Page 88 - EW April 2025

Cover Story EW India Government University Rankings 2025-26

INDIA’S BEST GOV. AGRICULTURE VARSITIES

In 2020, EducationWorld took the lead to rate and rank climate-resilient farming, biotechnol-
the country’s best government agricultural universities ogy, agribusiness management, and
introducing and implementing best agriculture education AI, its 113 ivory tower ICAR institutes
and 74 state government agricultural
practices universities spread across the coun-
try are yet to implement them. Except
for a handful of agri universities, most
teach obsolete curriculums.
In 2020, EducationWorld took the
lead to rate and rank the country’s
best government agricultural univer-
sities introducing and implementing
best agriculture education practices.
And since 2022, ICAR’s flagship insti-
tute — ICAR Indian Agricultural
Research Institute, Delhi (ICAR-
IARI) — has been topping the league
table of India’s best agri institutions.
This year is no different with the
generously centrally-funded ICAR-
IARI decisively ranked India’s #1
government agriculture varsity with
top scores under the parameters of
faculty competence, faculty welfare
and development and research and in-
NAU's ZP Patel (centre): impactful extension activities novation. But as usual, the ICAR-IARI
top brass didn’t respond to our several
ith the Trump admin- trade and in particular, legally guar- emails and phone calls for interview.
istration in the US anteed minimum support prices for Following ICAR-IARI is Punjab
determined to export agricultural produce. Agricultural University, Ludhi-
WAmerican farm pro- A major contributory factor be- ana at #2 and the Navsari Agri-
duce to India or else, the uncompeti- hind rural stagnation is poor quality cultural University at #3, both of
tiveness of India’s 195 million farmers of agriculture education. According to whom have retained their 2024-25
is about to be exposed. an essay in The Print (February 25), ranks.
The stark truth is that India’s ag- India’s agriculture sector is “stuck in Beyond the Top 3, there’s been a
riculture sector is in bad shape. Its the Green Revolution era” and “rigid minor reshuffle in seating order. Go-
contribution to the country’s GDP has curriculums fail to integrate contem- vind Ballabh Pant University of
declined from 35 percent in 1990-91 porary issues like climate change, Agriculture & Technology, Pant-
to 15 percent in 2022-23, while the precision farming, and global market nagar (Uttarakhand) and ICAR-Na-
percentage of population working in dynamics…, leaving students unpre- tional Dairy Research Institute,
rural India is static at 60 percent. An pared for challenges in modern agri- Karnal have traded their 2024-25
estimated 400,000 farmers commit- culture”. ranks with the former ranked #4 in
ted suicide due to agrarian distress be- Though in 2021, the country’s 2025-26 (#5 in 2024-25) and the lat-
tween 1995-2018; average per hectare apex-level Delhi-based Indian Council ter #5 (#4).
foodgrain yields are one-half of Chi- for Agricultural Research (ICAR, an- Chaudhary Charan Singh
na’s, and the sector is plagued with ob- nual budget: Rs.10,450 crore) — an Haryana Agricultural Univer-
solete farming practices and poor ac- autonomous body promoted by the sity, Hisar has retained its #6 rank
cess to credit and irrigation facilities. Central government way back in 1929 even as Junagadh Agricultural
Little wonder that the country’s rural to “coordinate agricultural education University (JAU) has slipped to #7
majority is on the perpetual warpath and research” — revamped agriculture (#6) and ICAR - Indian Veterinary
demanding fair rural-urban terms of curriculums introducing courses on Research Institute, Izatnagar,

88 EDUCATIONWORLD APRIL 2025