ICAR, World Bank to Sponsor International Training for 25 PG Students from AAU

Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR) and the World Bank is set to fund the international training of 25 students of Anand Agriculture University. The students will receive this training from reputed universities and institutes, under National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) and Centre for Advanced Agricultural Science and Technology (CAAST) on secondary agriculture project.

NAHEP-CAAST will bear the entire cost of travel, visa, accommodation, and other expenses of the students, and the project will be administered by the Centre for Agricultural Market Intelligence.

How AAU picked the students?

A selection committee headed by vice-chancellor Dr KB Katharia selected 25 students out of 40 from different colleges affiliated to Anand Agriculture University. The selection was done on the basis of NAHEP guidelines, followed by a written test, a physical interview, review of the previous academic profile, and the reservation policy.

Out of the total number of selected beneficiaries, 15 comes from the BA College of Agriculture, 4 each from the College of Food Processing and Technologies and the College of Agriculture Engineering and Technology in Godhra, and 2 from the College of Horticulture.

About the training programmes

12 of these 25 PG students will receive training at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand in the areas of artificial intelligence, climate change, IoT, food processing, agricultural machinery, and precision agriculture. At the International Rice Research Institute in Manila, eight students will receive training in plant breeding, biotechnology, and pathology, while two students will receive training at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre in Mexico in the areas of bio-fortification, the impact of disease, and genetic analysis in wheat, told VC Dr Katharia.

Previously this year, 7 agricultural start-ups housed at the Anand Agricultural University received a grant of Rs 68 lakh from the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (AAU). Grant approval came as a result of the ministry's Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) — Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation agribusiness incubator project (RAFTAAR).

Start-up Gujarat, Student Start-up and Innovation Policy, and RKVY-RAFTAAR, which has trained more than 80 start-ups, are some of the start-up initiatives run by AAU.

About Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

In order to ensure the comprehensive growth of the agriculture sector and adjacent sectors, the RKVY plan was introduced in 2007. The effort has made great progress since it began, and it has been carried out throughout two plan periods (11th and 12th). The programme aids States in increasing public investment in agriculture and related sectors.