The Department of Botany was established in 1906 as the first higher education institution of the state for making the beginning of teaching and research in plant science. Headed by Bidyanidhi Jogesh Chandra Rai, the Department imparted Botany teaching at intermediate level. The graduate and post-graduate studies in Botany started in 1924 and 1949 respectively. With more than 100 years of Botany teaching, the Department has excelled in the field of Plant Science Research. Over the past few decades, the Department has left its impression in all fields of Botany having publications in journals of repute. The Department is supported by DST-FIST, Govt. of India and engaged in research activities in the field of Plant Biotechnology & Plant Tissue Culture, Ecotoxicology, Plant Physiology & Biochemistry, Photosynthesis, Stress Biology, Acoustics, Ethnobotany, Microbial detoxification, Microbial ecology, Plant microbe interaction and plant improvement through transgenic approaches. With the growing specialization in various branches of plant science the Department is imparting teaching in M.Sc. Biotechnology and M.Sc. Biochemistry in the partial self-financing mode.