(a) the names of the seeds in which Indian Council of Agricultural Research has recently made a break-through;
(b) the details of plans of the Council in this regard during the Tenth Five Year Plan;
(c) the number of Scientists of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research alongwith the names of their respective fields as well as the annual expenditure being incurred by the Government?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE (SHRI KANTILAL BHURIA)
(a) The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is mandated to produce breeder seed of different crops in the country which in turn is used for the production of foundation seed and certified seed. During 2003-2004, 68465.00 qtls of breeder seed of different crops have been produced. Major break through in terms of higher production of breeder seed have been in potato, oilseeds, wheat, rice and pulses.
(b) Research plans for the Tenth Plan period concentrate on areas like seed production technology, seed pathology, breeder seed production, seed processing and storage. An allocation of Rs.5634.29 lakhs has been earmarked for this purpose during the Tenth Plan period.
(c) In the Indian Council of Agricultural Research over 500 scientists are working for production of breeder seed and seed technology research. The major disciplines of these scientists are plant breeding, seed technology, seed physiology, seed entomology, bio-chemistry, agronomy, soil science, vegetable science, horticulture and biotechnology etc. During 2003-04, the annual expenditure on research on seed production has been Rs.980.20 lakhs.