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Reaching out to farmers Cheaper
software for students
Campus Notes
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Reaching out to farmers
The ubiquitous grain markets—or mandis—have been a hub for the sale and purchase of agricultural produce since a long time. However, the authorities concerned had not been able to create additional marketing opportunities for the farmers, nor did the mandis have proper post–harvest facilities or advisory services. To providing these missing links, the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, under the aegis of the state Agriculture Department, has launched a novel scheme to convert these mandis into agri–business hubs and information centres. State agricultural universities and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, have been roped in for consultancy. As part of the ambitious project, the board has decided to set up Agri-Business Information Centres at the mandis across the state. While two of these centres have already been commissioned at Sirsa and Hisar, more would soon be established. Apart from providing information on agricultural marketing and agronomic practices, these centres would play a key role in improving the quality of agricultural produce by educating the farmers about the scientific approach to farming. “Our aim is to make the farmers aware of the latest advances in agriculture and help them getting a remunerative price for their produce. We will also provide them the relevant information on agro-marketing, organic farming and improvement of crop quality,” observes Ms Navraj Sandhu, Chief Administrator of the Board. These centres have been provided with computer systems, television sets and touch–screens for instant information on various agriculture-related issues. Libraries containing films and literature on farm education and related matters have also been set up at these centres for the benefit of the farmers. The centres house the Agriculture Development Officers for guiding the farmers and organising regular training programmes, seminars, workshops, and buyer–seller meetings. Under the Technology Mission on Cotton, laboratories to test and grade farm produce have been set up in these centres and necessary equipment for other identified crops are also proposed to be provided. Ms Sandhu asserts that these centres will provide complete information on marketing, post–harvest management of crops and prevention from various diseases. “Since this will require linkages with the Agriculture Department and agricultural universities, it has been decided that some Agriculture Development Officers of the Agriculture Department and representatives from the Horticulture Department would also be available at these centres to render extension services,” she adds. In order to have a sharp focus, initially, five commodities, including cotton, paddy, wheat, cauliflower and kinnoo have been identified for market information development. It was observed that to study the marketing conditions regarding the identified commodities, a formal study was required. For this, the authorities of Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, have been requested to provide technical guidance and depute students and faculty members for conducting marketing research. Ms Sandhu maintains that the responsibility of the Agro-Marketing Board is not merely to maintain the grain markets and roads connecting these to villages, but also to ensure that the farmers are getting proper marketing facilities and reasonable profits on their produce. “It was with this motive that the plan to set up these centres was conceptualised,” she affirms, adding that feedback from the farming community would always be welcomed to better their functioning. All in all, the move to set up centres to educate the farmers about various aspects of agricultural practices, besides providing them much-needed information on marketing their produce, is a step in the right direction.
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Cheaper
software for students Students in India would be able to buy Microsoft Office around 8-10 times cheaper than that of the actual price, according to an announcement made by the company. The new price is a part of an initiative called MS Student Select, under with Microsoft would price MS Office (Standard version and Office Professional) at $ 31 - 35 per licence. There are close to 2.2 million registered Office users in India, though a majority of them are from the corporate sector. Microsoft is seeking to get a good presence in the academic sector as well as home users. Relatively cheap and licensed software would prove to be an attractive tool for discouraging pirated software, a bugbear with all software companies. Students would also find it attractive to buy the software, which is certified virus free and is
legitimate. However, there are concerns about the lack of distribution facilities, which will have to be ramped up for the expected growth in sales. The initiative has come in for praise; since students in the West would have to, typically, pay double the price that Indian students pay for this initiative. — R.S.
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Campus Notes Demand not met, students lock
college
A number of MSc students from the departments of Biotechnology, Bio-informatics and Food Science and Technology observed a strike and even locked the gate of Basic Sciences College of HAU in support of their demand. The protesters were demanding that the development fee charged from the students of these three disciplines be scrapped. The protesting students later withdrew their agitation on being assured of sympathetic consideration by the university Registrar, Dr M. S. Kuhad. However, the proposal to scrap the development fee was shot down at a meeting of the HAU Academic Council. In accordance with directions on adopting a self-financing approach from the government, the university authorities had introduced a development fee in these three highly specialised professional courses. Official sources point out that in the first place, the equipment and chemicals used in practical classes of these subjects are very costly. Moreover, following a Supreme Court directive on not having more than one fee structure for a course, the system of NRI-sponsored or paid seats has been abolished by the university. Thus, the development fee was necessitated. According to informed sources, the protest was illogical and untimely as the exact amount and nature of fees were clearly mentioned in the prospectus. The possibility of the protest being sponsored by some vested interests can also not be ruled out. Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar Reconstruction work on studio starts
The construction work on the studio of Department of Communication Management and Technology has begun once again. The under-construction studio building, which was about to be completed, was gutted by fire in November last. Following this, a committee was formed to inquire into the reasons leading to the mishap. The committee found the building contractor responsible for the mishap. He was told to reconstruct the building. According to university officials, the reconstruction work of the studio has been started and the contractor has been told to complete it in a month. The GJU Registrar, Mr Y.P. Goswami, maintained that suggestions on fire-safety measures in proposed as well as existing buildings had been invited from the Delhi and Chandigarh Fire Station authorities to avoid the recurrence of such an accident in future. He said the buildings of a boys hostel and a girl hostel had been completed and would be commissioned soon. Several other buildings would also come up on the university campus, he added. — Contributed by Sunit Dhawan |
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