Raj Paroda

Raj Paroda former Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) & Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Government of India, is an accomplished plant breeder and geneticist and research administrator. He has made significant contributions in crop science research. He modernized and strengthened national agricultural research systems (NARS) in India as well as in Central Asia and the Caucasus. He was the main architect of the National Gene Bank in New Delhi. He has received numerous awards, including Rafi Ahmad Kidwai Prize, ICAR Team Research Award, FICCI Award, Om Prakash Bhasin Award, BP Pal Gold Medal, Borlaug Award, Mahendra Shiromani Award and the prestigious Padma Bhushan from the Government of India in 1998. He was the founder chairman of Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) based at FAO, Rome. He was President of Indian Science Congress in 2000-2001 and President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, besides a dozen scientific societies in agriculture. Fifteen universities have awarded him D.Sc. (Honoris Causa) degree including Ohio State University, Columbus and Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. He served for more than two decades as Executive Secretary of Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI). Paroda worked for the overall benefit of farmers as Chairman, Farmers Commission of Haryana, Chairman of Working Group on Agriculture and member of Rajasthan Planning Board. Currently, he is Chairman of the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS) and on the Strategic Impact, Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (SIMEC) of CGIAR System Council.