The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation and a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It functions under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. ICAR was established on 16 July 1929, formerly known as the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research. Its creation was in pursuance of the report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture, aiming to coordinate, guide, and manage agricultural research and education across the country.
ICAR is the apex body for research and education in agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, and animal sciences. The Union Minister of Agriculture serves as the ex-officio President of the ICAR Society. Its chief executive and decision-making authority is the Governing Body, headed by the Director-General. ICAR operates one of the world's largest national agricultural systems, comprising 113 ICAR institutes and 74 agricultural universities. Its mechanism involves developing high-yielding and climate-resilient crop varieties and disseminating improved production technologies to farmers through a network of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs). ICAR played a pioneering role in providing the scientific backbone for the Green Revolution in India.
The recruitment of agricultural scientists is handled by the connected body, the Agricultural Scientists' Recruitment Board (ASRB). ICAR was reorganized twice, in 1965 and 1973. A recent change occurred in January 2024, where ICAR renamed several institutes and projects, such as renaming the ICAR-Indian Institute of Millets Research, Hyderabad, to ICAR-Indian Institute of Shree Anna (Millets) Research, Hyderabad, to align with the "Crop Science for Food and Nutritional Security" scheme. Furthermore, ICAR has recently proposed restructuring its entrance examinations for PG and Ph.D. admissions, including a reduction of PG entrance groups from 20 to 8.