As many as 316 students were awarded degrees and 21 gold medals were awarded at the first convocation of lala lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (lUVAS) in Hisar, on the occasion of the 151st birth anniversary of freedom fighter lala lajpat Rai.
Delivering the convocation address, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh was all praise for the academic achievements and high standards of research at the university. He also appreciated its excellent services to the livestock owners of the State.
Radha Mohan Singh exhorted the students to have a single goal in life, obtain knowledge regularly, work hard and be determined in the pursuit of their goals. Congratulating the students and their families, the Minister said that graduation holds an important place in every person’s life.
He highlighted some of the major achievements of the University, including its research and contribution in development of a new breed of dairy cattle ‘Hardhenu’, which is a crossbreed of Holstein Friesian, Hariana and Sahiwal breeds.
The University has signed eight MoUs with national and international public and private institutions and also established ‘Business Planning and Development Unit and IPR Cell’ for patenting and licensing of technologies, which would help not only the farmers of Haryana but also those of other states.
He said that the University has taken lead role in differentiating cow meat from buffalo meat, besides testing milk and milk products, which is in sync with the Haryana Gauvansh Sanrakshan and Gausamvardhan Act, 2015, passed recently by the Haryana Government. Under this Act, the Government would establish laboratories for differentiation of beef from the meat of other species of animals, testing and identification of various constituents of milk and milk products and testing and differentiation of A1 and A2 milk for providing incentives for wholesome production of milk and milk products.
Speaking on the occasion, Haryana Governor and Chancellor of the University, Kaptan Singh Solanki, congratulated the students and their families and advised them to become better human beings. He said that they should remember five things starting with the letter ‘G’, including ‘Gaaye’, ‘Gita’, ‘Ganga’, ‘Gayatri Mantra’ and ‘Ganesha’.
laying stress on the need for veterinarians, Solanki said that animal husbandry was becoming increasingly important with the decrease in fertile land holdings.
Addressing the gathering, Haryana Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar appealed to the students to work on improving the condition of cattle through increase in their number and productivity.
The Minister said that Haryana should be developed as an advanced organic farming State.
He added that 2016 being the golden jubilee year for Haryana, efforts should be made to tackle some of the challenges related to animal health and production this year.