The new programme on Niche areas of Excellence was started by the ICAR with the objective of building excellence in specific strategic areas in education and research. This new programme provides support in one or at the maximum two niche areas of excellence in each AU for sustaining and augmenting the regional, national and global advantage. The element of niche areas of excellence include improving quality of human resource, developing adequate infrastructure, creating facilities for access to information, addressing attitude and commitment of faculty, staff, students, recognition and interaction with best of peer groups in India and abroad, shared vision and well developed education technology system. Accordingly, the strategy for excellence building includes niche area identification i.e. strategic strength, brand equity management of facilities and faculty, limiting inbreeding, input generation, and establishing linkages and partnerships.

Presently 29 Niche Areas of Excellence have been established by the ICAR functioning in 29 Agricultural Universities in the country to augment strategic strength of AUs in specific areas including those in new and emerging cutting-edge technologies. Significant achievements have been made in the areas covered viz. use of inland saline/ sodic soils for aquaculture, temperate fruits, arsenic toxicity management, biofuels, production of (fin-) fishes, functional fermented dairy products with synbiotics (probiotics + perbiotics), medicinal and aromatic plants/products, acid soil management, resource conservation technologies, management of acidic soils, organic agriculture, integrated pest management hi-tech horticulture, genetic engineering for drought resistance, immuno-diagnostics, buffalo genomics, protected floriculture, nectraceuticals, improving water productivity, production of bioagents etc. Following criteria was employed for identification of a niche area of excellence in research and human resource development:

For building excellence in specific strategic areas in education and research, support is provided to Aus for sustaining the regional, national and global advantage attained by them in one or at the maximum two niche areas of excellence. The niche areas of excellence programme aims at: (i) to achieve educational excellence in teaching, research, consultancy & other services, and (ii) such excellence should be capable of updating itself in accordance with best of global experience & trends & of being responsive to regional & national & social & economic needs.

The assistance is available for expenditure on state of art equipments, specialized items of works, modernization of existing laboratories/ class rooms and other teaching/ learning facilities and contingencies. Each project will have a Principle Investigator who would be responsible for formulating the proposal and its implementation. The Agricultural Universities are asked to develop elaborate proposal with action plans and cost estimates for the consideration of the Council. The strategy suggested for building excellence may include: (i) niche area identification – brand equity, (ii) management of facilities and faculty, (iii) limit inbreeding, (iv) inputs-public and self generated, and (v) linkages – interfacing and collaborating. Various elements of niche areas of excellence suggested to be kept in view while formulating the project document include (i) quality of human resource, (ii) adequate infrastructure, access to information, (iii) attitude and commitment of faculty, staff, students, (iv) recognition and interaction with best of peer groups in India and abroad, (v) shared vision, and (vi) well developed educational technology system.