: Banaras Hindu University (BHU) held its first Academic Excellence Award Ceremony on Friday, honouring 332 students who topped their programmes in the Even Semester examinations with a CGPA of 8.5 or above. Introduced in the 2025–26 academic session, the awards recognise academic excellence across all disciplines at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Nearly 500 students will receive these awards every year.
Of the 332 awards presented at the ceremony, 173 went to undergraduate students and 159 to postgraduate students across the university’s institutes and faculties. The Faculty of Arts had the highest number of awardees at 92, followed by the faculty of Science with 78 and the faculty of agriculture with 30.
The number of awards for each programme depends on student strength. Programmes with more than 100 students receive three awards, those with 50 to 100 students receive two, and those with fewer than 50 students receive one.
Presiding over the ceremony, vice-chancellor prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi said the awards were introduced to place academic achievement at the centre of the university’s calendar. He said that different days had different significance and added, “So, there was a need for our University to include in the calendar a day to celebrate the core reason why a University exists.”
He further said, “These students have achieved an excellence that is second to none, and it swells the pride of this University. We are celebrating them while they are still within our portals, not after they have moved on, because merit deserves to be recognised when it can inspire the most.”
{{/usCountry}}He further said, “These students have achieved an excellence that is second to none, and it swells the pride of this University. We are celebrating them while they are still within our portals, not after they have moved on, because merit deserves to be recognised when it can inspire the most.”
{{/usCountry}}Sharing advice on success with the awardees, Prof. Chaturvedi urged other students to learn from their peers and aim for similar achievements. “To all the students who observed from the audience today: this is your call to action. Compete with them, challenge them, and who knows, next year the entire set of three may change. Some of today’s achievers will carry our name across the world; some will return to teach in these very halls,” he said.
He also paid tribute to the faculty members for their contribution to students’ achievements. “The teachers, who are the real foundation of the University. Without those teachers, nothing of this kind can happen. And I bow with full respect to all my teacher colleagues,” he said.
Swatantra Bhavan was filled to its maximum capacity during the ceremony. Students, faculty members, deans, directors, university officials and award recipients attended the event. Many students who were not receiving awards gathered on the first-floor balcony as the venue reached full capacity. Their participation reflected the strong interest among students in celebrating academic excellence.
In his welcome address, dean of students prof Ranjan Kumar Singh said the awards would encourage students to achieve more in their academic pursuits. “I am confident that these awards will inspire our students to strive for even greater excellence in their academic pursuits,” he said. He said around 500 awards would be presented to undergraduate and postgraduate students every year, with the distribution taking place in two phases.
The awards were presented by the vice-chancellor, along with registrar Shri Rajan Srivastava, prof Ranjan Kumar Singh and additional controller of examinations prof GP Singh. The registrar read out the names of the awardees. Proposing the vote of thanks, prof GP Singh said the ceremony would be remembered as a special moment in the university’s history.
“Today’s occasion is going to be marked as a special and unforgettable moment in the history of Banaras Hindu University. The University’s glorious tradition, which has continued for more than 100 years, has, for the first time in this journey, seen us honouring our students for their academic excellence while they are still pursuing their studies. This is an important step towards further strengthening the culture of excellence at the University,” he said.
Prof Patanjali Mishra presented the Mangalacharan, while Dr Gyanesh Chandra Pandey presented Vande Mataram. Students from the faculty of performing arts rendered the university Kulgeet. Prof Padmini Ravindra Nath conducted the proceedings.