Dr. Rajesh Kumar Mittal
Agricultural scientist, academic leader and institution builder — a career spent raising the standard of agricultural education in India and carrying its science into the wider world.
A Career Spent Building the Institutions Others Learn In
Dr. Rajesh Kumar Mittal is a distinguished agricultural scientist, academic leader and institution builder, with extensive experience across higher agricultural education, research, governance and international collaboration.
He has served as Vice-Chancellor of two leading agricultural universities in India — Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Meerut, and Rajendra Agricultural University, Pusa, Bihar, now Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University. He also served as Assistant Director General (Education Quality Assurance & Reforms) and Officer on Special Duty (International Relations) at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), where he provided strategic leadership in strengthening India’s national agricultural research and education system.
Throughout that career he has spearheaded major reforms in agricultural education — accreditation and quality assurance, curriculum modernisation, institutional capacity building, and the integration of research, education and extension. He has contributed significantly to institutional and country-level partnerships across Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.
His record of institutional development is exceptional. During his tenure as Vice-Chancellor he established three new constituent colleges and twelve Krishi Vigyan Kendras, introduced 41 new academic programmes along with several other innovative initiatives, and played a pivotal role in the transformation of RAU into DrRPCAU, a Central Agricultural University.
As an Independent Director (IICA Certified) on the Board of Kaveri Seed Company Limited, he broadened that experience further — contributing to corporate governance, strategic planning, institutional management, risk oversight and organisational development within the private seed sector.
His scientific contributions lie in the seed and field pathology of pulses and oilseed crops, where he was associated with the development of four improved crop varieties, identified 36 previously unreported diseases and pathogens, and developed 16 cultural, chemical and integrated disease management technologies. He is internationally recognised for pioneering work in the seed pathology of forest tree species: as a DANIDA Visiting Scientist in Denmark and an NSERC Visiting Fellow in Canada, he conducted advanced research on fungal diseases affecting orthodox and recalcitrant tree seeds through collection, storage, germination, nursery management and seed health testing, covering fifteen important forest tree species.
Positions Held
Academic, governmental, corporate and professional offices across four decades of service.
Built as Vice-Chancellor
- Three new constituent colleges established
- Twelve Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) established
- 41 new academic programmes introduced, alongside several other innovative initiatives
- Pivotal role in the transformation of RAU into DrRPCAU, a Central Agricultural University
- Reforms in accreditation and quality assurance, curriculum modernisation and institutional capacity building
- Integration of research, education and extension across the university system
Research Contributions
- Associated with the development of four improved crop varieties
- Identified 36 previously unreported diseases and pathogens
- Developed 16 cultural, chemical and integrated disease management technologies
- Seed and field pathology of pulses and oilseed crops
- Pioneering work in the seed pathology of forest tree species, covering fifteen important species
- Research on fungal diseases of orthodox and recalcitrant tree seeds through collection, storage, germination, nursery management and seed health testing
Ph.D.-level research carried out in India, Denmark and Canada, with institutional and country-level partnerships built across Asia, Africa, Europe and North America.
Honours & Awards
National and international recognition of a lifetime’s contribution to agricultural science and education.
Man of the Year Award
Conferred by the American Biographical Institute, USA.
Prof. H.K. Barua Memorial Lecture Award
Conferred by the Indian Mycological Society.
National Education Award
For Outstanding Contribution to Education, conferred by ABP News.
Prof. S.S. Chahal Lifetime Achievement Award
Conferred by the Indian Society of Mycology and Plant Pathology.
Rajesh Pilot Memorial Award & Honorary Fellowship
Received the Rajesh Pilot Memorial Award, and Honorary Fellowship of the Uttar Pradesh Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lucknow.
Hukum Singh Memorial Award
In recognition of sustained contribution to agriculture and education.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Conferred by the Advance Research Institute for Development of Social Science, Meerut.
Fellowships & Memberships
Fellow of Four Scientific Societies
Presidencies
International Bodies
International Collaboration
Experience Lent, Not Retired.
As Patron, Dr. Mittal brings to the Initiative a lifetime of academic leadership, scientific rigour and institutional judgment — and the conviction that such experience belongs in service, not in storage.