Hisar, Haryana: Seeking better financial management of agricultural universities, the annual finance conference of agricultural varsities began at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) here on Friday.

The conference, organized by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), is being attended by financial officers of about 60 agricultural universities of the country, a HAU spokesman said here.

ICAR Deputy Director General Arvind Kumar stressed the need for providing more financial assistance to the agricultural universities.

"The agricultural universities have played a vital role in making the country self sufficient in agriculture production. But less than one percent of the total agriculture domestic product was being provided for agriculture education, research and its extension, which is a matter of deep concern," he pointed out.

"During the recent global meltdown when the economy of the developed countries went into disarray, the Indian economy remained immune to the economic recession due to the weight of its strong agriculture economy," he added.

HAU Vice Chancellor K.S. Khokhar said that the agricultural universities were the responsibility of the state governments.

"The ICAR is providing 60 percent of its budget as financial assistance to these universities. However, agricultural universities continue to look towards the ICAR for more financial assistance," Khokhar said. IANS