beneficiary farmers' of System of Rice Intensification (SRI technique) were held on 25, 29 and 30 June 2015 by Sardar Sarovar Project working at Paddy Research station, Dabhoi. Total 60 beneficiary farmers got the kits of paddy seeds (var. GAR- 13) and fertilizers.

A training and distribution programme was organized by MMRS, AAU, Maize on 19 June 2015 at College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Godhra. Dr K.B. Kathiria, Director of Research and Dean (PG studies), inaugurated it. Dr M.L. Gaur, Principal, CAET, suggested of distribution of maize shellers procured under the project “Tribal Sub-Plan: Encouraging Tribal Youth/Women for adopting proven Agricultural engineering technology on mechanization, Value addition and Resource conservation in middle Gujarat” along with distribution of weeder from MMRS maize. Tubular maize shellers were distributed to 49 ST farmers to encourage them in adopting proven technologies. .

The Extension activities and outreach programmes are undertaken at the colleges or institutes and 5 research centres of the university. The various extension activities include conduction of certificate courses, skill-development programmes, vocational training programmes, participation in exhibitions, demonstrations, farm-advisory services and bringing out extension publications for promoting fisheries.

A joint review meeting of the ICAR institutes, both farm universities and all departments concerned with agricultural development in Himachal Pradesh, was held at the university on 22 May 2015. The chief guest, Shri Sujan Singh Pathania, Minister of Agriculture, MPP & Power, H.P., exhorted the farm scientists and officers to help small and marginal farmers with useful and affordable technologies. Dr K.K. Katoch, VC, told that climate change will affect agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry sectors, and the university was working to secure interests of farmers under uncertain climate conditions.

An Awareness-cum-Online Demonstration Seminar on e-learning portal on 'Agricultural Education; e-Krishi Shiksha' was organized at the university on 11 June 2015. The chief guest, Dr K.K. Katoch, VC, disclosed that the university was in the process to streamline its entire working, especially post-graduate and under-graduate education, by adopting information and communication technology. Dr R.C. Goyal, Emeritus Scientist, Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, sensitized the faculty of all the constituent colleges about e- Krishi Shiksha portal, developed and operated by the ICAR.

A group meeting of All-India Network Project on Soil Arthropods was held at the university during 19-20 June 2015, in which scientists engaged in soil-arthropods research across the country took part. Dr J.S. Sandhu, DDG (Crop Sciences), ICAR, the chief guest, stressed for the

Director of Extension Education, said on completion of this the unemployed youth can start their enterprise, which can provide the needed employment as well as diversify the agriculture. He said that this was a complete capsule training that prepares the farmers to undertake dairying as an enterprise and also sensitize the trainees to have strong liaison with GADVASU for their further needs and help them in tackling the problems of this enterprise.
Dr M.P. Gupta, Professor-cum-Head, said that the experts from College of Veterinary Science delivered their lectures on various aspects of dairy farming. The farmers were advised to have proper planning on land, funds and availability of loans etc. They were also guided to keep high yielding dairy animals in their herds. Instructions were provided for constructing cheap but comfortable sheds for their animals, to train them in better hygienic conditions and excellent management. A major part of the expenditure in dairy farming is on feed and fodder. The farmers were guided to make the green fodder available to their animals throughout the year. They were encouraged to make the concentrate feed and prepare the silage at the farm itself. They were trained to differentiate between healthy and sick animals. Role of regular vaccination, deworming and hygiene in prevention of the diseases was stressed upon. The first-aid methods for various ailments were taught and practical demonstrations were held. Tips for timely detection of heat, timely artificial insemination, and the care of pregnant and new-born animals were emphasized. Dr Udeybir Singh, Course Co-ordinator of the training, informed that all the farmers showed great interest in learning new technicalities of dairy farming.

A seven member delegation from Nuffield Global Farming Scholars, including the Scholar Farmers from Australia, New Zealand and Brazil visited the university.
Dr S.N.S. Randhawa gave a brief introduction of the university and its different research activities to the delegates. Dr Simrat Sagar Singh, Dean (Post-Graduate) studies, revealed the functioning of the university in higher education. Dr Sushil Prabhakar, Registrar, described the important and vital international collaborations and exchange programmes. The meeting was attended by senior faculty members of the university.

India participated in an International symposium on Dairy Animal Reproduction, organized by University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, (Pakistan) in collaboration with Society for Animal Reproduction, (Lahore, Pakistan) on the theme: 'New knowledge: new techniques'. From Department of Veterinary Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Dr Parkash Singh Brar, Prof-cum-Head, delivered the keynote address on 'Recent advances in understanding and approaches to reproductive disorders in dairy animals. Dr V.K. Gandotra and Dr S.P.S. Ghuman also presented their work on 'Effect of heat stress on buffalo reproduction, and oestrus synchronization protocols applied under field conditions to improve animal reproduction.' Dr Brar also chaired a technical session wherein students from Turkey, Pakistan etc. presented their works on goats, as well as male and female animals.

The Department of Livestock Products Technology, organized a Entrepreneurship Development Programme on “Hygienic processing and value addition of meat and meat products for employment generation and women empowerment” from 29 Dec. 2014 to 24 Jan. 2015. Ministry of Food Processing Industries under National Mission on Food Processing sponsored the programme. Total 32 trainees including SC/ST/women and the minority candidates from 3 states participated in it. Total 67 lectures were delivered, with 24 hands -on- training practicals, financial institutions

Mahendra Mashru, MLA; Jitubhai Hirpara, Mayor, Junagadh; Kanubhai Bhalala, Former Minister of Agriculture, Gujarat; Bhikhudanbhai Gadhvi, Folk artist, etc. The university is the first to start such a community radio station service for the farmers. In his presidential address, Shri Mohanbhai Kundaria appreciated the efforts made by the University for introducing such a unique service for the farmers. This radio station service is available in Junagadh city and in the 15 km surrounding area, covering 70 villages. The main broadcast takes place at 7.30 am daily, with re-broadcast at 1.30 pm and 5.30 pm. In the initial phase, the programmes on horticulture, animal husbandry, education, literature, culture, folk art, health etc subjects are available to the listeners.

Shri Babubhai Bokhiria, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, performed Lokarpan ceremony of buildings viz., Dolphin Boys' Hostel and Hands-On-Training Centre (Aquaculture), and Stone-Laying Ceremony of the building of Fisheries College, at JAU, Veraval on 20 June 2015. Shri Jasabhai Barad, Minister of Agriculture (State), Government of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, Dr A.R. Pathak, VC, and Dr A.Y. Desai, Director of Research were present on this occasion.

Dr S.M. Shivaprakash, Directorate of Extension, signed MoU with Hyderabad-Karnataka Centre for Advanced Learning, Kalaburagi, to train 1,500 unemployed youth and women of 18-35 age-groups for creating entrepreneurship in Dairy farming. About 450 youth and women have been trained with the technical support of faculty from Veterinary College, Bidar. The programmes are coordinated by Dr Prakash Kumar Rathod, Assistant Professor, Veterinary College, Bidar. The programmes are sponsored by Zilla Panchayat, Bidar (Karnataka), through “Rajiv Gandhi Chaitanya Yojane” of Karnataka Livelihood Mission.

Department of Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology, LUVAS, established the facility for quality assurance of foods of animal origin under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna. Maj. Gen. (Dr) Shrikant, VC, visited this laboratory. In this laboratory, samples derived from animals such as milk, meat and their products will be tested for detection of important food-borne pathogens as well as antibiotic residues in them. Facilities for pathogen detection by PCR and antibiotic residues by HPLC techniques have been established. This facility will help increase the income of producers by selecting highly priced quality products.

Training on “Diagnostic Vet Ultrasonography” for Remount Veterinary Corps was held during 13-22 Apr. 2015. Dr R.K. Chandolia was the Course Director of this training. In this training there were RVC officers, viz. Major Raghav Sharma from EBS, Hisar; Capt. Mukesh Sihag from EBS, Babugarh; Capt. Rishi Sharma from RTS & D, Saharanpur; and Capt Jaipaul Chauhan from RTS & D. Hempur. The officers were given training on equine, canine and bovine for 10 days.

and landless farmers in the Farming system for nutrition project villages under “Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia” in animal-farming activities like animal husbandry, fisheries and any other activity that is pro-nutrition and can be economically viable, including livestock management and animal health, with access to quality fodder and feed. Mr V.V. Rane, Registrar; and Ms R.V. Bhavani, Project Manager, LANSA, MSSRF, signed the MoU in the presence of Prof. A.K. Misra.

On the occasion of his birth anniversary the fifth Dr C.R. Sane Oration was held on 12 May 2015 at Bombay Veterinary College. Prof. A.K. Misra, delivered the oration on “Emerging reproductive technology to augment fertility, fecundity & animal productivity”.
The Alumni Association and Department of Animal Reproduction, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Bombay Veterinary College, organized the oration. Dr V.L. Deopurkar, former Director of Research, and President of the oration, also guided the participants. Dr A.M. Paturkar, Associate Dean, ex-officio President of Alumni Association, briefed upon the activities of the Association and the college. The journal of Bombay Veterinary College was released on this occasion.

An Awareness workshop on key issues related to genetically modified crops was organized by MPKV, Rahuri in collaboration with M/s Biotech Consortium India Ltd, New Delhi at YASHADA, Pune, on 17 Jan. 2015. It focussed the increasing role of scientists and officials at the state level in development and evaluation of GM crops. Total 150 participants including scientists of the Vidyapeeth, representatives of the ICAR institutes, State Department, Biotechnology colleges, Shetkari Sangathan and students attended the workshop. Eminent dignitaries including Dr Anil Kakodkar, Chairman, State Government Committee on GM crops; Dr T.A More, VC; Shri Vikas Deshmukh, Commissioner (Agriculture); Dr B. Venkateswarlu, VC, VNMKV, Parbhani; Dr R.B. Deshmukh, former VC, MPKV, Rahuri; Dr R.S. Patil, Director of Research; and Dr Vibha Ahuja Chief General Manager, BCIL, New Delhi, were present at the inaugural function of the workshop.

The 34th Convocation of the university was held on 7 May 2015. H.E. Dr S.C. Jamir, Governor of Odisha and Chancellor of the university, presided over the function; and Sj. Pradeep Maharathy, Pro- chancellor and Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Resource development; Odisha attended the function as the guest of honor. Padma Bhushan Prof. Madappa Mahadevappa, former VC, UAS, Dharwad, was the chief guest, who delivered the convocation address. Prof. Mahadevappa and Dr Robert Stewart Zeigler, DG and CEO, IRRI, Manila (Philippines), were conferred with Honorary Doctorates in recognition of their illustrations services in the field of agricultural sciences. In this Thirty-Fourth Convocation, 1245 graduates, 683 post-graduates and 25 Ph. D. students were conferred degrees in various disciplines. Besides, 200 gold medals and 11 cash prizes were also awarded to those who excelled in their academic pursuit and co- curricullar activities during the academic session 2013-14 and 2014-15.

A meeting of state-level research council and extension council was held

extrusion processing and soy milk processing. The FIC has opened 4 lines for training the farmers especially the youths of the state. These lines include fruit and vegetable processing, canning lines, milling and soya processing. Apart from imparting value-addition skills to the farmers, the testing and analytical facilities of the centre are being used by research scholars as well as various food industries and entrepreneurs of the state.

Smt. Hamamalini, Member of Parliament, Mathura, visited the university on 28 Apr. 2015. She inaugurated Go Anusandhan Sansthan Parisar and dedicated it to the service of the nation. The mandate of the Sansthan is to carry out research on conservation of native breeds of cattle in India, to improve the production of cattle, to prepare various products by value addition in cow milk and milk products etc. At the onset, a meeting was convened with senior officers and in- charge officers of the university. Prof. A.C. Varshney, VC, welcomed her and briefed about various academic and other activities of the university. On this occasion Prof. S.K. Garg, Dean, College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, made a brief presentation about overall university activities. Smt. Hema Malini visited the museum, dairy farm and poultry unit of the university.

Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, Union Minister of State for Agriculture, visited the university on 15 June 2015. He interacted with Dr A.C. Varshney, VC, and senior officers on various issues of university and Rashtriya Gokul Mission Project. In his discussion with VC, he informed that very shortly the university may get this project and funds will be made available. He also visited museum and new campus of the university.

Summer training on "Virological techniques in fish-disease diagnosis" for 10 days was organized in the Department of Fish Pathology and Health Management at Fisheries College and Research Institute during 4-13 May 2015. In the concluding session, Dr G. Sugumar, Dean In-charge, informed that such programmes offered by the department of Fish Pathology and Health Management would really help the needy personnel working in the field to identify the pathogens and help the farmers

progress of the university. H.E. Shri Vajubhai Vala, Governor of Karnataka and Chancellor of the university presided over the convocation. Shri Krishna Byregowda, Minister of Agriculture, Government of Karnataka, and Pro- chancellor of the university, awarded Ph.D. degrees to 67 Master degrees to 204 and Bachelor degrees to 574 students, and presented medals to meritorious students.
Bharat Ratna Prof. C.N.R. Rao, National Research Professor, Linus Pauling Research Professor and Honorary President of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru delivered the convocation address. Prof. C.N.R. Rao called upon scientists to address the problems of food security, energy and water productivity by adopting the state of art technologies. He advised students not to give up easily on research endeavors by observing that "to prove something in agricultural science, you need to wait with patience".

Dr S. Ayyappan, Secretary, DARE and DG, ICAR, New Delhi, inaugurated Phenomics Facility at Department of Crop Physiology, College of Agriculture, of the university on 14 Mar. 2015.
A novel phenomics platform was developed at Department of Crop Physiology, with funding support from the ICAR under its Niche Area of Excellence programme, in collaboration with IISc, Bengaluru. This facility can be effectively adopted for screening a mapping population and for germplasm leading to mapping QTL and for assessing the functional relevance of specific genes or QTL introgressed lines.

A model training on 'Rational weedicide use for better crop productivity', sponsored by Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, was organized during 6-13 Jan. 2015 by Directorate of Research and Department of Agronomy, Parbhani. Dr B. Venkateswarlu, VC, inaugurated the function. The participants from State Agriculture Department and KVKs from different parts of the state including faculty members participated in the training.

The university released five varieties of various crops, one each of jowar, paddy, chilli and two of cotton, along with 1 innovative farm implement. Twenty one research recommendations pertaining to Agronomy, Soil Science, Entomology, Horticulture, Food Technology, Home Science, Agricultural Engineering etc. were also approved in the 43rd joint Agresco meet held at MPKV, Rahuri during 28-30 May 2015.

The kharif jowar hybrid, SPH 1641, is high yielding compared with the checks, and is tolerant to black mould, stem fly and stem borer. Hence it is recommended for cultivation in rainy season kharif in Maharashtra.

The American cotton NH 635 is a straight, high-yielding variety with superior fibre quality, and is tolerant to sucking pests, alterneria and blacterial blight. Hence it is recommended for cultivation under rainfed condition in Maharashtra.

The American cotton hybrid 250 is high yielding has better fiber quality with tolerance to sucking pests, as well as alternaria, and bacterial blight. This variety is recommended for cultivation under rainfed condition in Maharashtra.

The chilli PBNC1 is high yielding variety for green chilli recommended for kharif season in Marathwada region.

The paddy PBNR 03-02 recorded higher yield and long grain size over the checks the Parag and Avishkar. Hence it is recommended for irrigated condition in Marathwada region.

Department of Poultry Science, Post-graduate Institute of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Akola, with "Programme Officer Appreciation Certificate Award" at a grand ceremony in Mumbai on 8 June 2015.

Mr F. Parthiban, Assistant Professor, Department of Fish Processing Technology, Fisheries College and Research Institute, Ponneri, received the Best Paper Award during the first National Conference (theme: Tamil Can Do-Fishery) organized jointly by TANUVAS, Chennai and Agricultural Scientific Tamil Society, New Delhi, during 13-14 June 2015 at Madras Veterinary College, Chennai.

Chaudhary Devi Lal Outstanding All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) Award for 2014 was announced to AICRP on Palms, Kasargod and its AICRP centre, Ambajipeta, Andhra Pradesh.
Kovvur centre of Dr YSRHU was awarded the Best AICRP centre for fruits by ICAR for the year 2015 at 2nd Annual Group Meeting organized at MPUAT, Udaipur, (Rajasthan).

Prof. Akhtar Haseeb, took over as VC, NDUAT, Faizabad on 21 Oct. 2014. He was born in the year, 1955, in district Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, did his M.Sc. in 1976, M.Phil in 1977 and Ph.D. in 1983 from AMU, Aligarh. He started his career as a Scientist in 1983 from CIMAP, Lucknow and elevated to Sr. Asstt. Director. His significant contribution to the CIMAP, Lucknow includes the development of a high yielding clone of Mentha arvensis cv. Himalaya. It gained an International Patent and also received CSIR - Technology Award (1999) as a team member. In 1997, he joined as Professor in Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and held many responsible positions: Chairman, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences; Dean, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences; Controller of Examinations and Admissions, Officer-on-Special Duty (Development), etc. Prof. Haseeb is a Fellow of 10 and Life Member of 13 Scientific Societies; elected President, Nematological Society of India (2016-18). He has been Scientific Advisor of the Bioengineering and Biological Sciences, Varanasi; Member and advisor in number of important organizations in U.P. and New Delhi.
Prof. Haseeb visited Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences, North Florida Research and Education Center, University of Florida and Georgia as well as 13 other universities and agricultural farms in the USA. He has completed many research projects of major prestigious funding agencies like ICAR, NATP, DBT, UPCAR, UPCST, AICRP-Nematodes - ICAR, etc. He supervised many M.Sc., M.Phil and Ph.D. students, research associates, etc. He has published 144 research papers in national and international journals of repute. Prof. Haseeb has received "Vigyan Gaurav Award"-UPCST (UP); "Recognition award - gold medal,", "Life Time Achievement Award-", "Outstanding Scientist Award", "Plant Pathology Leadership Award" and "Plant Nematology Leadership Award", Indian Phytopathological Society, "Prof. M.S. Pavgi Lecture Award" "Prof. V.P. Bhide Memorial Award Lecture", "Rishi - Nematode Management"-"Honor of Distinction ", "Dr B. Vasantharaj David Award", and "Late Shri P.P. Singhal Memorial Award ".