36th Agricultural Universities Vice Chancellors Conference Inaugurated

36th Agricultural Universities Vice Chancellors Conference Inaugurated

The 36th Annual Conference of Vice Chancellors of Agricultural Universities was inaugurated on August 25, 2026, in New Delhi by Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers' Welfare and Rural Development. The two-day conference (August 25-26, 2026) was organized on the theme "Reimagining Agricultural Higher Education for ViksitBharat@2047" and brought together Vice Chancellors of Agricultural Universities, senior officials of DARE and ICAR, Deputy Directors General, Additional Directors General, and senior scientists to deliberate on reforms and priorities for a future-ready agricultural education system.

Key Addresses and Emphasis Areas

Union Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan emphasized that agricultural education success must be measured by knowledge and skills created and tangible change in farmers' lives rather than degrees awarded. He called for making agricultural education practical, technology-driven, and closely aligned with farmers' needs, stressing that research must move from laboratories to fields through stronger collaboration among agricultural universities, ICAR, KVKs, FPOs, industry, and farmers. He urged universities to set clear goals, develop actionable roadmaps, and measure outcomes to ensure every conference leads to concrete decisions.

Minister of State Shri Bhagirath Choudhary emphasized that developed India requires a strong agriculture sector and empowered farmers, noting India's journey from food scarcity to self-sufficiency. He stressed the need to attract youth to agriculture through opportunities in modern technologies, research, entrepreneurship, and agribusiness, while aligning education with farmers' needs.

Minister of State Shri Ram Nath Thakur highlighted the need to modernize agricultural education, promote innovation, and equip youth with knowledge to address emerging challenges. He emphasized that research and education must translate into practical, field-level solutions and foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and excellence with focus on sustainable agriculture.

Dr. M.L. Jat, Secretary of DARE & Director General of ICAR, emphasized the need for fundamental transformation of agricultural higher education from traditional models to a future-ready, skill-driven ecosystem. He stressed strengthening industry-academia partnerships, promoting demand-driven research, ensuring robust accreditation, and leveraging data-driven decision-making. He noted that the objective should go beyond awarding degrees to creating skilled, innovative, and globally competitive human capital aligned with national priorities.

Conference Structure and Deliberations

The Conference was structured around five sessions covering 14 agenda items, focusing on student-centric reforms, higher education, faculty development, institutional strengthening, quality enhancement, academic reforms, research, innovation, and institutional excellence. Deliberations covered the Action Taken Report of the previous Vice Chancellors' Conference, admission systems, research fellowships, and the state/category-wise 40% restriction in seat allotment.

Discussions addressed timely ICAR-AIQ counselling and verification, separate Ph.D. counselling for Veterinary Sciences, and UG eligibility for agriculture-qualified and Hindi-medium students to enhance accessibility and inclusivity. The Conference reviewed measures to align JRF/SRF research with national priorities, strengthen accreditation and quality assurance, and improve financial management, accountability, and performance-based funding.

Emphasis was placed on stronger industry-academia linkages, apprenticeships and internships, curriculum revision, and promotion of dual, twinning and joint degree programs and academic exchange. Under faculty development, participants deliberated on equivalency of degrees in agriculture and allied sciences, identification of training needs, development of training modules, expert/domain mapping, and the proposed induction of Professors of Practice in Agricultural Universities.

The Conference considered developing a comprehensive agricultural education data ecosystem for evidence-based planning, monitoring, and decision-making. Strengthening Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) was highlighted for connecting students with rural realities and supporting rural transformation. Discussions also covered Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Impact Assessment (MELIA) and greater participation in Agriunifest and Agrisports2026 for holistic student development.

Deliberations on academic reforms included common agenda items of the Indian Agricultural Universities Association (IAUA), uniform implementation of UGC Ph.D. Regulations 2016, and promotion of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) among State Agricultural Universities to accelerate research translation. The Conference also discussed NIRF rating parameters for Agriculture and Allied sectors and mechanisms for sharing expertise through Professors of Practice.

The discussions collectively underscored the need for Agricultural Universities to evolve into dynamic, technology-enabled, outcome-oriented ecosystems integrating education, research, innovation, industry, and rural engagement. Stronger academic partnerships, quality assurance, data-driven governance, and research aligned with national priorities were identified as critical for building globally competitive institutions.

Dr. Yashpal Malik, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Education), ICAR, delivered the welcome and context-setting address. The inaugural session featured presentation and discussion on the Action Taken Report of the previous Conference and review of progress on earlier decisions.