Retired vice-chancellors and directors of public universities and medical institutions settled in the tricity on Friday held a meeting of their newly-constituted think tank, ‘Forum of retired vice-chancellors and directors’, on the development of the north-western India.
They said with the region, especially Punjab and Haryana, contributing to phenomenal growth of the agricultural sector and ensured food security for the nation, the water and soil resources, biodiversity and the environment had come under threat of depletion.
They emphasised on sustainability and agro-industrial networking, saying the alternative model should harness the potential of linkages among primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.
The forum added that public institutions, particularly in education, agriculture and health, have played a pivotal role in economic and social development and suggested greater state patronage by allocating handsome funds on priority.
Former Panjab University V-C Arun K Grover, former PGIMER director Dr Jagat Ram, former Punjab Agricultural University V-C Baldev Singh Dhillon and former National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute executive director Rakesh Tuli participated in the meeting.