Srinagar, June 9 (UNI) Deputy Director General (DDG) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Dr Rakesh Chandra Agrawal complimented Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) of Kashmir for being one of the top performers under the National Agriculture Higher Education Project (NAHEP) and reviewed the world bank funded Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) project on Thursday.
Dr Agarwal who is one a three day visit to SKUAST-K to assess the progress of the prestigious Rs 30 crore project awarded under the World Bank-Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) funded under NAHEP to the farm university in July 2019.
He also reviewed the institutional development plan (IDP) of SKUAST Kashmir at Shalimar.
The DDG, while addressing the review meeting on early Thursday morning, complimented SKUAST-K for being one of the top performers under the NAHEP.
The DDG, while addressing the review meeting complimented SKUAST-K for being one of the top performers under the NAHEP.
He said among 64 farm universities and institutes, SKUAST-K is doing remarkably well under the project, and both ICAR and World Bank monitoring and evaluation teams have given excellent reviews and have rated the SKUAST-K performance as outstanding.
Talking about the implementation of NEP-2020 in agricultural universities, Dr Agrawal said now the focus should be on own revenue generation so that these institutions can become self-reliant by 2035 as required by the policy.
He said SKUAST-K has a lot of opportunities to create its revenue model from various entrepreneurial ventures and services it can provide.
Dr Agrawal said, to become a global university, SKUAST-K must now work on bringing international students to the university and organise international programmes.
He also interacted with the SKUAST-K students, who are on a visit to Kansas State University, USA. He said this kind of exposure helps make students future leaders and provides them with the confidence to overcome various challenges while building their careers.
The DDG stressed providing an eco-system to students so that after leaving the university they won’t be dependent on government jobs rather open their own entrepreneurial ventures.
Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-K, Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai, briefed the DDG about the progress of SKUAST-K under NAHEP said the place the university has made for itself among the top farm institutions of the country is only because of the ICAR support and NAHEP.
The changes that have happened in the university and the milestones achieved are because of the NAHEP. He said the university is conducting every day an event, training or workshop under the NAHEP.
