Chairperson

Trilochan Mohapatra was born on 20th April, 1962 at village Kharibil, Dist. Cuttack, Odisha, India. He had his early education in the village school (Laxmi Narayan High School, Eranch, Cuttack) and studied in the prestigious Ravenshaw College, Cuttack for Intermediate in Science. He earned his B.Sc. (Agriculture) from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar, and subsequently completed his M.Sc. and Ph.D degrees in Genetics from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. As a scientist, he was involved in research and teaching in the field of Molecular Genetics and Genomics for about 20 years at the National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, IARI, New Delhi. In the year 2012, he moved to the National Rice Research Institute (Formerly CRRI), Cuttack, Odisha as Director, and then to IARI, New Delhi as the Director and Vice Chancellor in the year 2015. Dr Mohapatra worked for more than six years (2016-2022) as Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India as well as the Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). During his tenure as DG, ICAR, the country witnessed significant jumps (Additional more than 10 million tons) in the production of pulses and sugar. He brings with him more 30 years of service experience including 10 years in research management.

Dr. Mohapatra has over 200 research publications in national and international journals of repute and several book chapters. His research contributions include decoding of rice and tomato genomes through international partnership, development of the long-grained Basmati rice variety Pusa Basmati 1121 that earns more than Rs. 15000 crores annually by way of its export, and development of the first high-yielding Basmati rice variety through molecular breeding as well as the first high yielding rice variety containing high grain-protein. He created a large pool of trained human resource in the area of molecular breeding that has enabled successful variety development following this precision approach in different crops. His research experience in the area of molecular profiling of crop varieties, which will be of immense use in carrying out the mandated activities of the Authority.

He carries with him rich experience in the matters pertaining to international agricultural research and development. He served as the Vice-Chair of Governing Body/Executive Committee of International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad and Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), Bangkok, and as a member of Board of Trustees/Governing Board of Biovarsity International (BI), Rome; International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines. and the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA), Morocco. In India, he was the elected President of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), New Delhi for three years (2020-2022) and significantly contributed to more than thirty policy papers/policy briefs/strategy documents covering many contemporary issues and challenges, for use in policy formulation by the government. He also guided three other reputed professional science societies as President: Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding, New Delhi (2018-19); Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics, New Delhi (2017-22) and Indian Society of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad (2018-20). He served as Chairman or Member in several high level committees and participated in policy deliberations.

He has the distinction of receiving several honours and awards in recognition of his excellent academic and research contributions, which include INSA Young Scientist Award, NAAS-Tata Award, DBT Bio-science Award, NASI-Reliance Industries Platinum Jubilee Award, IARI Dr BP Pal Memorial Award, NAAS Recognition Award in Crop Sciences, Indian Genetics Congress Lifetime Achievement Award, and Shri Om Prakash Bhasin Award. He served as a member in the editorial board of three reputed journals: BMC Genetics, Journal Genetics and Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology. In the 50th year of India’s independence, “The Week” magazine identified 50 emerging stars of India and Dr. Mohapatra was one of them.

Dr. Mohapatra is an elected Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), New Delhi; National Academy of Sciences-India (NASI), Allahabad and the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), New Delhi. He has been conferred doctoral degree (honoris causa) by 12 different universities.