The governor lieutenant general (retd) Gurmit Singh said that women empowerment will play a key role in making Uttarakhand a developed State of the country in this decade. He was participating in the sixth convocation ceremony of the Swami Rama Himalayan University as the chief guest on Tuesday.  

Expressing happiness that 14 out of 15 scholars getting PhD degrees and receiving gold medals are girls, the governor said it shows that women are taking a lead in every sphere. The governor expressed confidence that under the leadership of women the State will achieve new heights in development. Singh exhorted the students to adopt the three mantras of intrinsic power, skill of being happy and selfless service and termed them as trident of Lord Shiva. He said that the students are leaders in themselves and like a warrior they should face the challenges posed by life.

Appreciating the university for setting up a cancer research institute and establishing a hill campus in village Toli, the birthplace of Swami Ram, the governor said the campus will play a pivotal role in rural development and preventing migration. He urged students to serve the nation and society with dedication, emphasising SRHU's esteemed position as an institution of repute.

The governor commended the enthusiasm of all students and expressed satisfaction in witnessing the rich cultural display during the ceremony. He praised the increasing academic excellence of female students and paid tribute to the brave soldiers through a floral tribute at the wall of valour. 

The vice-chancellor of the university, Rajendra Dobhal highlighted the university's illustrious history, and stressed the importance of education as a means of self-awareness, empowerment and transformation.

The convocation saw 644 degrees conferred, distributed across various disciplines, including medical sciences, nursing, biosciences, yoga sciences, management studies, and science and technology.  In the programme 21 meritorious students were honoured, with special recognition for academic excellence, research contributions, and Swami Rama best graduate award. 

The event concluded with the lighting of a lamp in front of a portrait of SRHU founder Swami Ram.