The National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Microorganisms was established through a funded project sponsored by the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture, New Delhi in the IX Plan in 2001 under the auspices of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The basic aim of this Bureau is to promote and co-ordinate systematic and scientific research in agriculturally important microorganisms (AIMs) in order to improve the agricultural productivity.