Indian Council of Agricultural Research

• 17 Jul 2020

Why in News

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) celebrated its 92^nd foundation day on 16^th July 2020.

Key Points

• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was established on 16 July 1929 as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• It is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.
• It is headquartered at New Delhi. With 102 ICAR institutes and 71 agricultural universities spread across the country this is one of the largest national agricultural systems in the world.
• It is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country.
• The ICAR has played a pioneering role in ushering Green Revolution and subsequent developments in agriculture in India through its research and technology development that has enabled the country to increase the production of foodgrains by 5.6 times, horticultural crops by 10.5 times, fish by 16.8 times, milk by 10.4 times and eggs by 52.9 times since 1950-51 to 2017-18.

Note:

• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) will start a Farmers Innovation Fund.
• The 'Kisan Diwas' or National Farmers Day is observed across the country on 23^rd December to celebrate the birth anniversary of Chaudhary Charan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India.
• Dr. Norman E. Borlaug was the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work in global agriculture. He is also known as the Father of the Green Revolution.
• The World Food Prize is also known as the "Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture". Dr. Rattan Lal has been declared the winner of the World Food Prize 2020.
  
  • Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, the father of India’s green revolution, was the first recipient of this award in 1987.
• World Food Day is observed annually on 16^th October to address the problem of global hunger (SDG 2-Zero hunger).

Source: PIB