IIM Bodh Gaya signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) on 31st July 2023 in New Delhi, Kaushal Bhawan. It was led by Prof. Vinita S. Sahay, Director, IIM Bodh Gaya and Sh. Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO, NSDC, in the presence of Secretary, MSDE, Sh. Atul Kumar Tiwari. By focusing on underserved sections and regions, the collaboration aims to bring about inclusive economic development and upliftment of marginalized communities, contributing to India’s overall socio-economic progress.
The partnership between the NSDC and IIM Bodh Gaya encompasses a wide array of initiatives to create a positive social impact. Joint research activities and surveys will be conducted to understand industry needs and ground aspirations, focusing on shaping employability skills, ensuring employment, and enhancing income levels (the 4E approach). The collaboration will also mobilize and partner with universities and colleges to bridge the gap between academic education and industry demands, empowering college students as envisioned under NEP 2020.
Furthermore, the MoU aims to promote grassroots innovations and social entrepreneurship, harnessing institutional strengths and networks. It will support dynamic skilling programs tailored to market demands and future requirements while linking social enterprises and SMEs to incubation support and mentorship for sustainable outcomes. The partnership will also contribute to strengthening the rural economy, providing training on market linkages, marketing, export promotion, and leadership for women.
With a focus on data analytics and AI, the NSDC and IIM Bodh Gaya plan to gain insights into industry trends and identify gaps for informed decision-making in skilling initiatives. They will collaborate on methodologies and experimental designs, building predictive models for data-driven decisions and enhancing the overall skilling landscape. Moreover, the MoU outlines the provision of inputs for special NSDC impact projects in socio-economically deprived sections, such as aspirational districts and border areas. It also highlights the importance of training programs for MSMEs, aligning them with global supply chain demands and designing entrepreneurship development programs.
This collaboration empowers learners with a comprehensive understanding and proficiency to effectively tackle prevailing environmental and social challenges. This initiative aspires to cultivate a culture of sustainable business practices and responsible corporate governance by equipping participants with the requisite knowledge and skills.
In response to the dynamic nature of today’s world, the courses have been meticulously curated to imbue individuals with the essential attributes of resilience and adaptability. These courses are tailored to nurture innovative thinking and foster the development of dynamic leadership capabilities, positioning participants to thrive in the face of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity inherent in the VUCA world.
The training of trainers is strategically designed to elevate non-governmental organisations (NGOs) by enhancing their training acumen. This augmentation empowers them to become effective agents of change within their communities, enabling the proficient delivery of skill development programs through adept capacity-building and handholding techniques.
Through an internship program, students of IIM Bodh Gaya will be groomed for rural marketing and SHG-Cooperatives promotion and encouraged to conduct case studies or research papers to showcase the transformative effects of skill development interventions, especially for MSMEs and underserved communities. Overall, this MoU reflects a comprehensive and multi-faceted collaboration that addresses key challenges in India’s skilling ecosystem while fostering social and economic growth across various sectors.

The Governor of Bihar Shri Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar inaugurated the thematic event of the engagement group of L20 held at Gyan Bhawan in Patna today.

Welcoming the local and foreign delegates Shri Arlekar and said that he was proud to see everyone on the soil of Bihar today. He said representatives of 28 countries of the world are present here and they represent 75 percent of the population. The Governor said that Bihar’s thousands of years old history is glorious. He said this is the land of knowledge, thousands of years ago people from every corner of the world used to come to acquire knowledge in the Nalanda University located here, Vaishali is the birthplace of democracy. The Governor said that today the need is to give importance to human values. If we are filled with human values, not only the labour world, but the entire social, economic and political life will be strengthened, he added.

Shri Hiranmay Pandaya ,Chair of the L20 meet, also while welcoming the delegations said that this is not only a proud occasion for Bihar but also for the rest of country and representatives of Labour department. He said that L20 will not only represent the voice of G 20 nations but also represent the voice of those nations whose representative are not present.

Addressing the technical session of the conference, Mrs Aarti Ahuja, Secretary, Ministry of Labor and Employment discussed various measures taken by the government for social security in the country. Universal Social Security and its related draft were discussed during the technical session.

IIM Bodh Gaya celebrated the International Day for Yoga on 21st June 2023 with a gathering of MBA students, faculty members, and administrative staff in its campus. The event aimed to incorporate a healthy lifestyle among students and educate them about the numerous benefits of yoga. Dr. Vinita S. Sahay, the esteemed Director of IIM Bodh Gaya, graced the occasion with her presence, emphasizing the significance of yoga in our lives.

This year’s theme for International Yoga Day, “Yoga for Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” beautifully encapsulated our collective aspiration for “One Earth, One Family, and One Future.” IIM Bodh Gaya, with one of its core values as mindfulness, recognizes that yoga holds the power to pacify the mind, soul, and body of an individual. With this realization, the Institute arranged a live yoga practice session to encourage students and staff to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

The event commenced with a soulful prayer followed by a warm welcome note from Dr. Vinita S. Sahay. Addressing the gathering, the Director emphasized the significance of International Yoga Day and its contribution to a healthy, fit, and mindful student life. She highlighted that yoga is India’s remarkable gift to the world and urged everyone to embrace it with open hearts. Dr. Sahay also emphasized the importance of discipline in achieving success and entrusted her students, the future of tomorrow, with the responsibility of preserving diverse cultures.

Notably, the involvement of home security, hospitality, and administrative staff in the event’s competitions was a commendable initiative, fostering inclusivity and unity among all members of the IIM Bodh Gaya community.

Following the welcome address, Dr Amit Kumar Sharma, a professional yoga trainer, led a rejuvenating yoga practice session, accompanied by members of faculty at IIM Bodh Gaya. The students actively participated, showcasing their acquired skills from the practice sessions held in the preceding days.

The event concluded on a high note with the closing prayer, instilling a sense of calmness and gratitude among all participants.

IIM Bodh Gaya’s celebration of International Yoga Day proved to be a resounding success, promoting a holistic approach to health, wellness, and mindfulness among the student community. The event reinforced the institute’s commitment to nurturing well-rounded individuals who will contribute positively to society.

ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Patna celebrated World Environment Day 2023 to raise awareness and encourage people to take actions for protecting the environment. Under the dynamic leadership of Dr Anup Das, Director of the Institute, a team of scientists took active participation in the tree plantation drive on June 05, 2023 with a thrust on the Mission Life i.e., Lifestyle for Environment. The Director explained the participants about the duty and responsibility of individual for safeguarding our environment by planting trees and to adopt the right lifestyle and effective steps towards saving the natural resources and protect the mother nature. He also drew our attention towards ecosystem restoration and to beat plastic pollution, which is the theme of this 50th Environment Day. He also encouraged the youth and children, who are the future generation of our country, to safeguard our environment and make it beautiful by planting as well as taking care of trees, the lungs of mother earth. Scientists of the institute Dr. Amitava Dey, Dr. Kamal Sharma, Dr. Monobrullah, Dr. Bikash Sarkar, Dr. P.C. Chandran, Dr. Abhishek Kumar had participated in this programme along with other staff of the institute and their children.

The team of scientist also visited Simra village of Naubtpur block where around 50 farmers participated in the tree plantation cum awareness programme. Saplings of various fruits and timber trees like mango, guava, lemon, teak and mahogany were planted and also distributed to the farmers. Dr. Monobrullah, Principal Scientist explained that it is our responsibility to protect the environment and if every person takes a pledge to plant at least one tree around his house, then definitely our environment will be healthier and more attractive. Scientists of the Institute Dr. Dheeraj Kumar Singh, Dr. Abhishek Kumar, Dr. Rachna Dubey, Dr. Abhishek Dubey and Dr. Govind Makrana interacted with the farmers on the various environmental issues like conservation of environment and natural resources, climate change, deforestation, air pollution, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, ill effects of using plastic etc. Mr. Kamakhya Prasad, a progressive farmer of the village also shared his view about importance of trees for making our environment clean. At the end, Dr. Abhishek Kumar organizing secretary of the program, had proposed vote of thanks.

Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna (CIMP), a dream project of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar Shri Nitish Kumar, has once again proved its mettle by overtaking several contemporary B-schools in the latest NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) Rankings 2023. NIRF under the Ministry of Education, Government of India; in its ranking released last afternoon by Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Hon’ble Minister of State for Education and External Affairs. CIMP ranks amongst the Top 125 B-Schools of India in NIRF 2023.
CIMP Director Dr. Rana Singh expressed his heart-felt thanks to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar and the Chairman of the Board of Governors and faculties, officers and staff members of the institute for his continuous support due to which it has been possible to take the institute to this level. He added that this ranking has also put a big responsibility to gradually move ahead in the subsequent years’ rankings.
The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is the only ranking approved by the Ministry of Education, Government of India which outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country. The ranking methodology draws from the overall recommendations and broad understanding arrived at by a core committee set up by the erstwhile MHRD, to identify the broad parameters for ranking various universities and institutions. The parameters broadly cover “Teaching, Learning and Resources,” “Research and Professional Practices,” “Graduation Outcomes,” “Outreach and Inclusivity,” and “Perception”.
The ‘teaching, learning and resources’ parameter covers students’ strength including doctoral students, faculty-student ratio with emphasis on permanent faculty, combined metrics for faculty qualification and experience, and financial resources and their utilisation. The ‘research and professional practices’ parameter covers combined metrics for publications, quality of publications, footprints of projects, professional practices and executive development programs. The ‘graduation outcome’ parameter covers combined metrics for placements and higher studies, examinations, and the median salary. The ‘outreach and inclusivity’ parameter covers regional diversity, gender diversity, economic and social diversity, and the facilities available for the differently-abled students. The ‘perception’ parameter covers peer perception, including employers and academic peers’ perception, about the institute. This is done through a survey conducted over a large category of employers, professionals from reputed organizations and a large category of academics to ascertain their preference for graduates of different institutions and a comprehensive ranking is prepared taking into account the various parameters across different domains like management, engineering, etc.

Bharti Foundation’s Satya Bharti Quality Support Program (QSP) aims to transform partner Government schools into vibrant institutions of learning through co-scholastic interventions in collaboration with school leadership. The Program’s framework is defined under four pillars – students’ empowerment, school leadership & teachers’ engagement, parents & community involvement and improving school’s overall environment. It has impacted 4.9+ lakh students, nearly 19,000 teachers from 1,200+ schools since inception and led to positive outcomes with affirmative change in students’ behavior, their holistic growth, improvement in their life-skills, increased regularity in the school, to name a few. Following the success of QSP, the Foundation was invited by several education officers at district and state level to scale up some of the initiatives under Large Scale Initiative (LSI). This program has impacted 1.9 million students and 1.2+ lakh teachers from more than 24,000 schools and 1,000 resource persons since inception.

Ms Mamta Saikia, CEO, Bharti Foundation, expressed deep gratitude for the invaluable support provided by the government officials from UP. She stated, “We are immensely grateful for the Education Department’s unwavering trust in Bharti Foundation’s significant contributions through our education programs implemented over the years. This collaboration stands as a testament to our shared belief in fostering holistic development for students, especially through our Satya Bharti Quality Support Program and Large Scale Initiatives. We look forward to working with an incredibly supportive team.”

Bharti Foundation started their Satya Bharti School program in UP in 2007, currently, they have three schools in Farrukhabad and nine in Shahjahanpur district. Today, more than 2700 children, 59% being girls, are accessing free and quality education at these schools. Majority of the parents of these children belong to underprivileged families, mostly occupied in daily wage work or as agricultural labourers.

19th Research Advisory Committee Meeting of ICAR-RCER, Patna was held during May 18-19, 2023 under the Chairmanship of Dr. K.D. Kokate, Ex- DDG (Agricultural extension), ICAR, New Delhi. Other RAC members were Dr. Masood Ali, Ex Director, Indian Institute of Pulse Research, Kanpur, Dr S.D. Singh, Ex ADG, Fisheries Sciences, ICAR, New Delhi, Professor K.N. Tiwari, IIT, Kharagpur, S. Kumar, Ex. Head, Ex- Head, ICAR RCER Research Centre, Ranchi. Heads of Departments, Heads of Research Centre, Ranchi, KVK Buxar and KVK, Ramgarh participated in the meeting and presented the research achievements of different projects from respective centers. All the scientists of the institute and its centres participated in the meeting physically or in online mode and answered the queries raised by the Committee.
Chairman of the committee Dr. K.D. Kokate, stressed on the importance of aligning the institutes’ research effortswith both national and global priorities. He emphasized the need to concentrate on four key areasdiscussed at the G20 Meeting: food and nutritional security, promoting resilience and sustainabilitywhile ensuring profitability, digital agriculture, and fostering partnerships. Dr. Kokate proposed acollaborative approach, suggesting the institute to work in consortia with various institutions anduniversities. This collective effort would enable the institute to tackle pressing challenges andcontribute significantly to the advancement of these crucial focus areas. Other members of the committee have also given constructive inputs, useful suggestions and guidance for the ongoing and future research and developmental programs of the institute in their respective field of expertise.
Earlier, Director of ICAR RCER, Patna DrAnup Das welcomed Chairman and members of RAC and gave a brief presentation on research achievements of the institute, management issues as well as constraints faced by the institute. The Chairman and members of RAC also visited the fields, experimental farms and laboratories of the institute and appraised by the Heads of concerned Divisions and scientists about the research progress.

Slow ripples of change to fight child marriages are finally showing in various nooks of the country. The latest example is a village in Purnea, Bihar where the villagers joined hands not to push a child into marriage, but to protest the practice and stop the marriage of a 13-year-old girl.

When the villagers under Maranga police station found out that one of their neighbours was getting their child married to a 17-year-old boy in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, they immediately informed the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, Purnea team along with calling the child helpline number as well as the national helpline number.

As a result, the KSCF team along with the helpline team reached the spot at midnight when the groom’s sister-in-law was forcibly conducting the marriage rituals. Thanks to the aware villagers, prompt action by the teams and timely intervention, the marriage was stopped immediately. The clueless young bride, not more than 13-year-old, was sent to children’s home.

Maranga has been geared for change since the clarion call given by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi to make India child marriage free. On 16 October 2022, the Nobel Peace Laureate had launched the largest ever grassroots level campaign against child marriage, and has been spreading awareness, stopping such marriages and appealing to the governments for further collaborations.

Maranga is one of the 10,000 villages that was part of the campaign when 70,000 women and girls led people in lighting lamps, torchlight procession in the villages from over 500 districts in 26 states.

‘We have trained various women leaders in the village who have been relentlessly working towards making the villagers aware to weed out the practice of child marriage completely. We are finally witnessing the change and more and more villagers are now joining us in our mission. This momentum is what will bring the change we are striving for,” Bidhan Chandra Singh, Spokesperson, KSCF, said.

From the incidents when villagers protested and oftentimes even got violent when activists, NGOs tried to stop child marriages to this latest incident when they took charge to stop this social menace, it is a huge step and probably the beginning of the end of child marriages in India.

Applied Materials India has signed a three-year agreement with Centre of Excellence in Coating at IIT Patna for research and development of special coatings for corrosion avoidance in the semiconductor industry.
IIT Patna has secured funding for establishing Centre of Excellence in Wear and Corrosion resistance Coating technology from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under its Advanced Manufacturing Technologies program, in addition to co-funding from Applied Materials India.
Bengaluru, India, April 26, 2023: Applied Materials India Private Limited, an Indian subsidiary of materials engineering leader Applied Materials, Inc., today announced a partnership with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Patna for establishing a center of excellence on wear and corrosion-resistant coatings. With support from the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies program of the Department of Science and Technology, the company has signed a three-year agreement with IIT Patna to engage in research and development of special coatings for corrosion avoidance in the semiconductor industry.

The research engagement will provide a platform for IIT Patna faculty and students to work on materials of importance to the semiconductor industry and provide solutions to high-value industrial problems.

Besides working on industry-relevant challenges, the program will provide students with the opportunity to work closely with scientists from Applied Materials in India and the United States. Industry-academia collaboration of this nature will help bring together the best minds of IIT Patna and Applied Materials and better prepare students for their careers with exposure to materials engineering solutions for disruptive technology inflections.

“The synergy between industry and academia is crucial for driving innovation and creating real-world impact,” said Srinivas Satya, Country President, Applied Materials India. “Our collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Patna will pave the way for cutting-edge research and development, leading to solutions that address the challenges of today and tomorrow.”

Professor T. N. Singh, Director, IIT Patna, expressed his confidence in the engagement with industry as “It is the way for IIT be part of future road map in niche technology segment such as Semiconductors. DST’s AMT program to establish center of excellence at IIT Patna will propel advancement in coatings application in wear and corrosion resistance.”

“Our collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology Patna is unique in its focus on advancing research and development of special coatings for corrosion avoidance in hot and harsh environments, with solutions extendable to other technology domains beyond semiconductors,” said Suraj Rengarajan, MD & CTO, Applied Materials India. “We believe that this initiative will inspire and empower students to push the boundaries of what is possible and drive positive change in the semiconductor domain for years to come.”

Professor Anup Kumar Keshri, Founder of Centre of Excellence in Wear and Corrosion resistance Coating technology and Associate Dean, R&D of IIT Patna commented, “This engagement with Applied Materials, world leaders in semiconductor industry; would help IIT Patna leverage DST grant to scale new heights in development of advanced materials and coatings.”

The Bihar government has taken a decision to recruit teachers in government schools through a commission. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar yesterday. At present, recruitment of teachers is being held at panchayat, block and district levels.

As per the latest Cabinet decision, appointments will not be made on a contractual basis. Those teachers who have been appointed on contract can now become regular government teachers after clearing entrance examinations conducted by the Commission. Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Prasad Yadav said three lakh teachers will be appointed under new recruitment rules, and all government school teachers will now be state employees.