A total of 1,295 students — including 891 graduates, 299 postgraduates and 105 doctoral students — were awarded their degrees at the convocation ceremony at the University of Agricultural Sciences on Thursday.
160 students won gold medals, which included 29 medals for PhD students. Governor Thawarchand Gehlot awarded the degrees and medals to students.
Speaking at the event, Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, said that the PPP model should be strengthened for quick results in the agriculture sector, especially for scaling up technologies, research and infrastructure.
Though the ICAR-State Agricultural Universities system has been stimulating the growth of the agricultural sector in India, the research system has been declining, he said.
The number of full-time equivalent scientists working at the universities has declined, along with the universities’ share of research funds.
Dr Pathak also shed light on various digital technologies that can enhance the sector.
State agriculture minister N Chaluvarayaswamy congratulated UAS for ranking 11 among the 75 agricultural universities in the country in 2023.