Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Samastipur

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, formerly Rajendra Agricultural University, is a public central agriculture university under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, recognised as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India. It is located in Pusa, Samastipur district, Bihar. Its origins trace back to the Imperial Agriculture Research Institute, whose foundation stone was laid by Lord Curzon in 1905 with funding from Henry Phipps, Jr. The institute gained imperial status in 1918 but was relocated to New Delhi after a 1934 earthquake, becoming what is now the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. The remaining facility was downgraded until the Bihar government established Rajendra Agricultural University on 3 December 1970. In 2016, following passage of the Central University Bill by the Parliament of India, it was upgraded to a Central Agricultural University and renamed after Dr. Rajendra Prasad. The university has five faculties, including Agriculture, Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Agricultural Engineering, and Basic Sciences, Humanities & Home Science, along with several constituent colleges. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD, and MBA programs. In 2024, it was ranked 29th in India in agriculture by NIRF.