Punjab Agricultural University

Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) was established on October 17, 1962. It was formally inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, on July 8, 1963.

The university now has four constituent colleges, viz. College of Agriculture, College of Agricultural Engineering & Technology, College of Home Science and College of Basic Science & Humanities, besides PAU Pre-Graduation Institutes of Agriculture at Gurdaspur and Bathinda. Presently the university, through 32 departments and 3 schools in the four constituent colleges, offers 43 Master's and 29 Ph.D. Programmes besides 11 under-graduate programmes at Ludhiana and outstations. The university has on its rolls 2917 employees, out of which 771 comprise teaching-faculty and 2146 are non-teaching staff.

The university has 8 Research Stations, located at Ballowal Saunkhri (Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar), Gurdaspur, Faridkot, Bathinda, Abohar, Kapurthala, Usman (Taran Taran) and Dyal Bharang (Amritsar); 3 Fruit Research Stations, situated at Gangian (Hoshiarpur), Bahadurgarh (Patiala) and Jallowal & Lesriwal (Jalandhar); and 4 Seed Farms, located at Naraingarh (Fatehgarh Sahib), Ladhowal (Ludhiana), Nabha (Patiala) and Birsikhanwala (Faridkot).

Modeled on the pattern of Land Grant Colleges of the USA, the Punjab Agricultural University(PAU) is committed to impart teaching, research and extension education in agriculture and its allied fields. Its immense contribution in overall growth in agriculture and in human resource development has given it the status of the biggest engine of development in Punjab and one of the best Agricultural Universities in Asia.

The University is a focal point of several new scientific discoveries and innovations which have triggered rapid agricultural transformation in the country. It is proud of its alumni who have contributed in improving the agricultural production and have enabled a relatively small state of Punjab with only 4.2 m ha cultivated area to contribute 50-70 per cent wheat and 35-40 per cent rice towards central food reserves of the country. This is a consequence of path-breaking research at PAU backed by worldclass teaching, and extension services provided at the door-step of farmers, and the continuous Government policy support. Further, Punjab is producing 39% apiary honey of the country as a result of introduction and promotion of Italian honey bee and 10% mushrooms. Since inception, the University has developed/recommended 829 varieties/hybrids of different crops out of which 173 varieties have also been released at national level. The varieties developed by Punjab Agricultural University became popular not only in Punjab but also in other states.

Mission:

• Excellence in teaching, research and extension.
• Developing quality human resource.
•  Undertaking basic, applied and adaptive research.
• Developing and promoting appropriate technologies for supporting agro-based industries for enhancing farm income and generating self-employment opportunities for the youth.
• Developing effective mechanism to transfer knowledge, skills and technology to farmers and agricultural organizations through extension services.
• Improving socio-economic conditions of the farming community through cost-effective technologies.
• Seeking appropriate solutions to emerging problems and challenges.

Main campus of Punjab Agricultural University is spread over an area of 1222 acre (Colleges and Residential 531 acre and Research farms 691 acre). The administrative building Thapar Hall has been named after the founder Vice Chancellor of the University, Dr P. N. Thapar. In addition to well furnished classrooms, there are sufficient number of State-of-the-Art smart classrooms in each college equipped with LCD projector, computer with power back-up, interactive board, internet connectivity and recording facilities.  Facilities are available for video-conferencing in College of Agricultural Engineering & Technology, College of Basic Sciences & Humanities and College of Home Science.