National VC Conference: UP Governor calls for universities' active contribution in national progress
NOIDA: At the valedictory session of the two-day National Conference of Vice Chancellors hosted by Amity University Noida on Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh governor Anandiben Patel called on higher education institutions to extend their responsibilities beyond academics and contribute actively to national development. The event was organised by AIU to mark its 100th year. The conference brought together over 500 vice chancellors from across India. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)
Addressing the gathering on Tuesday, Patel stressed that universities must engage in grassroots interventions, including primary and secondary education, nutrition, clean water, and sanitation. 'Universities across the world are doing well in their respective fields, but they should also take up challenges like curbing malnutrition and working on the lack of basic health services,' said Patel, adding that skill development is crucial, not just for students, but even for vice chancellors.
She underlined the importance of empowering women, aiming for zero poverty, and stressed that academic MoUs must go beyond ceremonial gestures to enable real learning exchange.
Reflecting on India's rich scientific and cultural legacy, she said, 'Our vision is to make India a developed nation and a Vishwaguru. We must instil pride in our children about India's ancient discoveries and promote and disseminate knowledge.'
'The world is looking at India with new expectations, and we aim to make India a global superpower by 2047,' said Founder president, Amity Education Group, Dr Ashok K Chauhan, thanking the governor for her presence.
'The governor's commitment to national development is truly exemplary,' said president of Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Prof. Vinay Kumar Pathak.
The event was organised by AIU to mark its 100th year. The conference brought together over 500 vice chancellors from across India.
Patel congratulated AIU on completing 100 years and planted a sapling in the campus under the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' initiative.
District magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar, Manish Kumar Verma, AIU secretary general Dr Pankaj Mittal, and Noida authority officials among other dignitaries were present for the conference.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Iran-US Talks Next Week, We May Sign An Agreement, Say Trump
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that talks with Iran are scheduled next week. He added that Iran "may sign an agreement" regarding Tehran's nuclear programme. He was speaking at a press conference during the NATO summit in the Netherlands. 'I'll tell you what, we're going to talk with them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don't know,' HT reported, quoting Trump. Earlier today, US President Donald Trump warned of another strike if Iran rebuilds its nuclear sites, according to media reports. Trump's remarks follow US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's remark that the US bombing campaign obliterated Iran's ability to create nuclear weapons. "Based on everything we have seen - and I've seen it all - our bombing campaign obliterated Iran's ability to create nuclear weapons. Our massive bombs hit exactly the right spot at each target and worked perfectly. The impact of those bombs is buried under a mountain of rubble in Iran, so anyone who says the bombs were not devastating is just trying to undermine the President and the successful mission," Hegseth said, as quoted by CNN. Earlier, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that the country's nuclear facilities had been badly damaged. "Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that's for sure," NDTV reported, quoting Baghaei. The US on Saturday bombed three Iranian nuclear plants - Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan - under 'Operation Midnight Hammer'. The US attacked Iran because it has always opposed Tehran's possession of nuclear weapons. After US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, Tehran on Monday attacked America's air base in Qatar. After the attack on the US airbase, Trump on Tuesday announced a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Iran. The ceasefire announcement between Israel and Iran has been described as "good news" by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, who noted that this was the moment that all parties related to the matter "return to the negotiating table". In a series of posts on X on Tuesday, the EU Foreign Policy Chief urged all sides who were involved in the conflict in the region to refrain from further violence and avoid escalation.
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Constitution was murdered during Emergency, is protected by PM Modi: Gujarat CM
Drawing a comparison between the Emergency era and the present times, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday said while the Constitution, a symbol of people's hopes and aspirations, was murdered during Emergency, current Prime Minister Narendra Modi is bowing down before the Constitution and fulfilling the people's aspirations. CM Patel was addressing a public event — Samvidhan Hatya Diwas — in Gandhinagar to mark the 50th anniversary of imposition of Emergency in India in 1975. Patel said, 'The India of Emergency was such where (a) family was supreme and where people's rights were snatched away. And today, PM Narendra Modi is continuously trying to advance people's life as a Pradhan Sevak. In the India of Emergency, murder of the Constitution was committed. And in today's India, the PM is bowing down to the Constitution and fulfilling people's aspirations. Modi Saheb has displayed the feeling in which there is respect for the Constitution and the country's interest is supreme.' The event was organised by the Department of Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs of Gujarat government. Those present on the occasion included Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rushikesh Patel, former judge of Gujarat High Court Justice (retired) R R Tripathi, and Gandhinagar Mayor Miraben Patel among others. Without naming anyone, the CM said, 'The people of the country have seen such a PM in the past who murdered the Constitution for self-interest. Today, people have got PM Narendrabhai Modi who has protected the Constitution in the interest of the country. When the Constitution completed 25 years, the then PM murdered it and imposed Emergency in the country. When the Constitution completed 60 years, Narendrabhai (as Gujarat CM) carried out a Gaurav Yatra of the Constitution on a caparisoned elephant…This is the difference between their values and those of Narendrabhai. For them, the Constitution was not a holy book, but a weapon to do politics whereas Narendrabhai has always believed the Constitution as supreme.' CM Patel said that the changes brought about in the country by Modi were done while following the Constitution. 'In Modi's leadership, the dignity of the Constitution has become stronger and the autonomy of constitutional institutions has increased,' he said. He also said that the 11 years of India under PM Modi's leadership have become 'a golden period for democracy and the Indian Constitution'. Since last year, the Centre has been observing June 25 as 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas (Constitution Murder Day)' to commemorate the Emergency.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
A backbone for India's grassroots democracy
India's democracy draws its real strength from the ground up — from the panchayats and urban local bodies that are constitutionally recognised as the third tier of governance. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments laid down the vision of self-governing villages and towns, backed by decentralised planning and execution. Yet, decades later, this vision still lacks a functioning administrative structure to support local elected bodies in delivering development effectively. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments laid down the vision of self-governing villages and towns, backed by decentralised planning and execution. (HT Photo) Across the country today, gram panchayats (GPs) are implementing major national schemes like MGNREGA, Swachh Bharat Mission, Jal Jeevan Mission, PM Awas Yojana-Gramin, and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission. Together, these account for public expenditure worth several lakh crore rupees annually. Much of it flows through panchayats — institutions that, shockingly, operate with minimal to no professional staff. Most GPs have no technical assistant, no accountant, no civil engineer, and no planning support. The outcome is predictable. Projects suffer from poor design and shoddy execution. Fund utilisation remains weak. Citizens feel unheard and unserved. And elected local representatives are left disillusioned, blamed for outcomes they were never truly empowered to shape. An effort was made in 2010 to rectify this by allowing key functionaries to be hired within the MGNREGA funding, but this fell by the wayside. This structural gap in the governance architecture must be addressed. India needs to create a fit-for-purpose bureaucratic framework at the panchayat level — a core team of professionals anchored at each GP, working under the supervision of the elected sarpanch and accountable in day-to-day matters to ward panchs. The proposed team would include a panchayat executive officer trained in rural administration, a technical assistant with engineering qualifications, a gram sachiv to manage accounts and correspondence, and a data entry operator to enable digital governance. This team would function as the local institutional backbone — capable of drawing up plans, supervising works, maintaining records, enabling audits, and acting as a bridge between the citizenry and the state. It is not an expansion of bureaucracy, but a restoration of basic governance where it has long been absent. Understandably, the scale of such an initiative — covering over 2.6 lakh panchayats — raises questions about affordability. But here lies a crucial point: India is already spending heavily on panchayat-based schemes. What it lacks is the institutional mechanism to ensure that money translates into outcomes. The solution does not require fresh allocations, but a smarter reallocation of resources. A small portion — around 1.5% — of the annual outlays of major panchayat-linked schemes could be pooled and redirected to create a dedicated fund under the ministry of panchayati raj. This fund, the panchayat administrative support for programme delivery (PASPD), would be used to finance the core administrative teams at the GP level. The ministry of finance should deduct this amount pro-rata from scheme allocations and transfer it directly to this new budget head. However, the reform must be shielded from the chronic problem of state-level delays and diversions. Funds released by the Centre often languish in state treasuries. To prevent this, the Finance Commission must recommend enforceable safeguards. States must be mandated to release PASPD funds to panchayats within 15 working days. Follow-up instalments should be linked to performance, fund usage, and transparency. A publicly accessible dashboard should track fund flows, and ward panchs should be empowered to verify work done and flag lapses. This reform is both pragmatic and transformative. It addresses the glaring contradiction of expecting high-quality development delivery from institutions that lack even a basic professional team. It enhances citizen trust in local governance, empowers elected representatives with execution capacity, and improves value for money for taxpayers. The 16th Finance Commission now has an opportunity and a constitutional obligation to make this happen. Articles 243-I and 243-Y empower it to recommend measures to augment the Consolidated Fund of the States to support panchayats and urban local bodies. These recommendations should include conditional fiscal transfers for administrative strengthening. In the end, this is a democratic correction. By investing in a professional support structure at the grassroots, India can move from tokenism to transformation — from political devolution to functional empowerment. Arvind Mayaram, a former Union finance secretary, is chairman, Institute of Development Studies Jaipur. The views expressed are personal.
