TIRUPATI: Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University (SVVU) chancellor and Governor Biswa Bushan Harichandan said the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 envisages broad-based, multi-disciplinary and holistic undergraduate education with flexible curriculum.
Addressing the 11th convocation ceremony of SVVU, the governor said the NEP establishes a comprehensive framework and seeks to bring sweeping changes in the education system through 4Cs i.e critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration among faculty and students. He exhorted students to be job creators instead of job seekers.
The Governor noted that agriculture and its allied sectors such as dairy, livestock and fisheries play a pivotal role in the nation's economy. "Livestock sector, which is an integral component of agriculture, helps improve food and nutritional security by providing nutrient-rich food products, generate income and employment. It acts as a cushion against crop failures and contribute to the foreign exchange through exports," he said.
National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) estimates that livestock is the principal source of income for nearly 23 per cent of agricultural households in the country, the governor said adding, "Andhra Pradesh stood at 1st in the fisheries sector in India contributing 7.4 per cent to the State's GDP. Also, Andhra Pradesh produces 8 per cent of total milk of India accounting for more than 15.50 million tonnes. Further, Andhra Pradesh is the largest egg producing state and one out of five eggs produced in India is from the state."
Delivering the keynote address, Vice-Chancellor (VC) Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Professor Dr KN Selva Kumar said that the state is one of the agriculturally advanced states in India with mixed farming as the predominant system practised by over 80 percent of rural households in the State. He said about 23.63 lakh families were directly dependent on livestock for their livelihood.
Citing the recent State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, Selva Kumar said the report indicates that the world is not on track to reach the target of zero hunger by 2030.“At this juncture, livestock, fisheries and food sciences have a major role to play in addressing nutritional security, which is as important as food security,” Selva Kumar said.
SVVU V-C V Padmanabha Reddy said the university has established an IVF lab under an MoU with the TTD and received a research grant of Rs 3.8 crore for conservation of indigenous cattle breeds (Gir, Punganur, Ongole). He said the university has supplied one lakh doses of semen from Ongole breed and one thousand doses of Punganur semen from high genetic merit bulls to farmers for breed conservation.
The VC stated that the university is establishing a compound feed mixing plant in collaboration with the TTD with an outlay of Rs 8 crore for supply of quality feed to TTD dairy farm and farmers in the State through RBKs. The university awarded degrees to 392 UG, PG and PhD students. Aman KR Tiwari, who completed his BVSc & AH degree was presented with a record 11 gold medals.