AICRPs)

List of All India Network Projects, (AINPs)