In order to promote high quality doctoral thesis research in priority/frontier areas of agriculture and allied sciences, ICAR has instituted 18 awards of ₹ 50,000/-in cash plus a citation and silver medal (gold polished) each to be awarded annually for the outstanding original research work in agriculture and allied sciences. This award is meant exclusively for the doctoral thesis related to agricultural sciences from Indian Universities. The Ph.D. degree/provisional degree for this award must have been awarded during the year preceding the year of the award i.e. 2015. A thesis will be considered only once for this award. Applicant must have evidence of publication of his/ her work in the form of published/ accepted form of at least one good research paper in a reputed journal having NAAS rating of ≥ 6 from the research work done for the Ph.D. thesis. The forwarding authority may give clear cut recommendation highlighting the merit of the research work.
Sponsor : Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.
Objectives of the Award –
- To provide recognition to outstanding original research done by doctoral degree students
- To provide incentive for enhancing the quality of doctoral thesis research
- To promote high quality doctoral thesis research in emerging priority areas
Nature of the Award
This award is meant exclusively for doctoral thesis related to agricultural sciences from any Indian University. In addition a total of eighteen individual awards have been provided. Each individual award consists of Rs 50,000 in cash plus a citation and silver medal (Gold polished). The eighteen awards will be given but not more than two awards in any one of the subject areas given below:
i. Crop Sciences
ii. Biotechnology (Plant/Animal/Fishery)
iii. Crop Protection
iv. Natural Resource Management
v. Horticulture
vi. Agricultural Engineering
vii. Animal Sciences
viii. Fisheries Sciences
ix. Social sciences
Eligibility :
- Any Indian who has completed his Ph.D. degree in agricultural and allied sciences in the above areas.
- The Certificate of the degree/provisional degree must have been obtained during the year preceding the year of the award.
- A thesis will be considered only once.
- The research work must be original and must have a direct bearing on some relevant aspects of the agricultural production/management systems.
- The results obtained must have the potential of enhancing the production/ productivity/sustainability of the relevant agricultural production/management system or substantially advance our knowledge.
- Must have published/accepted at least one good research paper in a journal having NAAS rating of 6 and above
Administration of the Award : There shall be a Judging Committee consisting of 9 members, with one member from outside the NARS, including the Chairperson appointed by the DG, ICAR. Wherever deemed necessary the Judging Committee may identify a panel of experts to assist it in the evaluation of the applications. Taking into consideration the evaluation by the experts the Judging Committee shall evaluate the theses and make recommendations to the Council.
Evaluation Criteria
- Conceptual clarity and coherence of the research problem
- Scientific, technological and socio-economic relevance and priority of the research problem
- Compilation, analysis and interpretation of existing literature, quality of illustrations and photographs
- Organization of research work. Complementarity of the various experiments and investigations and their integration into a logical plan of work
- Conduct of the research programmes: Scientific soundness and technological modernity of the experimental methods and logical planning
- Scientific validity and accuracy of the analysis of experimental data
- Principal findings: To what extent do they meet the objectives of the research programme
- In what way the findings constitute a significant advance in our knowledge and understanding or help improve productivity and sustainability
- Research papers published and their quality as judged by the NAAS rating
- Patents copyrights applied and accepted
Procedure : Applications for the award will be invited during September/October of the year of the award. Applications made in the prescribed form obtainable from the Award Cell of ICAR, will be accepted up to the end of November/December of the year of the award. The Judging Committee will screen the Applications, identify outstanding entries, and make recommendations to the Council along with the draft citations. If no outstanding entries have been received, no award will be awarded.
Presentation : The presentation of award will be made on the subsequent Foundation Day of the ICAR i.e. 16th July. The awardee would give a presentation on achievements of his work to the audience consisting of eminent agricultural & non agricultural scientists.
How to Apply :
The prescribed eligibility criteria, the guidelines and the pro-forma for applying for these awards may be obtained from the Council before 30.11.2016 by sending a self addressed stamped envelope. It can also be downloaded from the ICAR’s website (www.icar.org.in). Seven copies of application with complete documents should be sent to Dr. Shiv Prasad Kimothi, Assistant Director General (Coordination), ICAR, Room No. 502, Krishi Bhawan, Dr.Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi-110 001 so as to reach him on or before 31.12.2016. The last date for candidates in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, States/Union Territory in the North Eastern Region, Ladakh Division of J&K State and Sikkim is 15.01.2017. The candidates are required to submit seven copies of applications/documents failing which the application will not be considered. Annexures, if any, may be attached with one copy only. The candidates should also clearly mention their contact details (mobile No./ e-mail) along with Bank Account No., Bank Address, IFSC Code and PAN No. A copy of cancelled cheque may be attached. The Council will retain the award winning applications/thesis for the record.
Each candidate will be judged on the basis of the originality and the applied value of the investigations as revealed in the documents submitted by him. In all matters relating to the award, the decision of the Council shall be final and no correspondence on this account will be entertained.
