Crop Science Division is the largest division of ICAR carrying the research programmes for developing high yielding crop varieties through its one deemed to be university, 21 national Institutes, three bureaux, two project directorates, two national research centre, 25 All-India Coordinated Research Projects (AICRPs) and All-India Network Projects (AINPs) and seven other projects through their 732 centres located in various ICAR Institutes/Central and State Agricultural Universities (CAU/SAUs).

All above Institutes/AICRPs/AINPs/Other projects have been categorized in six major schemes viz.

1. Basic and Strategic Research and Education,
2. Plant Genetic Resource Management, Seed and Hill Agriculture,
3. Genetic Improvement for Food and Fodder Crops,
4. Pulse and Oilseed Crop Improvement,
5. Improvement of Commercial Crops for Genetic Gains and
6. Insects and Microbes Resources, Plant Protection and Pollinators Research Crop science division along with NARS partners is working on 85 crops and has released total 5800 varieties of different crops.

Since May 2014 to 2022 National Agricultural Research System (NARS) under the aegis of ICAR has released 1956 high yielding stress tolerant crop varieties/hybrids of field crops which include 924 of cereals (rice 442, wheat 127), 291 of oilseeds, 304 of pulses, 239 of fibre/commercial crops, 118 of forage crops, 64 of sugarcane and 16 others for different agro-climatic zones of the country.