CONCLUSION OF CONFERENCE

Amrapali Group of Institutes National Conference on Identifying the Research Basis for Sustainable Development of Kumaun Region

In the Inaugural Session, held on 15th January, after the welcome address of Prof. Ashok Malhotra, Director, Amrapali Institute of Technology and Sciences, the Chief Guest, Prof.V.P.S.Arora, the Hon’ble Vice Chancellor of Kumaun University spoke at length on sustainable development, defining it an act of balancing between consumption and availability of resources. He opined that the fertile land should be reserved for food production and establishments should be built on least productive lands. The Guest of Honour, Mr. C.B. Singh, the General Manager, NHPC Tanakpur gave a visual account of the National Hydro Power Corporation and its activities. This session ended with a vote of thanks by Prof. Ashutosh Priya Awasthi, the Director of MBA Programe of Amrapali Institute.

In the Plenary Sessions, Dr. V.K. Pathak, the Hon’ble Vice Chancellor of Uttarakhand Open University expressed the need of research in the realm of interaction of people and Government for achieving sustainable development. Prof Samantray of Pantnagar University delivered an enlightening talk on the role of Information and Communication Technology on sustainable rural development and provided ample scope for the activities in this field for Computer Engineers and Researchers. Prof Ajay Rawat, the former Head of the History Department, Kumaun University, gave an illuminating account of both Himalayan Flora and Fauna diversities and suggested measures for their preservation. Prof. R.C. Pant, the former Vice Chancellor of Kumaun University in his keynote address analyzed both Biodiversity and Higher Education in depth and stressed that in higher and professional education the research is an integral part of teaching. The keynote address delivered by Prof. M .P. Singh, the Dean of Agriculture, Pantnagar University on Sustainable Development of Kumaun region was quite informative highlighting the benefits of Precision Farming.

16 th January was devoted to technical sessions. In the field of social and economic development, the contributors suggested women upliftment through a collective effort of the government, NGOs and private agencies by adopting Information & Communication Technologies as well as Natural Resource Development. For the spread of Information and Communication Technology, village High Schools were suggested as Delivery Centers and for ensuring