Dr. A.K. Nayak, an accomplished agricultural scientist and former Director of the ICAR-National Rice Research Institute (NRRI), Cuttack, has officially taken charge as the Deputy Director General (Natural Resource Management) at the ICAR Headquarters in New Delhi on April 7, 2025.
This transition marks a significant milestone in his career as he assumes a national leadership role to guide the strategic development of natural resource management across the ICAR system.
Dr. Nayak is originally from Narsinghpur, Odisha. His academic journey began at Olaver High School and continued at prestigious institutions, including Bhadrak College, the College of Agriculture in Chiplima, and the Institute of Agricultural Sciences at BHU in Varanasi, where he completed both his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences.
Over nearly three decades, he has served in various scientific roles, including key positions at the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute and the Project Directorate of Farming System Research before joining NRRI in 2010. He led the Division of Crop Production for eight years before becoming Director of NRRI in November 2022.
Dr. Nayak has made significant contributions to research, authoring over 240 research papers, 16 books, and numerous book chapters and bulletins. His work covers important topics such as nutrient management, carbon sequestration, problem soil management, water quality modeling, and climate change adaptation. His academic influence is highlighted by an impressive H-index of 44 and more than 6,800 citations on Google Scholar.
Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards, including the Indo-U.S. Borlaug Fellowship, the IPNI-FAI Award, and the prestigious Nanaji Deshmukh ICAR Team Award. He is also a Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, India.
