Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering

The Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering was established in 1974 after trifurcation of the erstwhile Department of Agricultural Engineering (established in 1965). The Department was created to pursue excellence in teaching, research, industrial interaction and farmer’s participatory on-farm research and development. The Resident Instruction Programme in Farm Power and Machinery comprises of undergraduate degree programme for the students of College of Agricultural Engineering and College of Agriculture. M.Tech and Ph.D. programmes are the flagship programmes of the Department. This centre is perhaps the only place in India pursuing an active research programme in design and development in Farm Power and Machinery spanning the broad areas of Design Theory and Methodology, Human Factors in Design, Tillage and Traction, Off-road Vehicle Design, Simulation and Testing. It was recognized as Centre for Advanced Studies in Farm Power and Machinery during the IXth Plan by the ICAR (1997-2002). It has a well established Farm Machinery Testing Centre to cater to needs of Farm Machinery manufacturing industry and has an active liaison with the industry in R&D. One of the latest additions to the elite institute is dedicated Prototype Production and Manufacturer Training Centre (PPMTC) towards the advancement of knowledge to the users through continuous research. Recently the Department has established tractor diagnostic facility to provide hands-on training to the budding engineers and entrepreneurs in collaboration with New Holland Tractors, a unique venture in the country. The core competency of the Department lies in the successful amalgamation of research in design. Department firmly believes that product designers and design researchers are complementary to each other, while designers create products to improve work environment and economy of the society, design researchers develop effective design methods and techniques for betterment of design. Department since inception has trained 104 M.Tech., 28 Ph.D. scholars apart from contributing its efforts in training nearly 1500 graduate engineers. It would be worthwhile to mention that most of the graduate engineers from the College have got employment with tractor industry. Department has also developed more than three dozen technologies. Most of these technologies have been commercialized and are being extensively used by the farmers in the region. Department has so far trained more than 20,000 progressive farmers/ tractor users in proper upkeep, maintenance operations and minor repair of tractors and farm machinery. It has also trained about five hundred extension engineers and about two hundred farm machinery manufacturers. The Department has also trained more than one hundred fifty engineers and managers from the tractor industries, bankers, IAS probationers and international trainees from Afro-Asian countries. Departmental research hall has become important visiting site for visitors from all over the country and dignitaries from across the world.