International hostel facility inaugurated at Indian Agriculture Research Institute

New Delhi: Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar recently inaugurated an international hostel ‘Madhumaas’ equipped with modern amenities at the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI). The inauguration programme was also graced by the Union Minister of State, Kailash Choudhary and Director General and Secretary DARE, Dr Himanshu Pathak.

Narendra Singh Tomar appreciated ICAR-IARI team for making significant contribution in research, education and teaching. He said that the whole world respects the contribution of IARI towards the attainment of food security by the country. Keeping in view, the international education of the institute and the increasing enrolment rate of students, student-centric hostels with high quality facilities and international standards are being constructed with the valuable help of the Government of India.

He congratulated everyone on the occasion of inauguration of International Hostel, “Madhumas” which is equipped with all the modern amenities. He said that in Amrit kaal, the Institute has to step forward to make itself a global university with high standards of education and research in the field of agriculture and this International Hostel will be an apt step towards realizing this dream. He highlighted the challenges including climate change and increasing food demand being faced by agriculture and the increased responsibilities of the scientists but also showed his trust that IARI will succeed in addressing these issues.

Union Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Kailash Chaudhary in his address expressed his happiness on the construction of the International hostel that will help IARI to develop as a multi-disciplinary university with global standards. He applauded the contribution of the Institute by mentioning the advanced crop varieties and technologies developed by the institute that have contributed towards realization of food and nutritional security of India.

He congratulated the Director, IARI for starting the UG programmes in 4 subjects including B.Sc. (Agriculture), B.Tech. (Agriculture Engineering), B.Tech. (Biotechnology), and B.Sc. (Community Science) in which 158 national level students have been enrolled. He said that it will help to develop quality manpower for higher education and at the same time the presence of young students will make the campus more vibrant. He added that the students who have been admitted in the Institute should learn the new techniques and implement them in their own villages to ensure enhanced food production and productivity.

The hostel can accommodate 504 students and includes 400 single bedded rooms; 56 single bedded rooms with bathroom and kitchen; and 48 family apartments. The hostel complex has Food Court, Gymnasium, Restaurant, Solar Energy System, Rain Water Harvesting System, Generator Based Power Back Up, Wi-Fi Network, R. O. etc.

Dr. Himanshu Pathak in his welcome address highlighted the role of ICAR in the implementation of New Education Policy -2020 and the glorious contributions of IARI in strengthening the agricultural research, education and extension in India. He highlighted that IARI’s contribution have been phenomenal in various dimensions of the agricultural development in the country. IARI alumni have been honored with prestigious awards like World Food Prize as well as Padma Awards besides several coveted positions in International Organizations. IARI has made significant contributions in food security through development of improved varieties and technologies, while basmati, paddy varieties account for more than 90 per cent export and wheat varieties account for more than 50 % production of wheat in India.

At last, formal vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. A. K. Singh, Director ICAR-IARI, New Delhi. He highlighted that with such arrangements, we can get the attraction of foreign and expatriate students.