The fourth convocation ceremony of the Post Graduate Diploma in Agri Business Management of the Chaudhary Charan Singh National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (CCS-NIAM), Jaipur and the Agri Innovation and Incubation Center was inaugurated today by the chief guest, - the Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar. Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri Kailash Choudhary was the special guest. On this occasion, Shri Tomar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Government is continuously making efforts through various schemes for the betterment of the Agriculture sector. To bring more benefits to the Agriculture sector in the country and to make the villages more prosperous, the students and youth associated with Agriculture should also contribute. Shri Tomar also announced to add 60 seats in NIAM and abolish the provision of compulsory stay in hostel.

Union Minister Shri Tomar said that the Agriculture sector is important, in which everyone's interest should increase, youth should also be attracted towards it, it is the responsibility of all of us. There is livelihood in the Agriculture sector, but there is also the patriotism of the farmers, that is because everything will come to a halt without agriculture production. There are many challenges in the Agriculture sector, which the Central Government, by using technology, is successfully moving ahead to solve with the cooperation of the States. Many challenges like moving towards remunerative crops, crop diversification, elimination of middlemen in the sale of produce are being dealt with in a planned manner. Shri Tomar said that scientists have done a lot of work in the Agriculture sector, while, along with the untiring hard work of the farmers, there has been unprecedented progress in Agriculture due to the farmer-friendly policies of the Government. In terms of most of the agricultural produce, India is at Number One or Second rank in the world today, which we all together should aim to make it a leader. The world has a lot of expectations regarding food grains from India, which we are fulfilling and will continue to do so in the future. Agricultural research is a work of continuity, while there is no let up in the hard work of the farmers and the efforts of the government. Jobs are necessary for livelihood, but at the same time it is also necessary to improve the Agriculture sector, because 56 percent of the country's population is dependent on it.

Shri Tomar said that Prime Minister Modi constantly emphasizes that we should not only make the present beautiful, but also make India a developed nation by the time we celebrate the centenary of India’s Independence, this is a golden and historic opportunity for India. It is the responsibility of the new generation to take advantage of it. The future of the country in 2047 should be such that India becomes the torchlight to the world. In this direction, programs and schemes are being continuously evolved under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Modi. The Union Minister said that it is futile to wait for tomorrow, we should do the work now that can be done today. Appreciating the Agri Startups, Shri Tomar said that very good experiments have been done in the country. In the year 2014, when we came to power, there were 32 Startups in all sectors taken together. Startups in the country have been continuously encouraged by Prime Minister Shri Modi, due to which the number of Agri Startups alone has now increased to 2,000, whereas, including other sectors, more than 10,000 Startups are working. On their strength, India will become world guru in the future.

Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri Choudhary also addressed the gathering. Members of Parliament, Shri Ramcharan Bohra and Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Principal Secretary of Rajasthan, Shri Dinesh Kumar were among the dignitaries present. Dr. Vijayalakshmi Nadendla, Joint Secretary- Marketing and Director General of Regulation, delivered the welcome address. Dr. Ramesh Mittal, Director, NIAM proposed the vote of thanks.

During the convocation, Shri Tomar gave away diplomas to the students of Post Graduate Diploma-Agri Business Management and medals to the meritorious students. Shri Tomar also launched the products of Startups, trained and funded by NIAM and distributed cheques for grants. Startup exhibition and products display was also organized, in which startups trained and funded by NIAM participated.

On the occasion, awards were distributed to NIAM's partner institutions based on their performance in startup training and funding, including Platinum Award to Shri Karan Narendra Agricultural University, Jobner, Diamond Award to National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack (Odisha) and Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour was honored with the Gold Award. Shri Tomar also launched the website of Agri Innovation and Incubation Center, besides inaugurating the Farmer Producer Organization Business School and Smart Class Room and was provided with the status report of the Indo-German project. Nine publications of NIAM were also released during the ceremony.

*****

SNC/PK/MS