There are a total of 722 Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), 3 Central Agricultural Universities, 4 Deemed Universities (DUs) besides 99 Research Institutions and 11 Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes (ATARIs) under DARE/ICAR in the country.  Besides, ICAR supports 63 State Agricultural Universities and 4 traditional universities with agricultural faculty.

The total expenditure incurred by DARE/ICAR during the last three years (2017-18 to 2019-20) is Rs. 21,859.84 crores (6590.64, 7615.71 and 7653.49 respectively).

ICAR has established a mechanism to review the research output of the institutes.  Research Advisory Committees (RAC) and Quinquennial Review Teams (QRT) are setup by ICAR to assess the quality of research undertaken by the institutes.  Besides, all the ICAR Research Institutes are ISO certified and are accredited research bodies.  Outcome Review and Third-Party Evaluation is also undertaken in respect of ICAR research schemes.

This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in Rajya Sabha today.

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APS