National Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Background

The National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), established in 1990, is among the youngest of the Science Academies in India. It owes its origin to the vision of the late Dr. B. P. Pal, FRS. The Academy focuses on the broad field of agricultural sciences including crop husbandry, animal husbandry, fisheries, agro-forestry and interface between agriculture and agro-industry. The Academy’s role is to provide a forum to Agricultural Scientists to deliberate on important issues of agricultural research, education and extension, and present views of the scientific community as policy inputs to planners, decision/opinion makers at various levels. To achieve this, the Academy organizes and supports national and international congresses, conferences, seminars, symposia, workshops and brainstorming sessions on critical issues in the field of agricultural sciences. The Academy accords recognition to scientists at various levels, and encourages cutting edge research in different fields of agricultural sciences. In 2001, the Academy instituted a scheme of NAAS-TATA Research Fellowships for Young Scientists (with one for the North East Region) with support from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. In 2003, ‘Associateship’ of the Academy was introduced for Young Scientists. The Academy has emerged as a vibrant national level body devoted to agricultural sciences. The Fellows of the Academy, recognized for their contributions to science, include distinguished personalities in the field of Agriculture and Allied Sciences, both from India and abroad. The Academy has also established “Corporate Membership”, “Corporate Fellowship” and “Institutional Membership” to attract involvement of Industry and Institutions for supporting the activities of the Academy.

Objectives

The major objectives of the Academy, inter-alia, are to:

• promote ecologically sustainable, economically viable and environmental friendly agriculture,
• recognize and support excellence of scientists, teachers, industry individuals, farmers and media personnel in agriculture,
• promote interactions among the researchers in different national and international organizations,
• secure and manage funds and endowments for the promotion of agricultural sciences,
• publish journals, policy papers, and other documents for the advancement of agricultural research, education and development,
• conduct other activities relevant to the accomplishment of the above goals, in public interest.

Management Bodies

• The General Body: The General Body of the Academy is constituted by its Fellows.
• The Executive Council is the main policy and decision-making body.
• Statutory Committees have been constituted to deal with various aspects of governance of the Academy.
• Twelve Regional Chapters of the Academy are functioning at Barapani, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Coimbatore, Cuttack, Hyderabad, Karnal, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Pune and Varanasi.