by Maleeha Sofi
SRINAGAR: Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST-K) has achieved a new milestone, receiving an all-time high of 18,477 applications for just over 1,000 seats in its latest entrance examination, making it the most sought-after agricultural university in the country. This is a significant contrast to its Jammu counterpart, which attracts barely 4,000 applications annually.
Of the total applicants, 83 per cent (15,173) were from Kashmir and 17 per cent (3,304) from Jammu. Girls accounted for 49 per cent and boys for 51 per cent, with the exam conducted across 24 centres in Kashmir and four in Jammu. This year marks the highest-ever turnout for SKUAST-K’s entrance test.
The unprecedented interest coincides with SKUAST-K’s rapid rise in national recognition. Ranked 5th in India under the NIRF 2023 framework and 10th in 2024 in the agriculture and allied sectors category, SKUAST-K has outpaced most of its peers, including prestigious institutions like IARI and IVRI. It is also among only three universities from Jammu and Kashmir (alongside KU and JU) to secure a top position with a high cumulative score.
Vice Chancellor Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai attributed this success to the university’s ambitious reforms, global academic connections, innovation-driven research, and effective governance. He credited the achievement to teamwork across faculty, students, and staff, noting that SKUAST-K has emerged as a national model for NEP-2020 implementation and a serious destination for higher education.
Adding to its prestige, SKUAST-K continues to attract students from across India. Of its 1,003 candidates on its rolls for the postgraduate and doctoral programmes hail from 31 states and union territories. The state-wise distribution suggested that there are candidates from Rajasthan (91), Himachal Pradesh (56), Kerala (51), Punjab (49), Bihar (44), Jammu & Ladakh (417), Uttar Pradesh (28), Tamil Nadu (29), Andhra Pradesh (30), Karnataka (17), West Bengal (20), Maharashtra (10), Assam (11), Haryana (14), Delhi (10), Madhya Pradesh (13), Manipur (20), Telangana (21), Odisha (6), Jharkhand (9), Gujarat (1), Goa (1), Arunachal Pradesh (7), Meghalaya (5), Tripura (1), Uttarakhand (7), Sikkim (5), Chhattisgarh (10), and Nagaland (9).
With its consistently high rankings, dynamic academic vision, and pan-India applicant base, SKUAST-K is not just Kashmir’s pride but one of the leading institutions shaping agricultural education and research in India today.
