ICAR-CENTRAL POTATO RESEARCH INSTITUTE, SHIMLA

ICAR-Central Potato Research Institute, also called ICAR-CPRI Shimla, is India's public non-profit potato research institute located in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. It functions as an autonomous institute under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare, Government of India. The institute was established in August 1949 at Patna, Bihar, on the recommendation of the then-Agricultural Advisor to the Government of India, Sir Herbert Steward, with the objective of developing potato varieties, expanding potato cultivation, and devising cultivation techniques suited to local conditions. In 1956, the institute was relocated to Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, to facilitate hybridization work in potato breeding and to maintain seed potato health. It was transferred to the ICAR in April 1966. The institute operates several regional stations across India, including those at Modipuram (Meerut, UP), Jalandhar (Punjab), Gwalior (MP), Patna (Bihar), Shillong (Meghalaya), Ooty (Tamil Nadu), Kufri-Fagu Unit (Shimla, HP), and Rajgurunagar (Pune, Maharashtra). The incumbent director of ICAR-CPRI Shimla is Dr. Brajesh Singh.