5th August, 2002
Ministry of Agriculture  


COMMITTEE FOR RESTRUCTURING OF ICAR


The Center has set up a Committee to review the administrative structure of the Indian Council Of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and its administrative and financial linkages with agricultural universities and institutions in the country in order to streamline this apex body in view of the emerging challenges to the Indian agriculture and agricultural research in the country. Shri Hemendra Kumar, Special Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, will head the six-member Committee. The other members of the Committee are:

1.Dr. M.Mahadevappa, Former Chairman, Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board

2.Shri Pratyush Sinha, Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, Dept. of Agricultural Research and Education

3.Dr. O.P. Agarwal, Head, RPBD, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

4.Prof. K. Mamkootam, Dept. of Management Studies, Delhi University

5. Shri K.N. Kumar, Director, Dept. of Agricultural Research and Education-Member Secretary

The terms of reference of the Committee would be:

i) To suggest an appropriate and right-sized administrative structure for ICAR at the headquarters and its various institutes with the objective of establishing a more effective, precise and dynamic system of administration and management.

ii) To examine and suggest optimal ways of exercising administrative control and scientific monitoring of institutions by the Department from the perspective of integrated functioning.

iii) To examine the linkage between the ICAR and State Agricultural Universities to make them financially viable and self-sufficient and to suggest an effective way of providing financial grant from ICAR to the Universities.

iv) To suggest how Human Resource in the ICAR system can be developed to meet the growing challenges and how to use the available professional expertise in and outside ICAR systems for more practical, farmer-oriented and demand-driven research as per the expectations of the Indian farmers.

The Committee has been asked to submit its report to the Union Agriculture Minister, Shri Ajit Singh within two months.

Although there has been some studies of the ICAR structure in the past, it was felt that there is a need to have a re-look at the system to ascertain whether it is efficiently equipped to respond to the growing challenges of the demands placed on it by the Indian farmers / agriculture, government’s policy regarding growth of agriculture, WTO and also the current emphasis of the Government on right- sizing.

 
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