Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar urged the degree holders of the university to take research to the farming community as the research that does not reach the farmers is of no use”. The scientists should reduce dependence of the farmers on pesticides and chemical fertilizers as these have become very costly, he said.
He appealed to the young scientists to maintain the high standards set by the university adding that they are recognized in the country and the world as a scientist who come out of this university.
He made these observations after he conferred 665 degrees, 11 gold medals and 261 merit certificates to the students while presiding over the 11th convocation of Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar Horticulture and Forestry University Nauni today.
He congratulated the teachers, non-teachers and parents of the students for their contribution. Their degrees are worthwhile only when the benefits of research reach the fields and process of learning never ends, he said.
He exhorted the students to develop the ability to lead the society and move ahead by examining the opportunity. He directed the university administration to develop a counselling center in the direction of entrepreneurship.
Governor said there is a need to reduce the dependence of farmers on chemical pesticides as the cost of these pesticides was increasing every year. He urged that instead of chemical pesticides, efforts should be made to save fruits, vegetables etc. from pests and various diseases.
He said it should be our objective to produce safe food items and added that the State Government has taken steps towards becoming a natural farming State and he was confident that they would be able to achieve this goal. Arlekar said it is a matter of satisfaction that in the Atal Innovation Ranking released by the Union Ministry of Education, the University has been placed in the top Band ‘A’ (6 to 25 rank) of all government universities in the country. It was also ranked 22nd in the ranking of Agricultural Universities of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, he added.
He said that in the India Today MDRA Best University Rankings 2020 also, the University has been ranked 25th among government universities across the country.
He expressed confidence that the university would continue to strive to improve its performance in the ranking parameters. He expressed happiness that the number of girl students was increasing continuously and this was a good sign as the role of women in agriculture-horticulture and forestry was very important.
He said academic management system by the University is a step towards the digitalisation. The remote log software will make e-literature available to students and scientists of the university at home, he added.
Releasing “Road Map and Action Plan for execution of National Education Policy 2020the university to pay more attention to e-education and technical discussions.
Dr. Parvinder Kaushal, vice-chancellor, honoured and welcomed the Governor and gave details of various achievements and other activities of the university. The university has focussed more on research activities and from the year 2020 to till date 83 research projects of Rs 48.74 crore have been sent to various agencies for financial aid out of which 16 have been approved of worth Rs 7.54 crore.
He said the state government has changed grants of Rs. 110 crore under horticulture sector and Rs 57.20 lakh under forest sector during the financial year 2021-22.
Registrar of the University Prashant Sarkek proposed vote of thanks.
Gold medals were given to 11 students and merit certificates to 261 at the convocation. In addition, 665 students have obtained B.Sc. Horticulture and B.Sc. Forestry, B.Tech Biotechnology, MBA/ABM, M.Sc. Horticulture and B.Sc. Forestry and Ph.D. degrees, which include 283 boys and 382 girls. Out of 11 gold medals, 7 gold medals were won by the girls. Degrees were also conferred on 21 foreign students.
Earlier, the Governor inaugurated a 640 KW roof top solar plant in the university campus. He also laid the foundation stone of the main gate to be designed in a hill architecture, Yoga center and open air theatre. He also inaugurated an e-cart and exhibition.
