Ex-President Ram Nath Kovind bestows degrees on 864 postgrads, PhD scholars

Bathinda, March 19

Former President Ram Nath Kovind was the chief guest at the ninth convocation of the Central University of Punjab on Tuesday. Prof Jagbir Singh, Chancellor of the university, presided over the ceremony, where 864 PG/PhD degrees were conferred on Indian and international students.

Prof Raghavendra P Tiwari, VC, conferred honorary degrees on four distinguished personalities in recognition of their contribution in respective domains. Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser, Harjit Singh Sabharwal, social worker, and Jaspinder Narula, singer, were honoured with DLitt (honoris causa). Dr Vijay Bhatkar, the brain behind India’s first supercomputer, was given the DSc (honoris causa).

In recognition of its academic excellence, Kovind awarded gold medals to 45 meritorious students securing first position in their respective disciplines.

Addressing the gathering, Kovind expressed his deep admiration for Punjab. He emphasised that the students of the university were privileged to study near the sacred land of Takht Damdama Sahib, where Guru Gobind Singh finalised the compilation of Guru Granth Sahib. He lauded the university’s commitment for providing holistic education aligned with NEP2020 and fostering Indian diversity on its campus by providing quality education to students of 27 states, seven UTs and international students of 22 countries.