The ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (ICAR-CTCRI) a constituent Institute under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is the only research organization in the World dedicated solely to the research on tropical tuber crops. The Institute established in 1963 with its Headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram (= Trivandrum), Kerala has grown over the years into a premier research organization of international repute. The Headquarters of ICAR-CTCRI is located at Sreekariyam 12 km away from Airport and 10 km from Railway Station/and Bus Terminal of Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala State and has an area of 48.19 ha. The Institute has a Regional Centre at Bhubaneswar, Orissa established in 1976 with an area of 20 ha located 8 km from Airport and 7 km from Railway Station; this cater to the needs of Eastern India. There has been a phenomenal increase in the budget and manpower over the years and the Institute's outlay for the XI Plan is Rs.1774 lakhs (Plan) and Rs. 5667.56 lakhs (Non-Plan). The staff strength during XI Plan is 195 (Scientific 50, Technical 47, Administrative 31 and Supporting 67). The All India Co-ordinated Research Project on Tuber Crops (AICRP) was started at ICAR-CTCRI in 1968, as a vehicle for the testing and popularisation of tuber crop technologies and this project has developed location specific recommendations; 17 centres located in 12 State Agricultural Universities 4 ICAR institutes and 1 Central Agricultural University. This Project has a staff strength of 53 which includes 23 Scientists and operates a budget of Rs.772.12 lakhs during the XI Plan.

The Regional Centre of the Institute at Bhubaneswar is concentrating research on sweet potato and aroids catering to the needs of the Eastern and North Eastern Regions of the country: It also functions as a Phytosanitary Centre for screening of germplasm received from abroad. At present 12 Institutional and 1 externally aided projects dealing with the vital issues related to improvement, production, protection and utilization of tropical tuber crops and also to fulfill the socio-economic commitments of the farming community are in operation at the Regional Centre.more>>

In order to sustain tuber crops in the Indian agricultural system and to protect the social security of the resource-poor farmers who depend on the cultivation of tuber crops, several vital issues related to production and utilization aspects of tuber crops have been attended. Realising the challenges ahead and the social commitments towards the farming community, ICAR-CTCRI under the aegis of ICAR has developed many production and processing technologies for tuber crops.

The ICAR-CTCRI bagged the Sardar Patel Outstanding Institution Award for the year 2005 instituted by the ICAR for outstanding contributions made in the improvement of tropical tuber crops and development of low-cost production technologies. The Institute also bagged many national and international recognitions in the past that include: J. Chinoy Gold Medal (1970), ICAR Team Research Awards (1985, 1996, 1998, 2014), D.L. Plucknett Award for Tropical Root Crops (1991), Hari Om Ashram Trust Award (1993), Jawaharlal Nehru Award (1975, 1995, 1998, 2000 and 2003), Young Scientist Award instituted by Deseeya Sasthra Vedi (1996), NRDC cash reward for biodegradable plastics (2000), Pat Coursey Award (2000, 2006), Vasantharao Naik Memorial Gold Medal (2002), Chaudhary Devi Lal outstanding All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) Award (2007), Samantha Chandrasekhar Award (2013), International Potash Institute (IPI)- Fertilizer Association of India (FAI) Award (2014), Shri. L.C. Sikka Endowment Award (2014), IZA (International Zinc Association)-FAI Award (2017) and Panjabrao Deshmukh Woman Scientist Award (2017).

In recognition of its contribution to cassava growers and consumers worldwide, ICAR-CTCRI has been rewarded at the First International Meeting on Cassava Plant Breeding, Biotechnology and Ecology organized at Brasilia, Brazil, during 11-15 November 2006. The Institute bagged several prizes in national and international agricultural exhibitions. The Best Annual Report Awards (1997-98) and (2017-18) among the category of small Institutes were conferred to ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute for succinctly presenting the research results.

ICAR-CTCRI bagged 14th Rank among all ICAR Institutes in the list of Ranking of Institutes of Indian Council of Agricultural Research for the year 2019-20 and 2020-21 for the significant research and extension achievements. A total of eight technologies from ICAR-CTCRI were certified by ICAR, New Delhi during 2023 and the technology on e-Crop based smart fertigation system was selected as one of the five best technologies in horticulture sector.