Prof K C Bansal (April 24, 1955) is currently the Secretary of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), India and has more than 40 years of research and research management experience of working with different institutions of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Govt. of India, and abroad like United Nations as a technical expert representing India at FAO, Rome and Geneva.
Prof Bansal headed a premier central institution of ICAR at Pusa, New Delhi i.e., the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), which has five Divisions, three units and an experimental farm at its Headquarters in New Delhi and ten Regional Stations located in different geographical zones of the country. Prof Bansal has coordinated successfully at national level several research projects including a mega joint R&D National Project on Transgenics in Crops covering over 20 research institutions in the country.
Prof Bansal played a key role too in formulating the World Bank supported Project (worth US $ 165 million; Rs 1100 crores) of ICAR on higher agricultural education (NAHEP), which was implemented across 75 Agricultural Universities around the country. The major thrust of the NAHEP is on enhanced quality and relevance of higher agricultural education to facilitate and undertake human capacity for developing self-motivated professionals and entrepreneurs in view of the changing scenario of globalization of education. Internationally, Prof. Bansal is Member of the Board of Directors of the Global Plant Council.
Sir, what is your Personal background/ upbringing/ early education and Motivation to pursue research career.
I was born on April 24, 1955. I lived my childhood life up to class five in a village of Haryana where I had the fortune of being taught by excellent teachers (Sh. Mangat Ram and Sh. Mansa Ram), who helped me to develop a strong foundation particularly in Mathematics. There was no electricity in our village around the late 1950s and early 60s, and we used to study with the help of lanterns, mostly at the teacher’s home at night. During this period of my schooling in the village, my grandparents supported me fully and played a vital role in completing my education up to Class 5 with flying colours. My father Sh. OP Bansal lived at that time out of Hisar while serving in the Government of Haryana, and my mother Smt. Rameti Bansal as a housewife.
After my schooling in the village, I shifted to Hisar, and had the good fortune of finding my way to one of the best schools of that region, i.e., the Public School of Hisar in Haryana. The Principal of the School Dr DN Sharma was the most learned personality of his times. He gave us deep insights while teaching English as a language, and the school helped shape my future by advancing my knowledge in English and Mathematics. During this period of my schooling, I was fortunate to discover two of my classmates Jagdeep Bhargava and Kuldeep Jain as my best friends, who were already there in that School since Class I, and both played a key role in my upbringing, early growth and further career development.
The Article for Subscribers Only!
