Board of studies

S.No	Name	Designation
1.	Dr. B. J. Pandian	Principal
2.	Dr. P. Baskar	(Assoc. Prof) & Head, Crop Management
3.	Dr. K. Senthil Kumar	Head, Crop Improvement
4.	Mr. V. Dhanasekar	Head, Crop Protection
5.	Dr. P. G. Dhamotharan	(Assoc. Prof) & Head, Social Sciences
6.	Dr. R.P. Jagadeeshkanth	Head, Horticulture
7.	Dr. S. Hemalatha	Assoc. Prof (SS&AC)
8.	Dr.P.Manju	Asst. Professor (ANM)
9.	Dr.K.Shobanchakravathy	Asst. Professor (AGR)
10.	Dr.A.Vijaya kumar , Former Director Directorate of Student’s Welfare, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University	External Expert -1

Governing Council

KIA is governed by a governing council members and sets the strategic directions of the Institution and supports its growth and advancement. The GC members have rich and wide experience in the governance of academic Institutions and Industry.

S. No.	Name	Designation
	Trust Nominees
1.	Dr. B. K. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, Chairman, Kumaraguru Institutions, Coimbatore	Chairman
2.	Mr. M. Balasubramaniam, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Sakthi Finance Ltd. Coimbatore	Member
3.	Mr. Shankar Vanavarayar, Joint Correspondent, Kumaraguru Institutions, Coimbatore	Member
4.	G. Muniasamy, Executive Director, Kumaraguru Institutions.	Member
5.	Dr. Vijila Kennedy, Principal, KCLAS, Coimbatore	Member
	TNAU Nominee
6.	Dr. P. Irene Vethamoni Dean (Horticulture), HCRI, TNAU, Chairman of Board of studies in UG (Horticulture) TNAU.	Member
	External Experts
7.	Dr.S.Babu, Dean (Agriculture), VIT, Vellore	Member
8.	Dr. Rahul Mirchandani, Chairman and Managing Director, Aries Agro limited, Mumbai	Member
9.	Dr. Shankar Venugopal, Vice President, Mahindra and Mahindra, Technology innovation and knowledge management, Chennai	Member
10.	Mr. Srikanth Suryanarayan, Managing Director, Ishka Farms, Tuticorin	Member
11.	Dr.E. Vadivel, Strategic Advisor (FPOs), Tamil Nadu Consortium of Farmer Producer Company Ltd.	Member
	Ex Officio
12.	Dr.B.J.Pandian, Principal, Kumaraguru Institute of Agriculture, Erode	Member(Ex-oﬃcio)

Dr. B. K. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, Chairman, Kumaraguru Institutions, Coimbatore

Dr. B.K.Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, born in an aristocratic family from Pollachi qualified himself as a Barrister and later entered business. The high ideals of Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi had a profound impact on him. B.K.Krishnaraj Vanavarayar has served in the Management Committees of many leading schools and colleges and worked for making values an integral part of the curriculum.

Mr. M. Balasubramaniam, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Sakthi Finance Ltd. Coimbatore

Mr. M. Balasubramaniam, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the Company, holds Masters Degree in Commerce from Madras University and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Notre Dame University, USA. He was the Chairman of Coimbatore Zone of Confederation of Indian Industry as also a member of the Management Committee of Coimbatore Management Association. He is presently a senate member in Bharathiyar University, Coimbatore. Holding Directorship in most of the Sakthi Group of Companies he is also serving as the Correspondent of the Kumaraguru College of Technology and Secretary of Nachimuthu Gounder Mahalingam College.

Mr. Shankar Vanavarayar, Joint Correspondent, Kumaraguru Institutions, Coimbatore

Mr. Shankar Vanavarayar is an accomplished business and organisation leader, a spirited patron of arts, history and heritage, a successful entrepreneur and an inspired educationist. In a highly dynamic and diversified professional career spread over 15 years, he has held leadership positions in businesses, educational institutions, social development organizations and programs within The Sakthi Group, and in the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He has a proven track record in building teams, strategic planning, managing programs and operations in multiple domains spanning business (textiles, automotive, financial services, agri-foods, retail), education (arts, science & technology), culture and heritage, community and social development, international youth affairs, cross national institutions and alliances etc.

G. Muniasamy, Executive Director, Kumaraguru Institutions

G Muniasamy is an Engineer and Management Professional with rich experience in Banking, Financial Services, IT and Academic Institutions. He is currently the Executive Director, Kumaraguru Institutions. He is part of the strategic team in Admission Management, Financial Planning, New initiatives etc. He had played a significant role in the development of Kumaraguru Institute of Agriculture during its initial years. He also plays strategic roles in group institutions like Sakthi Polytechnic College, NGM College, Suddha Sanmarga Nilayam Institutions @ Vadalur.

Dr. Vijila Kennedy, Principal, KCLAS, Coimbatore

Dr. Vijila Edwin-Kennedy is a distinguished academician and an able administrator, who currently holds the position of the Principal of Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts & Science. Being the Founding Principal, she brings a blend of scholarship, professionalism, administrative competence and Integrity. She has a proven track record of being a visionary and an excellent administrator which has made her to excel in Institution building.

Dr. P. Irene Vethamoni

Presently Professor Irene Vethamoni is the Dean (Horticulture), HCRI, TNAU, Chairman of Board of studies in UG (Horticulture) TNAU, Coimbatore, Member of Board of studies in PG Education, TNAU, Coimbatore, Admission Committee Member UG / PG TNAU, Coimbatore and Academic Council Member, TNAU, Coimbatore. She also served as a Nominee Chairman of ASRB selection boards. She has published 3 books and 75 research papers in National and International reputed journals and guided many PG and PhD scholars..

Dr. S. Babu

Dr. S. Babu, Dean Agriculture, and Director School of Agricultural Innovations And Advanced Learning (VAIAL), at Vellore Institute of Technology. He is currently leading the Agriculture team in Vellore Institute of Technology with USP of precision farming and smart agriculture. Teaching genomics, proteomics, plant biotechnology, plant pathology and farming systems courses at VIT. He has handled many research projects and published more than 75 research papers.

Dr. Rahul Mirchandani

Dr. Rahul Mirchandani has 23 years of experience as Director of Aries Agro Limited Ranked amongst the 30 Most Innovative CEOs in India in 2014, he has pioneered several unique marketing processes and brand management tactics at Aries. He holds a Doctorate in Management Studies from NMIMS University, Mumbai and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and holds an MBA from the University of Canberra, Australia. A Past National Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s Young Indians (CII-Yi), he is the architect of Yi’s Farmers Net program and has served on the CII Agriculture, Innovation, International Policy and India@75 National Councils.

Dr. Shankar Venugopal

Dr. Shankar Venugopal , Vice President, Mahindra & Mahindra leads technology innovation for the Automotive & Farm services business (AFS). He heads the intellectual property (Patents) and knowledge management functions. He is also the Dean of the Mahindra Technical Academy. Shankar is passionate about developing sustainable urban mobility solutions and his current interests span across electric vehicles, connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles and precision farming. He holds ten international patents and numerous new product innovation awards. He has developed a proprietary innovation methodology – Innovation FLOW – and trained 1000 + inventors and innovators. Shankar obtained a Ph.D in Materials Science and a gold medal for the best doctoral thesis from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Shankar completed his executive management program from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. He teaches technology innovation management at premier engineering & management institutes in India & abroad.

Mr. Srikant Suryanarayan

On completing his Bachelor in Commerce from St. Alberts College Kochi, Kerala in 1993, Srikant proceeded to the University of Canberra for his Masters in Business Administration, specializing in International Business. In 2004, he joined the prestigious Wharton Fellows Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and in 2016 the Aspen Institute, Italy. As Managing Director of the Tradelinks Group and a second-generation entrepreneur, his primary responsibility is to drive growth and explore new business opportunities. He has chalked out the group’s expansion strategy and vision: “film to farm to food to fork” this past decade. His entrepreneurship experiences, youth social engineering with Young Indian (Yi), and deep faith in the Indian growth story are passionate and unique strengths he brings to the company.

Dr. E. Vadivel

Dr. E. Vadivel, Former Dean (Horticulture) & Former Director (Extension Education), TNAU, Coimbatore. Currently, he is serving as a strategic Advisor of FPO’s incorporated 55 Farmers Producer companies with 1000 farmers in each. He was the state level consultant for collective farming project during 2017 – 20. He is the chairman and Managing trustee Agri systems Foundation. He served in various capacities and he is serving as an expert committee member for many organization and Institutes.

Dr. B. J.Pandian, Principal, KIA

Prof. B. J. Pandian is prominent among the students as an acclaimed Agronomy intellectual. He has tutored in Undergraduate Agronomy Courses for 14 years (full time) in AC & RI Madurai and Killikulam campuses. He also served as the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Coordinator and Warden. He was the Head of the Department of Soil and Crops, AC&RI, Killikulam. He has guided thirteen Postgraduate and five Ph.D. students in the course of his tenure. He served as the Curriculum Development Member for syllabus revision. He introduced and formulated the syllabus for the course, Agricultural Heritage and was the resource person in framing curricula to both UG and PG students. He was in charge of preparing of e-learning materials and developing content for Distance Learning Course in Wasteland Development. He also prepared curricula and learning materials for the course, Advances in Irrigation Management. He has conducted a Certificate Course on Water Management with Central University, Tiruvarur. Besides, he has been external examiner for various state and national level exams.

Women Sexual Harassment Committee

S.No	Name and Designation	Position
1.	Dr. C. Sangeetha, Asst. Professor (AGR)	Convenor
2.	Dr. S. Hemalatha, Asst. Professor (SS &AC)	Member
3.	Mrs. M. Maheshwari, Asst. Professor (PAT)	Member
4.	Miss. T. Preethi Priyadharshini, Asst. Professor (AEX)	Member
5.	Dr.K.Senthilkumar, Asst. Professor (PBG)	Member
6.	Mrs. R.Sudha, PA to Principal	Member
7.	Miss K. Dhivya	3rd year Student Member
8.	Tmt.A.R Kumutham, Advocate, Gobichettipalayam	Advocate External Member

Library Committee

S.No	Name and Designation	Position
1.	Dr. B. J. Pandian, Principal	Chairman
2.	Mr. A. Balasubramanian, Executive Officer	Member
3.	Mr. C. Saravanan, AVP, Administrative Officer	Member
4.	Dr. S. Hemalatha, Assoc. Prof (SS&AC)	Member
5.	All HODs	Member
6.	Student Representatives	Member
7.	Librarian	Member Secretary

Institution Development committee

Campus Development Committee

S.No	Name and Designation	Position
1.	Mr. A. Balasubramanian, Executive Officer	Chairman
2.	Mr. C. Saravanan, Administrative Officer	Member
3.	Mr. P. Ramkumar, HR Manager	Member
4.	Mr. K. Gobalakrishnan, Asst. Professor (FOR)	Member
5.	Dr. P.G. Dhamotharan, Asst. Professor (ARM)	Member
6.	Dr. M. Kokila, Asst. Professor (SST)	Member
7.	Mr.A. Gopinath, Asst. Director (Physical Education)	Member
8.	Er.L. Mohan, Asst. Professor (Agrl. Engineering)	Member
9.	Dr.K.Shoban Chakravarthy, Asst. Professor (AGR)	Member
10.	Dr. V. Dhinesh, Asst. Professor (SAC)	Member
11.	Dr. V. Karthika, Asst. Professor (ENS)	Member

Sanitation and Services Committee

S.No	Name and Designation	Position
1.	Mr. P. Ramkumar, HR Manager	Chairman
2.	Mr. A. Balasubramanian, Executive Officer	Member
3.	Dr. S. Hemalatha, Asst. Professor (SS&AC)	Member
4.	Dr. P.Baskar, Asst. Professor (AGR)	Member
5.	Mr. V. Dhanasekar, Asst. Professor (AEN)	Member
6.	Mrs. M. Maheshwari, Asst. Professor (PAT)	Member
7.	Dr. P. Manju, Asst. Professor (ANM)	Member
8.	Mrs. R. Deepa, Asst. Professor (Biochemistry)	Member

IT and Security Committee

S.No	Name and Designation	Position
1.	Administrative Officer	Chairman
2.	Executive Officer	Member
3.	HR Manager	Member
4.	Staff Advisor	Member
5.	All year Coordinators	Member
6.	Mrs. P. Abarna, Asst. Professor (Maths)	Member
7.	Mr. P. Matheswaran, Asst. Engineer	Member

Space and Infrastructure Committee

S.No	Name and Designation	Position
1.	Mr. A. Balasubramanian, Executive Officer	Chairman
2.	Mr. P. Ramkumar, HR Manager	Member
3.	Dr.R. Paramasivam, Asst. Professor (AEC)	Member
4.	Dr. S. Selvakumar, Asst. Professor (AGR)	Member
5.	Dr. C. Sangeetha, Asst. Professor (AGR)	Member
6.	Mrs. M. Maheshwari, Asst. Professor (PAT)	Member
7.	Miss. T. Preethi Priyadharshini, Asst. Professor (AEX)	Member
8.	Dr. V. Suganya, Asst. Professor (CRP)	Member

KIA Publication Committee

S.No	Name and Designation	Position
1.	Principal, KIA	Chief Editor
2.	Dr. K. Senthil Kumar, Asst. Professor (PBG)	Editorial Board Head
3.	Dr.P.Baskar, Associate Professor (AGR)	Editorial Board Committee Members
4.	Dr. P. G. Dhamotharan, Associate Professor (ARM )	Editorial Board Committee Members
5.	Dr. S. Hemalatha, Associate Professor (SS&AC)	Editorial Board Committee Members
6.	Mrs.M.Maheshwari, Asst. Professor (PAT)	Editorial Board Committee Members
7.	Mr. V. Dhanasekar, Asst. Professor (AEN)	Editorial Board Committee Members
8.	Dr.V.Suganya, Asst, Professor (CRP)	Editorial Board Committee Members
9.	Ms.T.Preethi Priyadharshini, Asst. Professor (AEX)	Editorial Board Committee Members
10.	Dr.P.Manju, Asst. Professor (ANM)	Editorial Board Committee Members
11.	Dr.C.Sangeetha, Asst. Professor (AGR)	Editorial Board Committee Members
12.	Dr.R.Paramasivam, Asst. Professor (AEC)	Editorial Board Committee Members
13.	Dr.M.Kokila, A;st. Professor (SST)	Editorial Board Committee Members
14.	Mrs.R.Deepa, Asst. Professor (BIC)	Editorial Board Committee Members
15.	Dr.R,Priyanka, Asst. Professor (PAT)	Editorial Board Committee Members
16.	Er. L.Mohan, Asst. Professor (FPE)	Editorial Board Committee Members
17.	Dr.V.Karthika, Asst. Professor (ENS)	Editorial Board Committee Members
18.	Mr.K.Gobalakrishnan, Asst. Professor (FOR )	Editorial Board Committee Members
19.	Dr.S.Selvakumar, Asst. Professor (AGR)	Editorial Board Committee Members
20.	Dr.K,Shoban chakravarthy, Asst. Professor (AGR)	Editorial Board Committee Members
21.	Dr.V.Dhinesh, Asst. Professor (SAC)	Editorial Board Committee Members
22.	Mrs.C.Nandhini, Asst. Professor (STA)	Editorial Board Committee Members
23.	Dr.N.Arunkumar, Asst.Professor(AGM)	Editorial Board Committee Members
24.	Dr. R.P.Jagadeeshkanth, Asst. Professor (HOR)	Editorial Board Committee Members
25.	Ms.S.Indumathi, Asst. Professor (AEX)	Editorial Board Committee Members
26.	Dr.K.Elango, Asst. Professor (AEN)	Editorial Board Committee Members
27.	Er.S.Ramya, Asst. ‘Professor (SWE)	Editorial Board Committee Members
28.	Mr.J.Navaneethakrishnan, Asst.Professor(ABT)	Editorial Board Committee Members
29.	Dr. K.S.Usharani, Asst.’ Professor (PBG)	Editorial Board Committee Members
30.	Dr.R.Kasthurithilagam, Asst. Professor (FSN)	Editorial Board Committee Members
31.	Mrs. P.Bhavithra, Asst. Professor (HOR)	Editorial Board Committee Members
32.	Dr.P.Pavithradevi, Asst.Professor (AEN)	Editorial Board Committee Members
33.	Dr.C.Vinodhini, Asst. Professor(AEC)	Editorial Board Committee Members
34.	Ms.P.Megavarshini, Asst. Professor(ENG)	Editorial Board Committee Members
35.	Mr.S.Vigneshkumar, Asst. Professor(AEX)	Editorial Board Committee Members
36.	Mr.R.Abhishek, Asst. Professor(SS&AC)	Editorial Board Committee Members
37.	Th.A.Balasubramaniam, Executive Officer, KIA	Administrative Coordinator
38.	Th.C.Saravanan, Administrative Officer, KIA	Administrative Coordinator
39.	Mrs.T.Shanmugapriya.G, Exam cell -Assistant	Office Coordinator
40.	Mr.R.Maheswaran, Accountant	Accounts Coordinator

Website Content Upgradation Committee

S.No	Name and Designation	Position
1.	Mr. C. Saravanan, Administrative Officer	Chairman
2.	Dr.K.Shoban chakravarthy, Asst. Professor	Member
3.	Mr.P.Matheswaran , Asst. Engineer	Member

Hostel Executive Committee

S.No	Committee Members	Position
1.	Dr. B. J. Pandian, Principal	Chief Warden
2.	Executive Officer	Member
3.	Administrative Officer	Member
4.	Mess Warden (Boys and Girls Hostel)	Member
5.	Residential Tutor (Boys and Girls Hostel)	Member
6.	Academic Coordinator	Member
7.	Asst. Director (Physical Education)	Member
8.	All the Year Coordinators	Members
9.	Deputy Warden (Boys and Girls Hostel)	Member secretary

Anti-Ragging committee

S.No	Name and Designation	Position
1.	Dr. B. J. Pandian, Principal	Chairman
2.	Dr. P. Baskar, Asst. Professor (AGR) & Academic Coordinator	Convener
3.	Dr. S. Hemalatha, Asst. Professor (SS&AC) & Staff Advisor	Co – convener
4.	Dr.C.Sangeetha, Asst. Professor (AGR) & IV year coordinator	Member
5.	Dr. M. Kokila, Asst. Professor (SST) & III year coordinator	Member
6.	Dr. K. Elango, Asst. Professor (AEN) & II year coordinator	Member
7.	Dr.K.Usharani, Asst. Professor (PBG) & I Year Coordinator	Member
8.	Dr.K.Shoban Chakravarthy, Asst. Professor (AGR) & Deputy Warden (Boys)	Member
9.	Ms. T. Preethi Priyadharshini, Asst. Professor (AEX) & Deputy Warden (Girls)	Member
10.	Mr. K. Gobalakrishnan, Asst. Professor (FOR) & Mess Warden (Boys)	Member
11.	Er. S. Ramya, Asst. Professor (Ag. Engg.) & Mess Warden (Girls)	Member
12.	Dr. S.Vignesh Kumar, Asst. Professor (AEX) & Residential Tutor (Boys)	Member
13.	Ms. S. Indumathi, Asst. Professor (AEX) & Residential Tutor (Girls)	Member
14.	Th. Govindaraj and Th. Sebastian, Sub- Inspector`s, B-6 Police Station, Appakudal, Erode	Member

Timeline

2014

Kumaraguru Institute of Agriculture (KIA) was established at Sakthinagar of Erode District and started functioning from Sep. 8, 2014, with 60 students (23 boys and 37 girls). The classes for the first year students of 2014-15 batch commenced on the same day.
In the beginning, KIA was functioning from the Sakthi Polytechnic College (SPC) building, which is also located at Sakthinagar, where space was provided in the second floor.
A week earlier, on Aug. 30, 2014 Dr. P. Sivasubramanian, Retd. Director of Agri Business Development, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore joined KIA as its first Executive Officer.
Dr. P. Venkatachalam, Professor (Bio-Energy), TNAU, Coimbatore joined as the first Dean of KIA on Sep. 8, 2014 who served till Oct. 14, 2014.
Dr. T. R. Shanmugam, Professor (Agrl. Economics), TNAU, Coimbatore joined as Dean on Nov. 13, 2014.
During 2014, two regular Scientists viz, Dr. P. Baskar, Asst. Professor (Agronomy) and Mr. T. Kamalakannan, Asst. Professor (Hort.) were employed at KIA.

2015

Students participated in the Talentia held at Agricultural College and Research Institute (AC & RI) Madurai on Feb. 6, 2015. V. Vasanth of I B.Sc (Ag.) won second prize in English poetry writing.
First College Day, Sports Day and Annual Day functions were held on May 13, 2015. Thiru. T.Stalin Gunasekaran, MD, Makkal Sinthanai Peravai, Erode was the Chief Guest.
Orchard was established in the North Farm during June 2015 by planting a wide range of fruit tree seedlings.
Based on the advice of the Professor and Head, Dept. of Agrl. Meteorology, TNAU, Coimbatore the Automatic Weather Station (AWS) was shifted to North Farm and installed inside the Meteorological Observatory on Oct. 10, 2015.
Dairy unit was established by purchasing three cows and a calf on Oct. 15, 2015.
Rotaract Club at KIA was inaugurated on Dec. 29, 2015.
During 2015, 13 Scientists belonging to different disciplines were employed at KIA.

2016

Th.A.Balasubramaniam, R&D Manager, Sakthi Sugars Ltd., Sakthinagar joined as Executive Officer incharge of KIA on Jan. 18, 2016, in the place of Dr.P.Sivasubramanian, who was relieved on the same day.
Bhoomi pooja for construction of Phase I of Academic Building of size 25,000 sq.ft was held on May 2, 2016.
KIA website was launched on May 5, 2016 as www.kia.ac.in.
First NSS Special Camp was held at Oricheri village from May 23 – 31, 2016 for the II year students (2014-15 batch).
Dr. N. Asoka Raja, Professor, (Agronomy), TNAU joined as Dean on July 6, 2016, in the place of Dr. T. R. Shanmugam who was relieved on July 3, 2016.
Orientation Day for first year students (2016-17 batch) was held on Aug. 4, 2016. Thiru. V. K. Subburaj, IAS, Retd. Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, New Delhi and Dr. M. Manickam, Executive Chairman, Sakthi Group of Companies were the Chief Guests.
An area of 3 acres of garden land in South Farm was converted into wetland. The III year students of 2014-15 batch raised rice crop in the newly converted wetland for their Crop Production course.
Tissue Culture lab was declared open by Dr.M. Manickam, Executive Chairman, Sakthi Group of Companies on Sep. 27, 2016.
Mushroom Unit, Poultry Unit, Vermi compost Unit and Goat shed were established during Nov. 2016.
First Students’ Club was inaugurated on Dec. 27, 2016 by Dr. P. Pandiyarajan, Dean, Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute (ADAC&RI), Trichy.
During 2016, 22 Scientists belonging to different disciplines were employed at KIA.

2017

Dr. M.Manickam, Executive Chairman, Sakthi Group of Companies inaugurated the Integrated Farming System (IFS) Unit in South Farm on Jan. 28, 2017.
Science Exhibition to mark the National Science Day was held on Feb. 28, 2017. Th. N. Sezhian, Senior General Manager, Sakthi Sugars Ltd. and Dr. K. R. Muthuswamy, Principal Sakthi Polytechnic College were the Chief Guests. The students of Sakthi Polytechnic College and Sakthi Higher Secondary School visited the exhibition.
International Forest Day was celebrated on March 21, 2017. Thiru. P.G. Arunlal, IFS, District Forest Officer & Deputy Director, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve was the Chief Guest. Mass tree planting was done in the North Farm to mark the occasion.
World Water Day was celebrated on March 22, 2017. Er. S. Sivalingam, Deputy Chief Engineer, PWD, Govt. of Tamil Nadu was the Chief Guest.
Dr. Ravi Kumar Theodore, Professor (Agrl. Extension) & Directorate Coordinator, Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute (TRRI), TNAU joined as Dean on March 23, 2017 in the place of Dr. N. Asoka Raja who was relieved on the same day.
Ganapathi, Mahalakshmi, Navagraha pooja for the new Academic Building and bhoomi pooja for the new Girls Hostel were held on April 23, 2017, in the presence of Thiru.M.Balasubramaniam, MD, Sakthi Group of Companies.
Construction work of Phase I of the KIA Academic Building of KIA was completed during May 2017 and thereafter the College was shifted from the Sakthi Polytechnic College building to the new KIA Academic Block.
Construction work of Phase II of the KIA Academic building was started during the month of May 2017. The total area of the building is 35,000 sq. feet, with ground floor plus two floors, which is meant for housing 12 laboratories and two smart class rooms.
Construction work of Girls Hostel commenced during May 2017. The building consists of ground floor plus first floor, with an area of 25,000 sq. feet. There are 46 rooms in the hostel, capable of accommodating 160 girl students.
NSS Special Camp was held at P.Vellalapalayam village, Gobichettipalaym from May 23 – 31, 2017 for the second year students (2015-16 batch).
Dairy Shed was constructed with 800 sq.ft area at South Farm to house around 10 dairy cows, which was declared open by Dr. A. Abdul Kareem, Former Vice-Chancellor, TNAU during his visit to KIA on Dec. 18, 2017.
Piggery Unit with five nos. of pigs was added for the first time to the Animal Husbandry Unit at South Farm.
Placement Cell was started in KIA during this year so as to initiate Placement activities such as (i) formation of study circles, (ii) conduct of ‘Nobel Vision’ sessions, (iii) conducting coaching classes for competitive exams, (iv) arranging campus interviews for job placement and (v) counselling for higher education.
Department of Science and Technology (DST), New Delhi, sanctioned an externally funded project titled “Biotechnological Valorization of Molasses Distillery Spent wash into single cell oil with simultaneous removal of potential nutrients” with budget outlay of Rs. 22.63 lakhs which is the first externally funded project obtained by this Institute. Dr. M. Iniya Kumar, Asst. Professor (Agrl. Microbiology) is the Principal Investigator of the project.
Annual Day, Sports Day and Hostel Day Functions where held on July 5, 2017 at KIA. Th. S. Suresh Kumar, Chairman, Pallavan Grama Bank, Salem was the Chief Guest.
International Yoga Day was celebrated on 21.06.2017.
Book Fair was organized at KIA for the first time, for two days on Oct. 30 & 31, 2017 for the benefit of students and staff.
To promote research activities at KIA, “Institutional Funded Research” (IFR) programme was started, which enables Scientists to propose and carryout research projects that are of small–term, small–scale and small-budget in nature.
Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) programme was organised for the first time at KIA from Aug. 17 to Nov. 14, 2017. During this programme the IV year students (57 nos.) of 2014- 15 batch were placed in 10 different blocks of Erode, Salem, and Coimbatore Districts.
Subscription of the “The Hindu” newspaper in Hostels was started on Aug. 23, 2017, which was supplied to all the rooms in the hostels.
Farmers Training programme under ATMA was organized for 40 farmers at KIA on the topic “Integrated Crop Management” in Vegetables in association with the State Department of Horticulture on Sep. 15, 2017. This is the first Farmers Training conducted at KIA.
“Parthenium Eradication Brigade” was started in this Institute on May 31, 2017, so as to control the growth of Parthenium weed in the campus.
Wi-Fi connection was provided in the Academic Building since Sep. 24, 2017 for the benefit of all the Students and Staff.
Agri Nova’ 17 – the Orientation Programme for the Freshers (2017-18 batch) was held on Sep. 23, 2017. Thiru. J. Vanangamudi, Retd. Senior Manger, Canara Bank, Coimbatore was the Chief Guest. College magazine of KIA was announced as ‘Narumugizh’ during the programme.
Orientation programme for ‘Study Circles’ was held on Nov.2, 2017, which is meant to encourage early specialization of Students on their subjects of interest.
‘Nobel Vision’ lectures were commenced at KIA, during which special lectures are delivered by KIA Scientists on inspiring achievers in agriculture, reputed agricultural Institutes, and important agriculture related issues, for motivating students.
Dr. S. Babu, Director, Agri- Centre, Vellore Institute of Technology visited KIA on Nov.17, 2017 and interacted with the Scientists on research opportunities and funding sources.
World Soil Day was celebrated on Dec.5, 2017. Dr. S. Chellamuthu, Former Director, Water Technology Centre (WTC), TNAU, Coimbatore was the Chief Guest , who also delivered a special lecture.
Dr. A. Abdul Kareem, Former Vice – Chancellor, TNAU visited KIA on Dec.18, 2017, for assessing the infrastructure facilities and other resources available at KIA.
All India Study Tour (AIST) course was organized for the first time at KIA for the final year students of 2014-15 batch from Nov. 18 to Dec. 5, 2017. They visited reputed Institutes in Hyderabad, New Delhi, Dehradun, Jaipur, Shimla and Haryana.
During 2017, 25 Scientists belonging to different disciplines were employed at KIA.

2018

Construction of new Girls Hostel was completed, and girl students occupied the new hostel during January, 2018.
One–day Training on Organic Farming was conducted on Jan.11, 2018 in association with the State Department of Horticulture and Uyir Organic Farmers market, Erode for around 40 farmers of Erode District.
In the Inter Collegiate Tournament (ICT) trials for Sports and Games held at TNAU, Coimbatore, Selvi.P.V Santhya of II B.Sc. (Ag.), KIA got selected for the Kho-Kho team, and represented the University in the All India Inter University Athletic Championship held at Bengaluru on Jan.11, 2018.
KIA had put up a Exhibition Stall in the Kongu Nattu Kalnadai Thiruvizha held from Feb. 8 –10, 2018 at Samathur, Pollachi. This was the first time that KIA had participated in an Exhibition. Thiru. B.K. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar , Chairman, Kumarauru College of Technology, Coimbatore visited the stall and interacted with the students and staff.
Home Med Garden was established at KIA on Feb.18, 2018 in an area of 35 cents.
In SIICA (Sakthi Institute of Inter Collegiate Athletic Association) tournament organized by Nachimuthu Gounder Mahalingam College, Pollachi during Feb.16 – 22, 2018, M. Ashokarajan of III B.Sc.(Ag.) secured first place in Javelin Throw (Boys), and P.V Santhya of II B.Sc. (Ag.) secured second place in the Javelin Throw (Girls). Girls Kho-Kho team won the Runner-up trophy and also secured third place in 4x100m Relay and fourth place in Badminton tournament. Boy students secured fourth place in cricket.
Students of KIA participated in The SPORAG (Inter Agri college Open Tournament), organized by Annamalai University, Chidambaram, during Feb.28 – Mar.3, 2018.
Students of KIA (11 nos.) participated in the National Level Management Meet PRBANDHAZ 2018 held at TNAU on Feb.23 & 24, 2018.
Students of KIA (29 nos.) participated in the TALENTIA 2018 held at AC &RI, Madurai on Mar. 9 & 10, 2018 and won prizes.
National Science Day was celebrated on Feb.28, 2018 at KIA, in which Dr. M.V. Ranghaswami, Dean, Department of Agriculture Engineering, Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam was the Chief Guest.
Thiru. M. Balasubramanian, MD, Sakthi Group of Companies conducted a Meeting at KIA on Mar.14, 2018 with KIA Scientists, Staff of ABTIL and Sakthi Sugars regarding research activities proposed to be conducted at KIA.
All the Laboratories were shifted to the Academic Block during Mar. 2018, since Phase II construction was over.
Seeds of an advanced ART [Adaptive Research Trial] Cotton variety TCH 1819 was obtained from Department of Cotton, TNAU and was sown during March – April, 2018 in South Farm for the Crop Production Course, of 2015 – 16 batch.
One–day Training on Integrated Farming System (IFS) was conducted on Mar.27, 2018 in association with the State Department of Horticulture for around 30 farmers of Chennimalai Block of Erode District.
NSS special camp was held at Ammapalayam Village of Gobi taluk from April 21 – 27, 2018 for the second year students (2016-17 batch).
‘Students’ Seminar’ was started at KIA on April 7, 2018 and the first Students’ Seminar was delivered by the 10 III Year students who had attended the ‘Agripreneurship Convention 2018’ held at TNAU on Mar.16 & 17, 2018.
One–day Training on Integrated Farming System (IFS) was conducted on April 18, 2018 in association with the State Department of Horticulture for around 25 farmers of Bhavani Block of Erode District.
As on date 27 Scientists are employed at KIA.

2019

The college celebrated Annual Club Day, Sports Day, and Hostel Day on 4th June. Dr. K. Venkatasubramanian, Principal Scientist (Agrl. Extension), Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore & Former Asst. Director-General, Extension Division, ICAR, New Delhi was the chief guest of the day.
TNAU standing committee visited KIA on 2nd May. The committee comprised of Dr.L. Pugalendhi, Dean (Horticulture), TNAU, Coimbatore, Dr.R. Gnanam, Professor and Head (Plant Biotechnology), TNAU, Coimbatore and Dr.V. Rajendiran, Professor (Soil and Water conservation Engineering), TNAU, Coimbatore.
Dr.P.Venkatachalam, Retd. Professor (Bioenergy), TNAU took charge as the new Principal on 1st June.
The Farewell celebrations for the 2015 batch were on 9th June with Th. L. Narayanan, CEO, MR colour lab, Erode as the Guest of Honour.
The International Yoga Day was observed on 21st June.
The Farewell for Dr. Ravi Kumar Theodore, Former Dean was organised on 28th June.
Dr. C. Ramasamy, Former Vice-Chancellor, TNAU visited KIA on 11th July for the consultancy on ICAR accreditation.
Thiru. M. Balasubramaniam, Managing Director, Sakthi Group of companies paid a visit to the college on 24th July.
2019-20 Batch of 120 first Year Students joined the college on 21st August.
Teachers Day celebrations were on 5th September.
A warm welcome to the 2019 – 20 batch first years ‘Agri Nova’ was on 3rd October. The guest of the day was Th. V. Thiruvenkadam, Senior General Manager, Sakthi Sugars Limited.
Parents – Teachers meeting for II B.Sc.(Hons.) Agriculture students (2018 batch) was on 4th October.
The meeting of the Sexual Harassment Committee was held on 15th November.
The World soil Day was observed on 5th December. Dr. A.K. Mani, Retd, Professor & Head, Regional Research Station, Paiyur was the Honoured Guest. In connection with the observance, various competitions were conducted for the students on the theme of World Soil Day, “Stop Soil Erosion; Save Our Future”
The 2016 batch students had their All India Study Tour from3rdto 21st December.
The students of our college participated in TNAU ICT from 19th to 24th December.

2020

The exhibition of the RAWE programme of the 2016 batch students was organised on 3rd January 2020.
Pongalvizha celebrations were on 11th January 2020.
20 scientists from KIA participated in the Indo-IsrealConference held at KCT on 29th January 2020.
The Students Club was inaugurated on 30th January 2020 by Dr.L. Pugalendhi, Dean (Horticulture), TNAU, Coimbatore, and inducted the Office Bearers of the club.
The Rice Field Day was observed on 20th February 2020.
The International Women’s Day was celebrated on 6th March 2020.

Principal i/c

Dr. S. Hemalatha, Ph.D

Dr. S. Hemalatha’s academic journey began with her undergraduate studies at Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College & Research Institute, Tiruchirappalli. She continued her academic pursuits by completing her postgraduate and Ph.D. studies in the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry at TNAU, specializing in soil fertility.

With her Ph.D. obtained in 2012, Dr. Hemalatha embarked on her professional journey as a research associate at the Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, TNAU, Coimbatore. This laid the foundation for her subsequent career advancements.

Dr. Hemalatha, who joined Kumaraguru Institute of Agriculture on January 2, 2015, has exhibited exemplary dedication and leadership over her 9 1/2 years of service.During her tenure as an Assistant Professor (SS&AC) at KIA, she assumed additional responsibilities, serving as the Deputy Warden (Girls) and Staff Advisor.

Accomplishments

Academic

Recognized for her outstanding contributions, Dr. Hemalatha’s journey at KIA saw her rise through the ranks. In October 2021, she was promoted to Associate Professor, and in December 2023, she was appointed as the Head of Academic Administration. Further solidifying her position, in May 2024, she was elevated to the esteemed role of Vice Principal of KIA.

Research

Dr. Hemalatha’s professional achievements extend beyond her administrative roles. She has been actively engaged in handling institutional-funded projects and has successfully completed one externally funded project. Additionally, she has a prolific publication record, with over 15 research papers and 20 popular articles to her credit.

Dr. Hemalatha’s dedication to academia has been recognized through various awards and accolades, including the prestigious EngalAasan Award and the Best Faculty Teaching Award from Kumaraguru Institutions. Her expertise and contributions have been acknowledged at national forums, including receiving the Junior Scientist Award from the National Environmental Science Academy, Delhi, in 2015.

Leadership

Dr. M. Manickam, M.Sc., MBA,

The Chairman of Sakthi Foundation.
Executive Chairman of Sakthi Sugars Limited.
Evinces keen interest in the development of the Industries, Educational Institutions & Cultural Organizations promoted by his beloved father Dr. N. Mahalingam.
A globe trotter with rich experience in sugar industry.
Chairman of the Governing Councils of Nachimuthu Polytechnic College, Sakthi Polytechnic College & Dr. Mahalingam College of Engg & Tech.,

Thiru. M. Balasubramaniam, M. Com., MBA.,

The Managing Director of Sakthi Sugars Limited.
The Managing Director of Sakthi Finance Limited.
Correspondent of Kumaraguru College of Technology.
Widely travelled Abroad.
Supports and encourages all the activities of the institution for its all round development.

Mr. M. Srinivaasan, B.E., M.B.A.

The Managing Director of Sri Chamundeswari Sugars Limited, Bangalore.
Treasurer of Ramanantha Adigalar Trust.
Past President of South Indian Sugar Mills Association.
Past Chairman of Indian Sugar Mills Association.
Director in a number of Sakthi Group of Companies.

Mr. K.Prakash (Correspondent)

Successfully commissioned the first CO2 manufacturing plant in Sakthi Sugars.
An accomplished leader in agro-based industries of Sakthi Group.
Director in Sakthi Group of Companies and Former Executive Director of Sri Chamundeeswari Sugars.
Sports enthusiast representing Tamilnadu State and university hockey teams.
An avid farmer for more than three decades.