AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN INDIA: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Abstract

Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy which plays the most decisive role in the socioeconomic development of the country. Indian agriculture is a miscellaneous and extensive sector involving a large number of actors. India has one of the largest and institutionally most complex agricultural research systems in the world. The agricultural research system in India includes some 27,500 scientists and more than one lakh supporting staff actively engaged in agricultural research, which makes it probably the largest research system in the world. Historically, the Indian agricultural research system is the zenith of a process which started in the 19th century and which resulted in the establishment of the Imperial (now Indian) Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on the recommendation of a Royal Commission on Agriculture in 1929. In the present research system, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) at the National level mainly aids, promotes and coordinates research and education activities in the country. The development of agricultural research system in India, ever since the colonial era till today, is being tried to trace in the paper. An attempt has been made to portray the role of Five Year Plans regarding investment, technology transfer and other aspects related to agricultural development in India. Although agriculture has been playing the most vital role in Indian economy, during the course of the study, it has been observed that not much emphasis has been given to the history of evolution of agricultural research in India.