The XXVIII Research Advisory Committee (RAC) meeting of the ICAR–CPCRI, Kasaragod, was held on 24-25 February 2026. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Balraj Singh, Former Vice Chancellor, SKNAU, Jobner, Rajasthan, and chairman of the RAC. The other members of the RAC include: Dr. K.V. Bhat, Former Principal Scientist, ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi; Dr. P. Devasenapathy, Retired Professor, TNAU, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu; Dr. Chinmay Biswas, Principal Scientist, Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres, Barrackpore, West Bengal; Dr. V. Palanimuthu, Director, National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu and Dr. Prem Chand, CACP, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi; Dr. Prem Chand, CACP; Dr. Tejaswi G. Gowda, Jeevan Jyothi Estate, Mudigere (IMC member); Dr. V.B. Patel, Assistant Director General (HS-I), ICAR, KAB-II, New Delhi; K. Balachandra Hebbar, Director, ICAR-CPCRI, Kasaragod and Dr. V. Niral, Pr. Scientist & Head, Division of Crop Improvement, ICAR-CPCRI, Kasaragod (Member Secretary). All members of the RAC participated in the deliberations, with Dr. Prem Chand joining online.

The RAC meeting was attended by Heads of divisions, Heads of regional stations, thematic programme leaders and scientific staff from Headquarters, Regional Station Vittal and Research Centre, Kidu. The meeting commenced with an introductory presentation by the Director, K. B. Hebbar, outlining the overall organizational structure, mandate, achievements, and strategic directions of the Institute. This was followed by the presentation of the Action Taken Report (ATR) on the recommendations of the XXVII RAC, by the Member Secretary Dr. V. Niral. Subsequently, the Programme Leaders of the eight thematic areas, presented the activities undertaken during the review period, highlighting key achievements and outlining future research directions under their respective projects.

The RAC members visited the fields and laboratories of the Institute and obtained information on the current facilities. The Committee, after reviewing the progress of research at the Institute, gave recommendations for fine tuning the research activities. These will be incorporated into the institute research projects for implementation, in the forthcoming Institute Research Council (IRC) meeting.