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Rain boosts paddy transplantation
Ludhiana, July 5 Due to persistence of cloudy weather and above normal relative humidity, evaporation losses from soil remained below normal, which are conducive to reducing water losses from paddy fields. According to Meteorological Department, the south-west monsoon has advanced into some parts of Punjab and Haryana. The northern limit of the monsoon has now reached Punjab. A low pressure area has formed over the Bay of Bengal with associated upper air cyclonic circulation extending up to the mid-tropospheric level. Consequently, thundershowers are expected over central and north-west regions of the country. Comparing the current weather conditions with the corresponding period in June, 2005, a PAU agrometeorologist, Dr Prabhjyot Kaur Sidhu, said at the beginning of June, 2006, the maximum temperature was normal and the minimum temperature above normal. However, the maximum and minimum temperatures were below normal by 1° C to 2°C at the beginning of June, 2005. During the second week of June, 2005, the temperature was near normal and 9.2 mm rainfall was received. During the meteorological fortnight June 11-June 24, 2006, cloudy weather persisted and rainfall of 16.3 mm was received against a normal of 9.2 mm. Due to this, both maximum and minimum temperatures remained below normal by nearly 3°C from June 18 to June 24. No rainfall was received and the temperatures were below normal by 1°C to 3°C. However, in the corresponding period between June 11 and June 24, 2005, there was clear weather and no rainfall. Both maximum and minimum temperatures were above normal by nearly 1°C to 3°C. During June, 2006, due to persistence of cloudy weather, the relative humidity was invariably above normal while sunshine hours and evaporation remained below normal. There was 12.8 mm rainfall on July 3, 2006. While in June, 2005, 48.1 mm rainfall was received which is 12.2 mm more than in June, 2006. Agrometeorologists say that between June 25 and July 1, the temperature remained near normal. And against a normal of 28 mm rainfall 24.6 mm rainfall was recorded. Referring to the effect of current weather on crops, Dr Prabhjyot Kaur Sidhu said in June, 2006, the temperatures remained near normal or below normal and the 40.9 mm rainfall received in this month was 2 mm less than normal rainfall. This period also coincides with the sowing of kharif crops, like paddy, maize and soybean.
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PAU training course for farmers
Ludhiana, July 5 According to the Young Farmers’ Training Class coordinator, Dr J.S. Bhalla, applications will be received in the office of the Director of Extension Education or Kairon Kisan Ghar till July 25. Interview will take place on July 28 at 10a.m. The candidates should bring along the proof of age. On being selected they will be required to submit a security of Rs 500, which will be refunded at the end of the course. Those staying at Kairon Kisan Ghar will be charged Rs 100 per month while the course fee for the three-month training is Rs 300.
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PAU recasts strategy
Ludhiana, July 5 The revised project profile aims at providing nutritional security on sustainable basis to the country and to raise the socio-economic status of the rural people. PAU will focus on research through a chain of state-of-the-art laboratories, upgradation of teaching and research, a set-up of computer laboratories and lecture rooms. The project profile also makes a mention of commercialisation of improved technology and setting up of demonstrations for crop production-protection strategies, management of IPR and impact analysis. The profile makes a special mention of component on human resource development through international and national linkages. The project, approved by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr
K.S. Aulakh, has also proposed that to enable university scientists to achieve these set targets and keeping in view the financial constraints faced “it will be extremely essential to provide an annual grant by way of working contingency of Rs 8.5 crore during the Eleventh Five Year Plan. This working contingency, beginning 2007-08 till November 20, 2012, will enable PAU to meet the maintenance and operational cost of equipment”. The Director of Research, Dr B.S. Dhillon, said the proposed state-of-the-art laboratories would include crop biotechnology and improvement, farm animal biotechnology, food processing and value addition, natural resource management, bio-energy, farm power and machinery, integrated pest management and molecular biology. Major stress will be on molecular biology, as part of its research strategies. This is intended for the integration of basic research in molecular biology, genomics and proteomics. It will also help in applied research in biotechnology for enhancing crop productivity. PAU has argued that progress in agriculture is so essential for national food security in the second phase of the Green Revolution. This can only be made possible if stagnating productivity barriers are broken without further impairing the “stretched natural soil and water resources”. In fact, the success of agriculture in Punjab has already taken a heavy toll of ground water and soil health because of adoption of rice-wheat crop rotation on extensive and intensive scale. Punjab, Dr Aulakh points out, is already harvesting nearly 11 tonnes per hectare in paddy-wheat rotation, which is quite high. Since agro-processing and value addition remain inadequate in Punjab as well as in the country, research in this field is extremely important. Punjab is conscious of the national food grain production, which has been around 205 million tonnes and in Punjab around 55 million tonnes and hence the re-framed project. On the other hand, the population is increasing at a higher rate than agriculture productivity. Therefore, before the balance between food security and population goes over-board, it is imperative that PAU gets the necessary financial support to develop state-of-the-art new labs, strengthen the existing set-up to enable it to develop “cutting-edge technologies while upgrading human resources”. Referring to strengthening of research in priority areas, the project profile mentions multi-location testing and region specific research, market-intelligence cell and research coordination, monitoring and need-based technology development. Dr Dhillon stresses that keeping in view the changes taking place in the face of global agriculture, it becomes imperative for PAU to be in tune with recent demand and production scenario vis-a-vis trade, industry and marketing. Consolidated sub-head break-up of funds proposed in the project shows that PAU wants a budget of Rs 39 crore for state-of-art labs, Rs 21 crore for demonstration, commercialisation of improved technologies, management of IPR and impact analysis, Rs 12 crore for research farm development, Rs 16 crore for renovation of labs, new constructions, besides Rs 5.2 crore for general facilities.
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Girls outshine boys in M.Com admissions
Ludhiana, July 5 M.Com courses are being run in four other colleges in the city. Girl students preferred to take admission in SCD Government College. “The staff of the college is highly qualified. Moreover, it was the dream of the parents to get admission in SCD Government College” says Sonal Gupta one of the student who got admission in M.Com here. Another student Shikha Goyal said “my parents and grand parents had studied in this college and they had told me about its history. I am lucky to have got admission here”. From the academic session 2006-07, girls students have also been allowed to study in B.Sc Courses apart from the Post Graduation in Hindi, economics, geography, commerce, English and Punjabi and mathematics. The cut-off for M.Com today remained as follows: General category: 74.78 per cent, Scheduled Castes: 50.38 per cent, Backward Classes: 54.39 per cent, Riot Victims: 73 per cent, Defence: 71.50 per cent and Freedom Fighters: 68 per cent.
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Hoax claim costs student dear
Ludhiana, July 5 He had misled the PAU by claiming that he had been selected to the civil services. The university had accepted his claim owning him up without verification, only to feel embarrassed later. Vishaldeep Jassal, doing M.Sc in food technology, has been rusticated from the first semester of the current academic year. This decision has been taken by the Faculty Hearing and Disciplinary Committee of the College of Agriculture as per the orders issued by the Dean, Postgraduate Studies, recently. Vishaldeep had claimed in May that he had cleared the civil services main examination and was ranked 372. The PAU had gone to the media claiming that one of its students had made it to the civil services. Investigating the case following the publication of the report, the committee found him guilty of “forgery and providing wrong information” and of “misleading the university, thereby creating embarrassment to the university.” Several students from the university have made it to the civil services while a number of students appear for the examination every year. Jassal was claimed to be an outstanding student and everybody had taken his claim at face value. At the initial stage, nobody doubted or questioned his claim. However, when some other students who had appeared for the civil services called his bluff. They also brought the matter to the notice of the university which initiated an inquiry and found him guilty.
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PEC to hold
short-term course
Chandigarh, July 5 The course was inaugurated yesterday by Mr Suresh Katyal, Additional General Manager, Bharat Electronics Limited, Panchkula. In his inaugural speech, he spoke about the relevance of DSP in various aspects of communication engineering with particular reference to defence communication. He stressed that the strides that had been taken in the area of communication were possible due to the advances in the area of DSP. Ms Neelu Jain, course coordinator introduced the participants to the course and its contents. She said participants would be given hands on training on DSP hardware and MATLAB and that the lecture sessions would cover areas such as multirate signal processing, digital filter design and DSP processors and their architectures. Dr B.S. Sohi, Director, UIET and Mr Amod Kumar, Deputy Director, CSIO, have been invited to deliver specialised lectures during the course, said Prof V. Rihani, HoD.
— TNS
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Govt attitude towards lecturers flayed
Ludhiana, July 5 The participants resented the approach of the state government for not issuing appointment letters to these lecturers. The members said that the candidates were selected on the basis of merit. In a majority of cases, the procedure of medical, examination/character verification was also completed in 2004-05. Mr Kapoor said the young boys/girls were victims of callous attitude of state education department which was sleeping on this issue. Not only this, the state government was also playing with the lives of meritorious and qualified unemployed candidates. "Neither the PPSC nor the DPI Colleges is giving any satisfactory answer. We want justice in this matter at the earliest", said Mr Kapoor.
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