ICAR-IASRI Annual Report 2014-15

Abstract

During the year 2014-15, the Institute has made some outstanding and useful contributions to research in the field of Design of Experiments, Sample Surveys, Statistical Genetics, Bioinformatics, Forecasting Techniques, Statistical Modelling, Computer Application and Software Development. The Institute has conducted basic and original research on many topics of interest. The Institute has also been providing education/training in Agricultural Statistics and Informatics to develop trained manpower in the country. This report highlights the research achievements made, new methodologies developed, significant advisory and consultancy services provided, dissemination of knowledge acquired and human resource development. The scientists, technical personnel, administrative, finance and other staff of the Institute have put in their best efforts in fulfilling the mandate of the Institute. Research activities in the Institute were strengthened through in house and externally funded projects, network and inter-institutional collaborative projects and capacity building. During the year, research was carried out under 57 research projects (33 Institute funded, 22 externally funded, 1 National Professor Scheme and 1 Consultancy Project) in various thrust areas. Out of these 21 projects were in collaboration with other institutes, 11 projects were completed and 17 new projects were initiated. A landmark for the institute this year was a study awarded by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) under the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics on improving methods for estimating crop area, yield and production under mixed, repeated and continuous cropping. The networking services at IASRI have been further strengthened and the entire campus is Wi-Fi enabled with a high speed internet connection. ICAR Data Centre (Tier-III) has been established at IASRI to provide Unified Mail Messaging and Web Hosting solution in ICAR. The Institute has made its presence felt in the National Agricultural Research and Education System (NARES) through its research and human resource development programmes. The institute has contributed significantly by providing excellent human resource to NARES in the disciplines of Agricultural Statistics and Informatics. During the year, 25 training programmes (Six 21 days under Centre of Advanced Faculty Training, Thirteen under National Agricultural Innovation Projects, Four Resource Generation and Two other training programmes sponsored by ICAR for Technical Personnels of ICAR) were organized in which 636 participants were imparted training. This year, a total of 18 students ( 5 Ph.D. (Agricultural Statistics), 6 M.Sc. (Agricultural Statistics), 2 M.Sc. (Computer Application) and 5 M.Sc. (Bioinformatics) ) completed their degrees. A Senior Certificate Course in Agricultural Statistics and Computing was also organized. The Institute organized the 68th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics during January 29-31, 2015. During this Conference, a workshop on methodology for estimating crop area and yield under mixed and continuous cropping was also organized. The Institute has made important contributions in strengthening National Agricultural Statistics System (NASS), which has a direct impact on the national policies. The Institute has published 128 research papers in National and International refereed Journals along with 24 popular articles/short communications, 1 book, 9 book chapters, 4 papers in conference proceedings and 58 project reports/technical bulletins/ monograph/reference manuals/brochures. Besides, 57 e-manuals/e-resources/ macros were also developed. I am extremely happy to share that some of our colleagues received academic distinctions during the year. Dr. Seema Jaggi received the Bharat Ratna Dr. C. Subramaniam Award for Outstanding Teachers-2013 of ICAR for excellent teaching in the field of Social Sciences, Dr. Hukum Chandra was awarded ICAR-National Fellow and also received Professor PV Sukhatme Gold Medal Award 2014 by the Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics (ISAS). Dr. Alka Arora received the Best Paper Award published in the journal of ISAS. The scientists of the Institute were deputed in various national/international conferences. This year, five scientists were deputed on different assignments to Bangladesh, Italy, Japan, USA, Ethiopia and Spain.