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Agriculture Sciences and allied courses like Agriculture Engineering, Fisheries Sciences, Sericulture, Plant Biology, Dairy Technology and Aquaculture need special aptitude. Students strongly interested in the subject only should take up these courses. India is a country which is hugely depending up on the products of agriculture. It is an important driving force of the Indian economy. The sector has been getting modernized in various aspects like forming methods, cultivation and production techniques, marketing and investment patterns. The sector has been given renewed emphasis by the state and central governments in terms of education, training, research and development. Specialized universities have been established across the country. Almost all the states in India have exclusive Universities for Agriculture Science and allied courses.

Apart from traditional courses, agriculture education has been tied up with technology and management courses in India. There are top rung institutes like IIMs offering highly reputed courses like Agri Business Management. You can join these courses through CAT. Most of the state level universities admit students through Common Entrance Tests conducted by respective state boards. You can pursue B.Sc. (Agriculture); M.Sc., Ph.D. and Diploma courses as well based on your qualification and performance in selection tests. Following are some of the good institutes for Agricultural Science courses in India:

1. Haryana Agriculture University, College of Agriculture, Haryana
2. Central Agricultural University, Imphal .
3. Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai.
4. Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar.
5. Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Palampur
6. Acharya N.G.Ranga Agricultural University, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. (Branches are in Bapatla, Tirupathi, Naura and Aswaraopet)
7. Forestry Research Institute, Dehra Dun.
8. Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat .
9. Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi .
10. Gujarat Agricultural University, Sardar Krushinagar.
11. IIT – Kharagpur, Kharagpur . (Offers PGDM in Agri Business Management.
12. Agriculture College and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
13. Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi.
14. Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture at BHU, Varanasi.
15. Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Chennai.
16. University of Agricultural Sciences, Krishinagar, Dharwad
17. Institute of Agriculture Sciences, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
18. Kerala Agricultural University, Vellanikkara, Thrissur.
19. Narendra Deva University of Agricultural and Technology, Faizabad.
20. Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar .
21. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology. Pantnagar
22. Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner.
23. National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Rajendra Nagar, Hyderabad.
24. Institute of Agriculture, AMU, Aligarh.
25. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.
26. Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Jabalpur.
27. Sher-E-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Shalimar Campus, Srinagar-191 121/ Camp Office: Railway Road, Jammu .
28. Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore.
29. National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal.
30. University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore.

Question 1: My daughter is studying B. Tech in Biotech at Hyderabad. I do not know the future of this subject and job possibilities. Do you think she should continue with this subject or it is better to switch over to some other one? Please guide me.

Answer: It depends on the long term planning and goal of career and the financial status of a family. In general longer duration of study (Ph.D or Post Doctoral Fellowship) is required to get established in a biotechnological area. If you have such plans and you are ready to provide her that time then biotech is fine. The rest of the thing required is her devotion towards her study. If such is not the scenario then she can shift to MBA or other such courses. The present opportunity scenario is not much good for these courses at undergraduate level, but still there will be a requirement in near future again. Do not expect short term gains in the areas of Biotech. If you reach the height of the academics in Biotech like Ph.D. or Post doc in premier institutes many national labs and academic institutions like IITs are looking forward to absorb them.

Question 2: I am studying B.Sc. (BiPC). I want to study M.Sc. Chemistry. Is it better to go for General Chemistry or Organic Chemistry? What is the difference between these tow subjects?

Answer: To keep your options open, its better to choose general chemistry but demand for organic chemistry is there in pharmaceutical sector. So if you are targeting a career in such sector then you can opt for Organic Chemistry. It is difficult to get a job with M.Sc. and you need not wait if you complete Ph.D. in Synthetic Chemistry or related to Organic Chemistry.

Question 3: I have completed my 12th standard. How to become a scientist in Biology? I want to know about the courses and the best colleges in India to study that course?

Answer: Achieving a scientific career requires patience, diligence and perseverance. So to become a scientist you have to finish your undergraduation, graduation followed by a Ph.D and later on Post Docs. Your chances will be better if you complete all these courses from reputed colleges. The scenario of Biology two decades back is different from the present. Many opportunities are there for qualified biologist. For your information many Physics, Chemistry and other related areas scientists are switching towards Biology since grand challenging problems in Biology are there with more and much funding from government and corporate research agencies. Many scientific positions are available in many national labs in India and looking for good candidates with excellent scientific background.