The Central Institute of Fisheries Education (CIFE) is the only Deemed University for fisheries in India. It is an institution of higher learning for fisheries science in India. CIFE has over four decades of leadership in HRD with its alumni fuelling the development of fisheries and aquaculture world wide, and has notable research and technological advancements to its credit. [1]
The institute is one of the four main institutes under the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR); the other three being the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), The National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) and the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI)[2]
A total of four subcentres operate under CIFE, including ones at Kolkata (West Bengal), Rohtak (Haryana), Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) and Powerkheda (Madhya Pradesh).
Originally instituted in 1961 as an inservice training centre to impart proficient training and education to fisheries professionals so as to equip them to face the growing challenges in the Fisheries sector. Taking its fruitful efforts of almost twenty years into consideration, CIFE came under the administrative control of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR). It was then conferred Deemed University status in 1989 by the University Grants Commission (UGC).[3] Since then, the Deemed University included both Research and Education in its mandate. It has since made a mark in the knowledge based economy and contributed significantly in enriching the quality of fisheries education.[4]
CIFE offers Masters and PhD programs in specialised branches of fisheries, undertakes cutting edge research, conducts capacity enhancement programs, and provides technical support and consultancy to development agencies, fishers, farmers and entrepreneurs. With a team of dedicated scientists and state-of-art infrastructure facilities, CIFE is actively partnering the knowledge led revolution in order to create fisheries and aquaculture based sustainable rural livelihoods and to ensure food and nutritional security for all. [1]