Dr. Ajar Nath Yadav: Deputy Director, RDC & IQAC at Eternal University, India
Title/Designation: Dr.
Name: Ajar Nath Yadav
Current Role/Designation: Deputy Director, RDC & IQAC
Organization/Institution Details: Eternal University
Country: India
Subject Track: Agriculture
Key Areas of Expertise: Microbial Biotechnology
Award Categories: Outstanding Researcher Award
Submitted: Oct 4
Dr. Ajar Nath Yadav is a globally recognized academic and researcher in the field of Microbial Biotechnology, currently serving as Deputy Director of both the Research and Development Cell (RDC) and Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) at Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh. He is also the Head and Associate Professor in the Department of Genetics, Plant Breeding, and Biotechnology. With over 16 years of research experience and close to a decade in teaching, Dr. Yadav has made significant contributions to microbial ecology, sustainable agriculture, and biotechnology education. He has authored over 430 scientific publications, has an h-index of 101, and is consistently listed among the world’s top 2% scientists by Stanford University. His work bridges academic excellence with practical agricultural solutions, particularly in hill agro-ecosystems, making him a vital contributor to India’s bioresource innovation landscape.
Online Profiles
Dr. Ajar Nath Yadav’s research impact is evidenced by his impressive citation profile across leading academic databases:
Total Citations: 30,664 (Google Scholar), 27,054 (Scopus/Web of Science)
h-index: 101 (Google Scholar), 94 (Scopus/Web of Science)
i10-index: 393 (Google Scholar), 386 (Scopus/Web of Science)
These metrics reflect his sustained and high-impact contributions to microbial biotechnology, soil microbiology, and sustainable agriculture, placing him among the most cited researchers globally in his field.
Education
Dr. Yadav holds a strong academic foundation with a Ph.D. in Microbial Biotechnology awarded in 2016 by Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, in collaboration with the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. His doctoral research, jointly guided by Dr. S. Ghosh Sachan and Dr. A.K. Saxena, focused on microbial diversity in cold desert environments and gene mining for stress tolerance. He completed his M.Sc. in Biotechnology from Bundelkhand University, Jhansi in 2009, graduating with the second-highest rank in his batch. His undergraduate degree was a B.Sc. in Botany, Chemistry, and Zoology from the University of Allahabad in 2006. Currently, he is also a Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF) at INTI International University, Malaysia, where his research focuses on microbial biotechnology and plant-microbe interactions. His academic journey reflects both depth in fundamental science and versatility in applied microbiological research.
Research Focus
Dr. Yadav’s research centers on the exploration and application of microbial communities for sustainable agriculture and environmental resilience. His major interests include plant-microbe interactions, microbial diversity in extreme and hilly environments, biofertilizers, biopesticides, and functional food microbiomes. A significant part of his work focuses on the isolation and development of novel plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPMs), particularly from underexplored agro-ecological regions like the Himalayas. He has made notable contributions in formulating bioinoculants, designing microbial consortia tailored for specific crops and climatic zones, and studying extremophilic microbes for agricultural and industrial applications. His research aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including zero hunger, responsible production, and climate action, making his work both academically valuable and societally impactful.
Experience
Over a professional span of nearly 17 years, Dr. Yadav has demonstrated excellence across academic, research, and administrative domains. He has served as Assistant Professor, Senior Scale, and currently holds the position of Associate Professor and Head of Department at Eternal University. His responsibilities extend to serving as Dean (PG Studies – Officiating), Assistant Controller of Examinations, and Deputy Director of the university’s RDC and IQAC, reflecting his deep involvement in institutional governance. He has led curriculum development, coordinated NAAC accreditation processes, and managed postgraduate and doctoral academic procedures. Dr. Yadav has taught more than 25 undergraduate and postgraduate subjects, supervised several Ph.D. and M.Sc. scholars, and participated in international collaborations. His administrative leadership, paired with active research, has significantly enhanced the academic profile of Eternal University and its allied institutions.
Research Timeline & Activities
Dr. Yadav’s research journey began in 2009 during his M.Sc. dissertation at ICAR-NBAIM, focusing on methylotrophic communities in tropical plant environments. From 2009 to 2015, he worked as a Senior Research Fellow at IARI, New Delhi, under prestigious projects funded by NAIP and NFBSFARA, where he explored extremophilic Bacillus and Archaea for agricultural stress alleviation. In 2016, he transitioned into academia as an Assistant Professor at Eternal University, where he has since expanded his research on bioinoculants, soil microbiomes, and microbial biotechnology. Over the years, he has developed new culture media, published first reports on novel microbial strains, designed microbial technologies, supervised graduate research, and established centralized microbial laboratories. Currently, he is involved in developing crop-specific microbial consortia and exploring probiotic potential of indigenous microbes, while publishing actively under his PDF affiliation with INTI University, Malaysia.
Awards & Honors
Dr. Yadav’s academic career is decorated with over 20 major awards and recognitions from both national and international platforms. He has been consistently ranked as the #1 scientist in India in Biotechnology and Microbiology by AD Scientific Index, ScholarGPS®, and Research.com. He features in Stanford University’s list of the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists (2022–2025), with the top position in Biotechnology globally in 2025. He has received Eternal University’s Best Researcher Award three times (2022, 2023, 2025), and the Best Teacher Award in 2018. Additionally, he has been recognized as an Outstanding Associate Editor by Frontiers in Microbiology, and honored with the Young Scientist Award (NASI Swarna Jayanti Puraskar) in 2013. His contributions to editorial and review activities have earned him multiple commendations from Clarivate and various peer-reviewed journals.
Top Noted Publication
Among Dr. Yadav’s extensive list of 430+ publications, a standout is his landmark study on phosphorus-solubilizing Haloarchaea, published in Nature – Scientific Reports. This research introduced a novel culture medium tailored for extremophilic archaea and documented, for the first time, the capacity of archaea to solubilize key nutrients like phosphorus, potassium, and zinc. The findings have vast implications for biofertilizer development in saline and arid soils, particularly in climate-impacted regions. His other top-cited works focus on microbial diversity, PGPRs, endophytes, stress-resilient microbes, and functional food applications. Collectively, his publications have received over 30,000 citations, reflecting both the depth and global relevance of his research contributions in microbial biotechnology and sustainable agriculture.
Microbial biofertilizers: Bioresources and eco-friendly technologies for agricultural and environmental sustainability
D. Kour, K.L. Rana, A.N. Yadav, N. Yadav, M. Kumar, V. Kumar, P. Vyas, et al.
Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology, Volume 23, 101487 (2020)
📑 Citations: 569Food waste: a potential bioresource for extraction of nutraceuticals and bioactive compounds
K. Kumar, A.N. Yadav, V. Kumar, P. Vyas, H.S. Dhaliwal
Bioresources and Bioprocessing, 4(1): 18 (2017)
📑 Citations: 507Assessment of genetic diversity and plant growth promoting attributes of psychrotolerant bacteria allied with wheat (Triticum aestivum) from the northern hills zone of India
A.N. Yadav, P. Verma, K.S. Khannam, N. Panjiar, S. Kumar, A.K. Saxena, et al.
Annals of Microbiology, 65, 1885–1899 (2015)
📑 Citations: 384Molecular diversity and multifarious plant growth promoting attributes of Bacilli associated with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rhizosphere from six diverse agro-ecological zones
A.N. Yadav, P. Verma, K.S. Khannam, S. Kumar, A.K. Saxena, A. Suman
Journal of Basic Microbiology, 56(1): 44–58 (2016)
📑 Citations: 357Endophytic microbes: Biodiversity, plant growth-promoting mechanisms and potential applications for agricultural sustainability
K.L. Rana, D. Kour, A.N. Yadav, N. Yadav, H.S. Dhaliwal, A.K. Saxena
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, 113, 1075–1107 (2020)
📑 Citations: 356