ICAR’s Role in Agriculture Discussed in Lok Sabha, No Proposal for Separate Statutory Body for Higher Education

21 August 2025, New Delhi: The Lok Sabha discussed the responsibilities and mandate of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), emphasizing its central role in India’s agricultural and allied sectors. Vishnu Datt Sharma asked the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, about ICAR’s scope and whether a separate statutory body is planned for higher education in agriculture.

In response, the Minister outlined that ICAR is an autonomous body under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE). It is responsible for research, technological advancement, education, and extension in agriculture and allied sectors, including veterinary science, animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries, avian science, poultry, beekeeping, and natural resource management. ICAR’s mandate includes planning, undertaking, coordinating, and promoting research and technology development for sustainable agriculture; imparting and coordinating agricultural education for quality human resource development; frontline extension for technology application and knowledge dissemination; and policy support, cooperation, and consultancy in agricultural research, education, and extension.

ICAR operates a network of 113 research institutes under eight subject matter divisions: Crop Science (28 institutes), Horticulture Science (22), Animal Science (19), Natural Resource Management (16), Agricultural Extension (12), Fisheries Science (8), Agricultural Engineering (6), and Agricultural Education (2).

Regarding the establishment of an independent statutory body for higher education in agriculture and allied sciences, the Minister stated that currently there is no proposal for such a body. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisages a General Education Council (GEC) and sectoral committees such as ICAR serving as Professional Standard Setting Bodies (PSSB) for agricultural education. These bodies are tasked with setting academic standards and coordinating between teaching, research, and extension within their respective domains.

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