The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) is an institution par excellence for agricultural research and education in the country. The Division of Genetics at IARI, widely regarded as the "Seat of Green Revolution" in India, is one of the important pillars of this institute. This Division has been in existence at IARI since 1960. Since its inception, the Division has been making significant contributions to basic, strategic and applied research in genetics and plant breeding of various crops as well as model genetic organisms. The leadership and vision of several eminent scientists, such as Dr. B.P. Pal, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, Dr. A.B. Joshi, Dr. H.K. Jain and Dr. V.L. Chopra, have immensely contributed to the development of the Division of Genetics at IARI as a center of excellence in teaching and research related to genetics and plant breeding.

The Division of Genetics has nurtured a large contingent of post-graduate students, both from India and abroad. Alumni of the Division have either served or have been serving diverse national and international research organizations as geneticists and plant breeders of high repute. In its endeavour to develop highly trained human resources, the Division has been continuously upgrading its postgraduate education and research programmes, keeping in view the recent developments in crop genetics and breeding.