ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana

The 28th of February, 2026, was celebrated as National Science Day across India with the theme ‘Women in Science: Catalysing Viksit Bharat.’ On this occasion, the ICAR–National Research Centre for Banana hosted an ‘Open Day,’ welcoming the public and stakeholders to witness its activities first-hand. Over 2,500 students from more than 35 schools and colleges from Tiruchirappalli, Karur, Thanjavur, and Pudukottai, along with more than 300 banana farmers, entrepreneurs, and members of the general public, participated in the Open Day. Dr. D. Gowrisankar, Director of the Office of International and Interagency Cooperation, ISRO, Bengaluru, graced the occasion as Chief Guest. During his Chief Guest address, he highlighted the activities and achievements of ISRO in space research and development and also underlined the opportunities in ISRO for youngsters. Further, he emphasised the progress in space research and how it benefits the earth, the environment, and society and highlighted the ISROs efforts in building BharatiyaAntariksh Station (BAS-Indian Space station) and the role women engineers for the same. He pointed out the SPADEX (Space Docking Experiment) mission of ISRO and its contribution, by which India became the fourth space docking agency to demonstrate autonomous docking. Further, he underlined the importance of women’s role in space research and development. He also shared updates on Chandrayaan-4 and Chandrayaan-5 and the importance of space research in predicting drought and soil moisture to forecast natural calamities and to improve agricultural productivity. He finally concluded by highlighting the role of ISRO in reducing the space between space and society, which is the prime objective of the present Government of India. Dr. R. Selvarajan, Director of ICAR–NRCB, delivered the presidential address, highlighting gene-editing technology and emphasizing the importance of science in agriculture, which has helped transform food-deficient situations into food-surplus ones. The occasion was graced by distinguished Guests of Honour: Dr.Murali Gopal, Head, Division of PB & PHT, ICAR-CPCRI, Kasaragod; Dr. M. Srinivas Prasad, Head-Crop Protection, ICAR-IIRR, Hyderabad; and Naturopath G. Sither, Laycowin Organics, Thanjavur. To highlight this year’s theme, women scientists from various departments of ICAR-NRCB delivered special lectures on important scientific advancements in banana research. They covered topics such as quality planting materials, biotechnology, breeding methods, production technologies, and the role of fungi. The event showcased more than 40 scientific concepts and over 100 exhibits for students. Visitors explored technologies developed in the banana improvement, production, post-harvest, and protection arena. Video presentations on banana technologies were also screened during the program. A diverse range of banana fruits, including ICAR-NRCB-developed cultivars, popular cultivars, landraces, and wild germplasm lines, were displayed. Visitors also toured the ICAR-NRCB farm, where post-harvest machineries and the banana field gene bank were showcased. With 500 germplasm accessions collected from India and abroad, ICAR-NRCB maintains Asia’s largest field gene bank for banana. Visitors learned about the diversity of banana germplasm and the significance of the field gene bank in banana breeding programs. Stalls offering banana-based value-added products, tissue culture plants, and ornamental plants were set up, along with stalls displaying various agricultural inputs, for the benefit of students and farmers. The programme started with the welcome address by Dr. M. MayilVaganan and ended with the vote of thanks by Dr. C. Karpagam.