PGR Education

Name: Prof. Sunil Archak
Contact Number: 011-25848955, 011-25846268
Address: ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources Pusa Campus, New Delhi – 110012, INDIA
E-mail: Professor.PGR@icar.gov.in, sunil.archak@icar.gov.in
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Postgraduate Education in PGR at NBPGR

The management of plant genetic resources has developed into an important technical, socio-economic and political concern over the past 50 years or so. With the ratification of the CBD in 1992, considerable awareness was raised about the importance of conserving biodiversity, its sustainable use and the need for equitable benefit-sharing arrangements. The need of trained manpower from many countries particularly from developing world was realized to carry out various bioresource management tasks. The value and use of wild and cultivated genetic resources for breeders and other researchers have now come of age. In India, the intake of first batch of postgraduate students in Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) discipline of Post-graduate School, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI, a deemed-to-be-University), New Delhi took place in 1997 at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) for Master’s course. The Ph.D. courses in PGR started since 2004-05 academic session. So far, till 2017-18, a total of 58 M.Sc. and 20 Ph.D. degrees have been awarded in PGR discipline. The four major theme areas of postgraduate research have been: assessment of genetic diversity and population structure of crop landraces; species relationships and molecular phylogeny; seed conservation and related supportive research, and biotechnology and germplasm conservation.MoU between NBPGR and IARI for PG Education in PGR

Brief description of M.Sc. and Ph.D. courses in PGR

As in other disciplines of IARI, the M.Sc. and Ph.D. courses in PGR are being conducted in trimesters under course credit systems. The M.Sc. course is of two years duration divided into six trimesters. To complete the Ph.D. course a student normally takes 3-4 years. The Ph.D. course is also conducted under course credit system. There are a total of 24 courses designed for the PGR discipline. These include both regular courses and also advanced courses.  Both M.Sc. and Ph.D. programmes in PGR have research components as well. A M.Sc. student has to submit a thesis as partial fulfilment of the degree. For Ph.D. the research topic is more elaborate. For M.Sc. degree, the thesis is basically indicative of a students’ potentiality for conducting research whereas all Ph.D. students are supposed to write at least two quality research papers in peer reviewed journal(s) before submitting their thesis for award of the degree.

System of Admission

(i) M.Sc. degree courses: The students are selected through an all India Entrance Test conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
(ii) Ph.D. degree courses: Admission is made by IARI through an all India Entrance Test conducted by the Institute.

Number of seats

There is scope for enrolment of four students for M.Sc. and five students for Ph.D. courses in PGR. In addition, there is scope for enrolment of one or two foreign student in each course.

Courses being offered  in PGR discipline*

Code Name L P
PGR 501* Germplasm Exploration and Plant Systematics 2 1
PGR 502* Plant Diversity and Conservation 2 1
PGR 503* Germplasm Characterization and Evaluation*** 1 1
PGR 504 Genetic Enhancement for PGR Utilization*** 1 1
PGR 505* Economic Botany 2 1
PGR 506 Information Management in PGR 1 1
PGR 507* PGR Exchange and Quarantine 2 1
PGR 508 Genomics in PGR management 1 1
PGR 509 Plant Biosecurity  1 0
PGR 510 Principles of Genetics for PGR Management 2 0
PGR 511 Principles of Plant Breeding for PGR Management 1 1
PGR 512 Concepts in Conservation Genetics 1 1
PGR 501* Germplasm Exploration and Plant Systematics 2 1
  Major courses (minimum 20 credits from above courses including *marked Courses) 20  
  Minor courses 08  
  Supporting courses 06  
  Common compulsory courses 05  
PGR 591 Seminar 01  
PGR 599 Thesis/Research 30  
  Total Credits 70  
PGR 601* Recent Advances in Germplasm Conservation 1 1
PGR 602* Phenomics and Genomics for PGR Utilization*** 1 1
PGR 603* Economic Botany and Crop Diversification 1 1
PGR 604 PGR Policies and Regulatory Mechanisms 1 0
PGR 605 Molecular Population Genetics in PGR Management 2 1
PGR 606 Plant Taxonomy, Ecogeography and Ecology 1 1
PGR 607 In situ-on farm conservation 1 1
PGR 608 Genomic tools and current applications 2 1
PGR 609* Intellectual Property Rights and Regulatory Mechanisms (e-course) 0
  Major courses (Minimum 12 credits from above courses including *marked Courses) 12  
  Minor courses 06  
  Supporting courses 05  
PGR 691 Seminar I 01  
PGR 692 Seminar II 01  
PGR 699 Thesis/Research 75  
  Total Credits 100  
Comprehensive (Pre-qualifying) Examination (Non-credit of 100 marks) Satisfactory / Not satisfactory  

* :Compulsory courses recommended by BSMA

*** : cross link with other Divisions, will be offered by the but Faculty of PGR will teaching

* A compulsory course PGS 503 (Intellectual property and its management in agriculture) for all Ph.D. students of PG School, IARI is also offered in PGR discipline

Priority areas in Postgraduate Research in PGRThe major priority areas for future postgraduate research in PGR discipline are as follows:

  • Assessment of diversity loss over time and space and approaches to measuring genetic erosion on-farm.
  • Identification of genetically important crop populations, and farming systems that are priorities for conservation in traditional production systems and investigating different options for “adding value” to these populations in a given social, economic and ecological context.
  • Development of molecular markers for economically important traits in plant genetic resources.
  • Characterization of germplasm for enhanced utilization using tools of comparative genomics.
  • Study of gene flow in indigenous crop plant-wild relatives complexes.
  • DNA bar-coding system for identification of wild relatives and molecular phylogeny of indigenous crop taxa.
  • Providing scientific basis for seed conservation strategies and for devising effective seed conservation protocols.
  • Strategies for exploitation of genomic resources for improved utilization of genetic resources.
  • Investigating molecular aspects of seed longevity.
  • Investigating seed storage behaviour as a prerequisite for storage strategy and factors responsible for recalcitrance in seeds.
  • Development of cost-effective in vitro conservation and cryopreservation protocols.

Major theme areas of post-graduate research No. of thesis
Assessment of diversity in crop landrace populations and on-farm management of crop diversity 43
Species relationships and molecular phylogeny 2
Seed storage and related research 8
Biotechnological approaches for conservation of vegetatively propagated crop germplasm 7

List of students awarded degrees with chairperson – year wise

S.No. YEAR Student Name Chairperson Award/Distinction received, if any
M.Sc. Students
1. 1999 Anandhan, S. Dr. P.L. Gautam  
2. 2000 Yogesh K. Dwivedi Dr. J.L. Karihaloo  
3. 2000 M. Hema K. Reddy Dr. B.B. Mandal  
4. 2000 Parvin M. Kamble Dr. B.B. Singh  
5. 2000 M. Selvendran Dr. J.L. Karihaloo IARI Merit Medal
6. 2001 S.K. Tiwari Dr. J.L. Karihaloo  
7. 2001 Y. Amaravathi Dr. P.L. Gautam IARI Merit Medal
8. 2001 Priyadarshini Sanghamitra Dr. B.B. Mandal  
9. 2001 Dayanand Mandal Dr. S.S. Malik  
10. 2002 T. Chandrasekhar Dr. J.L. Karihaloo  
11. 2002 C. Palrasu Dr. Mahendra Singh  
12. 2002 S. Murugesan Dr. S.S. Malik  
13. 2003 Manjegowda, S.J. Dr. B.S. Dhillon  
14. 2003 D. Kumutha Dr. Mahendra Singh IARI Merit Medal
15. 2003 K. Lakshmi Dr. S.S. Malik  
16. 2004 Manjunatha, T. Dr. I.S. Bisht  
17. 2004 H. Mohan Dr. B.S. Dhillon IARI Merit Medal
18. 2004 Suma, A. Dr. A.K. Singh  
19. 2005 Sunaina Singh Dr. J.L. Karihaloo Award of BEST STUDENT OF THE YEAR
20. 2005 K. Venkatesan Dr. I.S. Bisht  
21. 2005 Santosh Kumar Dr. A.K. Singh  
22. 2006 R. Senthilkumaran Dr. I.S. Bisht  
23. 2006 Saravanan, M. Dr. K.V. Bhat  
24. 2006 Ashok K. Mahariya Dr. B.B. Mandal  
25. 2007 Avinash Pandey Dr. K.V. Bhat  
26. 2007 Ramya, P. Dr. K.V. Bhat IARI Merit Medal
27. 2007 Adhini S. Pazhany Dr. B.B. Mandal  
28. 2008 Fikirte, A. Dr. A.K. Singh  
29. 2008 Gopala  Sundararaj, S. Dr. R.K. Tyagi IARI Merit Medal
30. 2008 Vishal Singh Dr. Veena Gupta  
31. 2009 Santhoshkumar, G. Dr. Veena Gupta  
32. 2010 Sathiyamoorthy, G. Dr. I.S. Bisht  
33. 2010 Shephalika Amrapali Dr. R.P. Dua  
34. 2010 Ajit Uchoi Dr. S.K. Malik  
35. 2011 Rohini, M.R. Dr. S.K. Malik  
36. 2011 Subhash Chander Dr. Shashi Bhalla  
37. 2012 Kuldeep Tripathi Dr. (Mrs.) Shashi Bhalla  
38. 2012 Krishna Prakash Dr. (Mrs.) Anjula Pandey  
39. 2012 Gopal Singh Jatav Dr. (Mrs.) Rekha Chaudhury  
40 2013 Manish Kumar Mittal Dr. M. C. Yadav  
41 2013 Rahul Chandora Dr. M. Dutta  
42 2013 Vikash Chandra Tyagi Dr. (Mrs.)Rekha Chaudhury  
43 2014 Badal Singh Dr. Sunil Archak  
44 2014 Anil Patidar Dr. M.C. Yadav  
45 2014 Pavan K. Malav Dr. Anjula Pandey  
46 2014 Padmavati G. Gore Dr. (Mrs.) Shashi Bhalla IARI Merit Medal
47 2015 Sushil Kumar,C Dr. Sunil Archak  
48 2015 Jagdish Goyanka Dr. Anuradha Agrawal  
49 2015 Rakesh Kumar.B Dr. (Mrs.) G.J. Randhawa  
50 2015 Shailendra Solanki Dr. (Mrs.) Ambika Baldev G.  
51 2016 Mr. Kuwardadra Sahadeo Indaldas Dr. (Mrs.) G.J. Randhawa  
52 2016 Mr. Shivam Kumar Dr Mukesh K. Rana  
53 2016 Mr. Hari Prasath, S Dr. K.C. Bhatt  
54 2016 Mr. Shyam Kumar Dr Anuradha Agrawal  
55 2017 Mr. Anto James Dr. Mukesh K Rana  
56 2017 Ms. Manju Kumari Dr. (Mrs.) Ambika Baldev G.  
57 2017 Mr. Prabakaran S. Dr Jalli Radhamani  
58 2017 Mr. Sunil Naik S Dr. Anuradha Agrawal  

Ph.D. Students
1. 2007 Nidhi Verma Dr. I.S. Bisht  
2. 2007 Shailesh Tiwari Dr. B.B. Mandal  
3. 2008 Santosh Kumar Dr. I.S. Bisht  
4. 2009 Manjunatha, T. Dr. I.S. Bisht  
5. 2009 Sunaina Singh Dr. K.V. Bhat IARI Merit Medal
6. 2010 Avinash Pandey Dr. I.S. Bisht  
7. 2010 Venkatesan, K. Dr. K.V. Bhat  
8. 2011 Ramya, P. Dr. K.V. Bhat  
9. 2011 Saravanan, M. Dr. K.V. Bhat  
10 2013 Logapriyan M. Dr. I.S. Bisht  
11 2013 Gayacharan Dr. I.S. Bisht  
12 2013 Santosh Kumar G. Dr. (Mrs.) Veena Gupta  
13 2014 Rajappa J.J. Dr. K.V. Bhat  
14 2015 Kuldeep Tripathi Dr. (Mrs.) Shashi Bhalla  
15 2016 Mr. Ajit Uchoi Dr S.K. Malik  
16 2016 Mr. Sangh Chandramohan Dr Veena Gupta  
17 2017 Mr. Subhash Chander Dr. K.V. Bhat  
18 2017 Mr. P. Kiran Babu Dr. R.K. Tyagi  
19 2017 Mr. Yegappa Hipparagi Dr. (Mrs.) Veena Gupta  
20 2017 Mr. Nemappa Lambani Dr. S.K. Malik  

List of foreign students

S.No. Year Name of the foreign student Chairperson Country
M. Sc. Students
1. 2001 Dayanand Mandal Dr. S.S. Malik Nepal
2. 2008 Fikerte, A. Dr. A.K. Singh Ethiopia

List of Students’ publications

S.No. Author(s) Title of the article Name of the Journal Volume, Page Number, Year
1. Karihaloo, J.L., Y.K. Dwivedi, Sunil Archak and Ambika Baldev Gaikwad Analysis of genetic diversity of Indian mango cultivars using RAPD markers. Journal Hort. Sci. Biotech. 78: 285- 89, 2003
2. Bhat, K.V, Y. Amravati, P.L. Gautam and K.C. Velayudhan AFLP characterization and classification of Indian banana and plantation cultivars. Plant Genetic Resources Characterization & Utilization 2: 121-130, 2004
3. Venkatesan, K., I.S. Bisht, K.V. Bhat, K. Elayaraja and K.C. Muneem Morphological diversity in naked barley landraces from north-western Himalayas of India. Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources 18: 175-186, 2005.
4. Venkatesan, K., I.S. Bisht and K.V. Bhat Diversity in Himalayan hull-less (Hordeum vulgare L.) landraces using AFLP and STMS markers. Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources 19: 19-29, 2006.
5. Kumar, Santosh, J. Radhamani, Anirudh K. Singh and K.S. varaprasad Germination and seed storage behaviour in Pongamia pinnataL. Current Science 93:910-911, 2007.
6. Manjunatha, T., I.S. Bisht, K.V. Bhat and B.P. Singh Genetic diversity in barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. Vulgare) landraces from Uttaranchal Himalaya of India. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 54: 55-65, 2007.
7. Singh, S., J.L. Karihaloo and A.B. Gaikwad DNA fingerprinting of some mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivars using anchored-ISSR markers Journal Biochem. Biotech. 162: 113-117, 2007.
8. Verma, S., J.L. Karihaloo, S.K. Tiwari., A.K. Koul and R. Mangotra Genetic diversity inEremostanchys superba royle ex Benth. (Lamiaceae), an endangered Himalayan species, analyzed using RAPD markers. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 54: 221-229, 2007
9. Senthilkumaran, R.,  I.S. Bisht, K.V. Bhat and J.C. Rana Diversity in buckwheat (Fagopyrum spp.) landraces populations from north-western Indian Himalayas. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 55:297-302, 2008.
10. Verma, Nidhi,  I.S.Bisht, K.S. Negi and D.K.Hore Morphological diversity inPerilla frutescens (L.) Britt landraces from the Indian Himalayas. Pusa AgriScience,   31: 15-24, 2008.  
11 Nidhi Verma, M.K. Rana, K.S.Negi, Gunjeet Kumar, K.V.Bhatt, Y.J.Park and I.S.Bisht Assessment of genetic diversity in Indian Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton landraces using STMS markers. Indian Journal of Biotechnology 9:43-49, 2010.
12 Verma, Nidhi, M.K. Rana, Gunjeet Kumar, Aparajita Mohanty and I.S.Bisht Genetic diversity of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton using RAPD markers. International Journal of Tropical Agriculture   2:  383-386, 2009.
13 Kumar, S., I.S. Bishtand K.V. Bhat and P.S. Mehta Diversity among different populations of a locally common rice landrace under static (ex situ) and dynamic (in situ) management from north-western Indian Himalayas. PusaAgriscience 32:1-10, 2010.  
14 Kumar, S., I.S. Bishtand K.V. Bhat Population structure of rice (Oryza sativa L.) landraces under farmer management. Annals of Applied Biology   156: 137-146, 2010.
15 Verma, Nidhi,  M.K. Rana, K.S.Negi, Gunjeet Kumar, K.V.Bhatt, Y.J.Park and I.S.Bisht Assessment of genetic diversity in Indian Perilla frutescens (L.) Britton landraces using STMS markers. Indian Journal of Biotechnology 9:43-49, 2010.
16 Kumar S, IS Bisht and KV Bhat  Population structure of rice (Oryza sativa L.) landraces under farmer management. Annals of Applied Biology 156: 137-146, 2010.
17 Kumar, S., A. Pandey, I. S. Bisht, K. V. Bhat and P. S. Mehta Diversity among different populations of a locally common rice (Oryza sativaL.) landrace from north-western Indian Himalayas. Plant Genetic Resources 8:151-158, 2010.
18 Sundarraj, S.G., A. Agrawal and R.K. Tyagi Encapsulation for in vitro short-term storage and exchange of ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) germplasm. Scientia Horticulturae 125: 761-776, 2010.
19 Manjunatha, T.,  I .S. Bisht and K. V Bhat Genetic structure of hull-less barley (Hordeum vulgare L. subsp. vulgare) landrace populations from North-western Indian Himalayas. Indian Journal of Biotechnology, 10: 25-32, 2011.
20 Pandey A, IS Bisht,  KV Bhat and PS Mehta Role of informal seed system in promoting landrace diversity and their on-farm conservation: a case study of rice in Indian Himalayas. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution 58: 1213-1224, 2011.
21 Pandey A, I S Bisht, KV Bhat Population structure of rice (Oryza sativa) landraces from high altitude area of Indian Himalayas. Annals of Applied Biology 160: 16-24, 2012.

List of Professors

S.No Name Period
1 Dr. B. B. Singh 1997-98
2 Dr. B.B. Mandal 1998-2007
3 Dr. S.S. Malik January – July 2008
4 Dr. I.S. Bisht August 2008 – March, 2015
5 Dr. Rekha Chaudhury April 2015 – 10 May 2018
6 Dr. Veena Gupta 10 May 2018  Continuing

List of HODs (For the period 1997-2018)

S.No Name Period
1 Dr. P.L. Gautam August 1997- April 2000
2 Dr. G.D. Sharma (Officiating) May 2000 – August 2000
3 Dr. B.S. Dhillon September 2000- July 2005
4 Dr. J.L. Karihaloo (Officiating) August 2005 – January 2006
5 Dr. A.K. Singh (Officiating) February 2006 – May 2006
6 Dr. S.K. Sharma June 2006 – July 2010
7 Dr. D.C. Bhandari (Officiating) July 2010- October 2010
8 Dr. K.C. Bansal October 2010- August 2016
9 Dr. Kuldeep Singh August 2016- continuing

List of the Faculty Members

S. No Name Designation Division/Unit
1 Dr. Veena Gupta Principal Scientist Professor
2 Dr. Rekha Chaudhury Principal Scientist TCCU
3 Dr. Anjula Pandey Principal Scientist PECD
4 Dr. K.C. Bhatt Principal Scientist PECD
5 Dr. Pratibha Brahmi Principal Scientist PGR Policy
6 Dr. Anuradha Agrawal Principal Scientist TCCU
7 Dr.  Ruchira Pandey Principal Scientist TCCU
8 Dr. Kalyani Srinivasan Principal Scientist GCD
9 Dr. Neelam Sharma Principal Scientist TCCU
10 Dr. Neeta Singh Principal Scientist GCD
11 Dr. J Radha Mani Principal Scientist GCD
12 Dr. Kavita Gupta Principal Scientist PQD
13 Dr. V Celia Chalam Principal Scientist PQD
14 Dr. Vandana Tyagi Principal Scientist GEX
15 Dr. (Mrs.) G J Randhawa Principal Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
16 Dr. Mukesh Kumar Rana Principal Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
17 Dr. (Mrs.) Ambika Baldev Principal Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
18 Dr. Baleshwar Singh Principal Scientist PQD
19 Dr. Archana P. Raina Principal Scientist GED
20 Dr. K.K. Gangopadhyay Principal Scientist GED
21 Dr. S.K. Yadav Principal Scientist GEX
22 Dr. Sandhya Gupta Principal Scientist TCCU
23 Dr. Rakesh Singh Principal Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
24 Dr. Anjali Kak Principal Scientist GCD
25 Dr. Manjusha Verma Principal Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
26 Dr. Sunil Archak Principal Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
27 Dr. Zakaullah Khan Principal Scientist GED
28 Dr. Mool Chand Singh Principal Scientist PQD
29 Dr. M.C. Yadav Principal Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
30 Dr. Sundeep Kumar Principal Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
31 Dr. S. Rajkumar Sr. Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
32 Dr. Rajesh Kumar Sr. Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
33 Dr. Lalit Arya Principal Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
34 Dr. Amit Kumar Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
35 Dr. R. Parimalan Scientist Division of Genomic Resources
36 Dr.  D.B. Parakh Principal Scientist PQD
37 Dr. Sherry Jacob Scientist GCD
38 Dr. Dinesh Prasad Semwal Sr. Scientist PECD
39 Dr. Rakesh Bhardwaj Principal Scientist GED
40 Dr. Vikender Kaur Scientist GED
41 Dr. K.Pradheep Scientist PECD
42 Dr.Rashmi Yadav Scientist GED
43 Monika Singh Scientist Duvusuib if Genomic Resources
44 Dr Kuldeep Tripathi Scientist GED
45 Dr S.P. Ahlawat PS & HoD PECD

  External Student – Approved-Guidelines-students-research-degree-programmes-11-12-2012 

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