STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR/JAMMU: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday called for drawing inspiration from glorious past and making a resolve to build a prosperous Jammu and Kashmir that will both be an economic powerhouse and a major contributor to AatmaNirbhar Bharat,
Addressing National Seminar on -‘Independent India & Jammu Kashmir’, organised by Central University Jammu and Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), through virtual mode, the Lt Governor underlined that ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ is a golden opportunity for retrospection, paying tributes to towering patriots of ideas and ideals and the resolve to build India of their dreams.
Sinha flags-off SKUAST-K students’ batch on study tour to Kansas State University USA
SRINAGAR: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha on Monday flagged off a batch of 12 undergraduate students from SKUAST-Kashmir on a study tour to Kansas State University, USA.
The 12 undergraduate students are from the faculties of Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry. They will be visiting USA under the Student Overseas Fellowship Programme of National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) funded by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) & World Bank.
The 2-months long capacity-building fellowship will expose the undergraduate students to global learning ecosystem, farmer communities and industry establishment. Under the programme, the students will spend minimum two months in USA, primarily in ‘Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab’.
The students based on their areas of interest will be attached to relevant faculty and student groups to expose them to the global learning ecosystem and to imbibe new ideas, educational and research system of USA, and explore opportunities for higher studies in USA.
On the occasion, the Lt Governor observed that India’s collaboration with USA in agriculture & technology goes back to several decades. “As the world moves towards a knowledge economy, students from SKUAST will benefit from experience of Kansas University in agriculture extension, farm-to-market linkages, weather & crop forecasting”, he said.
The Lt Governor while interacting with the group of UG students extended his good wishes for the success of two month overseas learning program.
The Lt Governor said the National Education Policy-2020 empowers young students to engage not only in advanced research but also in various other fields which facilitate development of new and innovative technologies and their commercial development. “The international outreach initiative of SKUAST-K is in line with NEP-2020”, he added.
The Lt Governor stressed upon students and faculties to focus on necessary experimental skills and familiarity with the requirement of modern agriculture and allied sectors.
Enquiring about the tie-ups of the University with the other Universities and technical institutions, the Lt Governor impressed upon the Vice-Chancellor of SKUAST-K to explore every opportunity of students and faculty exchange programmes.
Noting that under the New Industrial Development Scheme, special provisions are kept for agri startups and entrepreneurship, the Lt Governor impressed upon the faculty members for dedicated focus towards the development of ecosystem of startups and enterprise in agri-technologies by sensitizing students of agriculture universities. He also called for establishment of a research Center for seed development.
Dr. Parvez Sofi, Associate Professor will accompany the students on the study tour as a faculty facilitator. The batch comprises 10 female and two male students, including two from Ladakh, which is also a reflection of empowerment of women in the UT.
Kansas State University is the first ‘Land Grant University in Agriculture Education, Research and Extension with globally acclaimed academic and research programme.
During the programme the students, in addition to Kansas State University, will also visit various other US Universities including Oklahoma State University, Iowa University, Nebraska University as well as Kansas University.
Moreover, they will be exposed to farmer communities, industry establishments as well as cultural houses of USA for overall development in a truly global environment.
The programme is being supervised by Prof PV Vara Prasad, University distinguished Professor and Director, Sustainable Intensification Innovation Lab, Kansas University.
Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai, Vice-Chancellor, SKUAST Kashmir; Dr M N Khan, Director Education; Dr Rehana Kant, Dean Faculty of Agriculture, and Dr Parvez Ahmad Sofi, Associate Professor were present on the occasion.
Highlighting the need to awaken the new generation and make them aware of the rich saga of freedom struggle, the Lt Governor reiterated the government’s commitment to make the stories of valour and sacrifice of all those immortal heroes and saviours of Jammu Kashmir part of the educational curriculum. ‘Many freedom fighters from Jammu Kashmir, who played a significant role in country’s struggle for Independence, have disappeared from history books. It is a collective responsibility of the society to recognize their supreme sacrifice and restore the honour of our forefathers, the Lt Governor said.
The Lt Governor observed that the contributions of the people of J&K in the freedom struggle need to immortalize. He called upon the intelligentsia, historians to engage in research work on the life and struggle of the great freedom fighters who made invaluable contributions for Independence.
The imprints of the sacrifices and contributions of great personalities like Sarvanand Kaul Premi, Giridhari Lal Dogra, Maqbool Sherwani, Brig. Rajendra Singh, Prem Nath Dogra, Kanta Wazir, Ghulam Nabi Mir, Hakim Abdul Rashid, Prithvinath Kaul is a great motivation for the present and the future generations to work on new ideas for a self-reliant India, self-reliant J&K and strengthen the resolve of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’, the Lt Governor noted.
The Lt Governor also stressed for conducting research about the great women leaders of Jammu Kashmir who made their invaluable contribution during the country’s freedom struggle.
Stories of Nari-Shakti, a voice of morality and patriotism will encourage and inspire the new generation, he further added.
The Lt Governor expressed gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” a Jan Andolan by celebrating 75 years of Independence under the Five Pillars- Freedom Struggle, Ideas at 75, Achievements at 75, Actions at 75 and Resolve at 75.
While highlighting the unprecedented reforms being introduced in J&K during the last 2-3 years, the Lt Governor said that under the guidance of Prime Minister, the UT of J&K is witnessing a historic transformation. Apart from implementing the three-tier system of Panchayati Raj; Valmiki, Gurkha and other marginalized communities, refugees from West Pakistan have been integrated into the mainstream, he added.
The Lt Governor congratulated the Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Jammu and all the associated members for organizing the National Seminar and hoped that the deliberations would help in highlighting self-less sacrifice of unsung heroes.
Various other speakers while speaking on the occasion explained the historical perspective of the role of J&K and its people in the freedom struggle and cultural significance of the region.
Dr Sanjeev Jain, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Jammu; Prof. Rajneesh Kumar Shukla, Vice-Chancellor, Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi VishwaVidyalaya, Wardha; besides other dignitaries, faculty members and research Scholars of CUJ attended the Seminar.