The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) will organize a curtain-raiser event and media interaction on October 10, 2026, at the ICAR–Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research (IIFSR) in Modipuram, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC)-2026 scheduled for October 27-29, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
Dr. M. L. Jat, Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) and Director General of ICAR, will address the curtain-raiser event and speak on ICAR's role in ESTIC-2026. Shri Rajat Kumar Mishra, Secretary of the Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, will deliver a special address. The program will feature a media interaction on Agri-Tech, Food Systems and Nutrition, followed by a field visit to ICAR-IIFSR for a demonstration of Green Ammonia technology.
ICAR is directly associated with the thematic session on 'Agri-Tech, Food Systems and Nutrition' at ESTIC-2026, scheduled for October 29, 2026. This session will be chaired by the Secretary of DARE and Director General of ICAR, along with the Secretary of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). The session will include a keynote address, presentations by a deep-tech startup CEO, a woman entrepreneur, and science and technology leaders, followed by a panel discussion. Several ICAR scientists from ICAR–Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), ICAR–National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, and ICAR–National Rice Research Institute are listed among the speakers at ESTIC-2026.
ICAR's participation will highlight advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, digital agriculture, advanced crop improvement, gene editing, and sustainable agricultural systems. The organization will also showcase its innovations under the theme 'Agri-Tech, Food Systems and Nutrition' at the ESTIC-2026 exhibition.
ESTIC-2026 is organized by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, under the guidance of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India, with the National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) as the Organising Partner. The conclave will feature participation from multiple government departments including Department of Atomic Energy, Ministry of Ayush, Department of Biotechnology, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Defence/DRDO, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Department of Health Research/Indian Council of Medical Research, Department of Space/ISRO, and Department of Telecommunications, along with Nobel Laureates, global experts, industry leaders, and innovators.