Dr. M.J. Baig
Director
ICAR-Central Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Odisha, India
Ph: 0671-236 7757, Fax: 0671-2367663/777
Email: mj.baig@icar.org.in
Dr. M.J. Baig assumed the charge as Director, ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack on April 6, 2025. He obtained his Ph.D. in Botany (Plant Physiology) in 1999 from Utkal University. He started his scientific career as a Scientist (Plant Physiology) in ICAR on 29th June 1995 at the Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute (IGFRI), Jhansi. Over the years, he served in various capacities and joined ICAR-CRRI, Cuttack, as Senior Scientist in 2006, where he continued his research in the division of Physiology & Biochemistry.
With nearly three decades of research experience, Dr. Baig has made significant contributions in the field of rice physiology, particularly in enhancing photosynthetic efficiency and tolerance to abiotic stress. His research has significantly advanced our understanding of low light stress adaptation, drought tolerance, and the physiological basis of yield stability in rice hybrids. One of his notable achievements includes the development of several C4-like rice transgenic lines, an effort directed towards engineering the rice photosynthetic machinery to mimic that of more efficient C4 crops.
His group developed TnpB-based genome editing tools, marking a major stride in post-CRISPR innovations for plant genome engineering. This TnpB tool could reduce dependency on IP-protected Cas9/Cas12a. Dr. Baig’s group also applied prime editing tools to precisely modify the rice PEPC gene, leading to the generation of a novel C4-like PEPC variant in rice—an achievement that has opened new avenues in synthetic biology for crop improvement.
Dr. Baig has two patents filed and over 100 peer-reviewed publications. His Google Scholar profile reports an h-index of 23, i10-index of 58, and over 2132 citations. He has also guided several postgraduate and doctoral students and served as PI/co-PI in multiple ICAR-funded projects. He serves as the PI of coordinating centre for the ‘Incentivizing Research in Agriculture’ project, which involves scientists from 22 different institutes.
Over his distinguished career, Dr. Baig has received several accolades, including ICAR Senior Research Fellowship and top rank in Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Examination 1992. He has recently been conferred with ARRW Fellow-2024.
As Director of ICAR-NRRI, Dr. Baig envisions leveraging next-generation technologies, especially genome editing, synthetic biology, and phenomics, to develop climate-resilient and productivity-enhanced rice varieties, thereby contributing to national food and nutritional security.