National Webinar on Self-Reliant India: Agriculture and Beyond

Bureau,Odishabarta

Bhubaneswar,11/12/2020:School of Rural Management, Xavier University, Bhubaneswar, is hosting a national webinar on ‘Self-Reliant India: Agriculture and Beyond’ on the 11th and 12th of December. The school of Rural Management will be celebrating its 25 years of excellence in Rural Management Education, and the national webinar will include students and academicians, practitioners and policy makers from all over the country.

The most crucial test of one’s self-dependency is during times of crisis. Rural India has withstood this test as the pandemic engulfed almost the entire country under its harsh shadow. Significantly low Covid fatality rate in rural areas, growth in agriculture, bumper rabi crop bear testimony to this fact. Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (Self-reliant India Campaign) is incomplete without the self-reliant villages as more and more policymakers have been indulging in promoting ‘Vocal for Local.’

The Webinar will be Presided over by the Vice- Chancellor, Xavier University, Bhubaneswar, Dr.Fr. Antony R. Uvari, S.J., and the Inaugural and Keynote Address will be delivered by Shri V.L.V.S.S. Subba Rao, IES, Principal Economic Advisor, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. The Academic Dean of School of Rural Management, Xavier University, Bhubaneswar, Prof. S. Peppin, will give the welcome address and set the objectives of the Webinar. There will be four panels over the two days, two panels each day.

The theme for the first panel is ‘Agriculture for Self-Reliant India: Role of Academic Ecosystems.’ The Panel members are Dr. S.K. Kashyap, Dean, College of Agriculture, GBPUA&T, Pantnagar; Dr. Karanjeet Singh Thind, Dean, College of Agriculture, PAU, Ludhiyana; and  Prof. K. K. Rout, Dean, College of Agriculture, OUAT, Bhubaneswar.

The theme for the second panel is ‘Going beyond Agriculture for Self-Reliant India.’ The Panel members are Dr. B. P. Mishra, Director (Acting), IVRI, Bareilly; Dr. P. G. Wasnik, Associate Dean Dairy Technology (MAFSU); and Dr. Anthony Joseph Raj, Dean, College of Forestry (SHUATS, Formerly AAU).

The theme for the third panel is ‘Enabling Academic Ecosystems of Agriculture and Allied Sciences; Role of International Institutions.’ The Panel members are Dr. Sreenath Dixit, Principal Scientist & Head ICRISAT Development Center (IDC) Asia Program; and Mr. Andrew Goodland, Lead Agriculturist, India and Srilanka, World Bank.

The theme for the fourth panel is ‘Enabling Academic Ecosystem of Agriculture and Allied Sciences; Role of National Institutions.’ The Panel members are Mr. Pravesh Sharma, IAS (Rtd.), Chairman; Shri K. J. Satyasai, CGM, DEAR (NABARD) Head Office, Mumbai; and Shri C. UdayaBhaskar, CGM, Orissa Regional Office.

The School of Rural Management is one of the first schools in the University and houses the 25-year-old Postgraduate Programme in Rural Management of XIMB. Our MBA-RM program has been ranked 2nd in India and 15th in the world by the Eduniversal Best Masters Ranking 2019. Our long-standing engagement with Rural Management education encourages us to bring all the actors involved in rural development together to discuss and explore various strategies for making AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan a reality.

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