JAIPUR: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget speech has urged states to revise the syllabus of agricultural universities by including zero budgeting, organic farming and modern farming components. The state, which has five agricultural universities in Jaipur, Bikaner, Kota, Jodhpur and Udaipur, have started revising the curriculum.
Currently, none of the universities have any course on organic farming, zero budget farming and on modern farming techniques. However, all of them have been holding seminars, workshops and symposiums on the said subjects and planning to introduce it in the coming years.
“Rajasthan is among the leading states which are witnessing an organic farming revolution. The move by the central government should have been accompanied by some budgetary allocation for the universities to design a curriculum for organic farming,” said Puneet Sharma, an expert on higher education.
The move is seen in sync with the Union government’s move to promote chemical-free natural farming. The aim of this move explained by Sitharaman says it will increase the productivity and income of farmers. These universities also acted as a resource pool for the state and helps them in framing schemes for the agriculture sector.
The provision of digital universities to impart world-class education through central universities to benefit the state. The Central University of Rajasthan (CURAJ) is one of the best-rated varsities in the country with infrastructure helping the local institutes here. The university will impart courses in 12 regional languages to make them viable across the country.
