A centenarian, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) is the country's premier national institute for agricultural research, education and extension. CITH Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture CPC Center for Protected Crop Technology CPRI Central Potato Research Institute. IIVR Indian Institute of Vegetable Research ILRI International Soil Research Institute IMD India Meteorological Department.
To accomplish this mission, the Institute is mandated to conduct basic and strategic research and undertake needs-based research leading to improved crop yields and sustainable agricultural productivity; to serve as a center for academic excellence; and provide leadership in its various activities. The Institute's vision is to guide IARI's policies, strategies, priorities, programs and activities to meet emerging challenges and opportunities and to maintain its leadership role.
PREAMBLE
It is located about 8 km west of New Delhi Railway Station, about 7 km west of Krishi Bhawan, home of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), and about 16 km east of Indira Gandhi International Airport, Palam.
MANDATE
GROWTH
The total allocations of 'Plan' and 'Non-Plan' funds to the Institute during the last five Five Year Plans are given in the Table below. Most of the increase in the VIIIth Plan was to meet the increase in wages and establishment charges, and the proportional distribution to "Other Charges" and "Works" had fallen. As shown for the VIII Plan, the allocations were far short of the demand, especially during the last two years.
During the
RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS
O A new Bt gene has been discovered that is expressed during the vegetative phase of the bacterium. This is the first report of the development of specific primers for the detection of Karnal bunt from the rDNA ITS region. O The Institute's website is maintained and regularly updated for effective dissemination of information to end users (researchers, students, farmers and planners).
O Scientists of the Institute have received many prestigious national/international awards during this period.
IMPACT
The Institute is widely recognized as the seat of the Green Revolution in the country. Oilseed production increased due to the high productivity of mustard varieties such as Pusa Bold, Pusa Jaikisan (Bio-902) and Pusa Jagannath and soybean varieties such as Pusa 16, Pusa 20, Pusa 24 and Pusa 9712. The increased production has not only reduced oil imports, but also increased foreign exchange earnings through the export of soybean meal. Support for vegetable varieties and germplasm from the Institute has led to the development of a seed industry that has helped spread IARI varieties to a wide area across the country.
The institute has contributed immensely to neem research and development over the past four decades.
SCENARIO – A SWOT ANALYSIS
Even if the country's entire irrigation potential is fully exploited, about 50 percent of the cultivated area will continue to be rain-fed. A large number of scientists have trained in many advanced laboratories around the world and developed expertise in frontier fields. In recent years, several unusual opportunities have arisen that are being exploited to strengthen the institute's research output and overall technological development capabilities.
RRS participated in the popularization of IARI technologies in various agro-climatic zones of the country.
PERSPECTIVE
The conventional technologies still have much to offer, but new state-of-the-art capabilities such as remote sensing, use of GIS, informatics, precision agriculture, modeling, automation and communication technologies would be necessary for sustained growth. The whole of supply chain management must be addressed in the Institute's research, education and extension programmes. The academic system encourages continuous updating of the post-graduate curriculum to maintain their high standards.
Exporting higher education in basic and applied agricultural sciences to other parts of the world will be one of the goals of IARI.
ISSUES
PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS ON A TIME SCALE AND FUND REQUIREMENTS
This will be a challenging proposition for the development of organic varieties within RCT and organic seed production. The rapid development of information and communication technologies will play a key role in the process of agricultural development. O Development of a decision support system for effective agricultural advisory based on weather forecast (on a short-term, medium-term and long-term basis).
O Development of bioremediation technology for waste and wastewater using blue green algae and Azolla. O ICT applications in agriculture such as GIS, remote sensing, DSS, web-based application and software development in agricultural research and education. O Isolation and characterization of defense genes and promoters from Brassica juncea and development of fungal resistant transgenic plant.
O Identification of genotype and simple traits for the screening and development of plant species tolerant to various abiotic stresses. O Development of mutants and their use in functional analysis of genes and identification of beneficial alleles. Isolation of target genes and development of allele-specific markers such as STMS and SNPs would be highly desirable.
There is also a need to integrate different sectors for an overall development of rural areas. O To generate baseline sectoral data for the drafting of micro-plans for the integrated development of agriculture with the active participation of villagers. Sub-Programme and Expected Output Timescale and Emphasis Proposed Links Sub-Program Institutional Institutional Inter-International Agro-advisory Services Development of Decision Support DSS on agro PHY, All NCMRWF, System for effective agro-advisory advice atotherMin.
LINKAGE
The funding needs of the various programs for the next five years will be met through budgetary allocation in XI Plan of the Institute. The mission mode and center of excellence mode of operations will ultimately provide input to one or more of the programs. In fact, at IARI, most of the divisions are larger than most of the ICAR institutes.
The Director of the Institute must have the full powers of the Vice Rector of a central university. Routine administrative and financial issues should be resolved at the level of the school head. The Institute's Academic Council is the main governing body and coordinates issues related to the graduate school.
The Institute's Extension Council is the main governing and coordinating body of the Institute's extension and technology assessment and transfer activities. The Executive Council of the Institute provides general guidance on the general administration and financial affairs of the Institute. The recommendations of these five bodies are sent to the Governing Board of the Institute for review and approval.
The board is the institute's most important policy-making and guiding body. The posts thus freed from the administration and finance sections could be utilized to consolidate the institute's technical support services.
CRITICAL INPUTS
The existing mechanisms of five-year evaluation, professional evaluation and evaluation at the initiative of the Institute will significantly contribute to the implementation and improvement of the programs. As the largest institute of the ICAR system, IARI has the largest budget in the system. But the proportional allocation, especially of IARI's operational funds, has been significantly reduced, while powers and programs have been strengthened.
The force will be kept under periodic review to improve the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the Institute. In the following years, the number of recruitment will match the number of retired scientists and it is assumed that the number of scientists will be the same as the approved cadre of the Institute. Temporary accommodation through the marginal increase in the Institute's staff strength is absolutely essential for the effective continuation of our programs.
Furthermore, IARI should have the authority in the placement of the newly selected ARS researchers. The procedure for recruiting scientists to IARI should also be streamlined in such a way that the institute under the supervision of the ASRB has greater flexibility and influence in the selection of its team of scientists. Competencies for managing finance, human resources, administration, agriculture and other infrastructures must be improved by training the managers and providing them with the necessary management tools.
Various management databases and the necessary hardware, software and human resources must be in place to ensure efficient use of critical inputs. Adequate infrastructure, especially electricity and water, must be created to ensure the smooth work of scientists and students.
RISK ANALYSIS
It is proposed to replace the CPWD in case it fails to improve efficiency, cost-effectiveness (almost 75% to 80% of all funds allocated to the CPWD are for employee salaries) and quality. In the last few years, the Institute has taken over the maintenance of one of its areas from CPWD on a trial basis and found it satisfactory not only from the point of view of timeliness and quality but also from the point of view of high cost efficiency. Integrating the above results should provide a greater coherence of increased productivity, sustainability, profitability and equity.
A cadre of highly trained human resources, including in unusual but much needed fields, will be available to meet the challenges and opportunities. Dynamic agricultural research and development policies and linkages will be established to ensure the realization of the potential of various technologies and products.
REVIEW
The Dean and the Director, following the above approach, will review and evaluate the postgraduate education programme. At the end or beginning of each semester, the Dean will present a critical assessment of the education program at the next meeting of the Academic Council. The Joint Director (Extension) and the Director will closely monitor the technology assessment and transfer programme, particularly the Institute Village Linkage programme, through a research-extension-farmer participatory approach.
The Institute, under the overall framework of ICAR, will design and undertake dynamic self-evaluation of all research, education and extension activities.
RESOURCE GENERATION
OUTPUTS
Appropriate strategy will be developed to ensure farmers' access to Pusa seed which improves the seed production programme. The Institute also aims to reduce the cost of cultivation by developing better farm machinery for precision agriculture, and strengthen market intelligence to provide the farming community with access to market information. The detailed expected output envisaged by the Institute is reflected in the list of programs given in the chapter on 'Programmes and Projects on a Time Scale and Fund Requirements'.
OUTCOME
