Vardhman Group Extends ₹10 Lakh Grant to PAU to Promote Global Scientific Publishing
LUDHIANA: In a significant initiative aimed at strengthening the global research footprint of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, the Vardhman Group has announced a philanthropic grant of ₹10 lakh to support postgraduate students in publishing their research in reputed international journals. Instituted on the occasion of the birthday of noted industrialist and philanthropist Mr S.P. Oswal, the grant will assist M.Sc. and Ph.D. scholars in meeting Article Processing Charges (APCs), thereby enhancing the international visibility and impact of research generated at PAU.
The announcement was made by Mr Sachit Jain, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Vardhman Special Steels Ltd., during a felicitation ceremony held at the Committee Room of the Vice-Chancellor, PAU.
Welcoming the initiative, Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, observed that while the university continues to generate high-quality research, its true value is realized only when it reaches global scientific platforms. Appreciating the contribution of the Vardhman Group, he described the initiative as a forward-looking step that would strengthen the intellectual ecosystem of the university and significantly enhance research visibility, citation impact, and the international standing of PAU.
Mr Sachit Jain, an alumnus of IIT Delhi, IIM Ahmedabad, and Stanford University, USA, emphasized the importance of industry-academia collaboration and reaffirmed the Vardhman Group’s commitment to supporting higher education and scientific advancement. He assured that the Group would continue to support such initiatives annually and would be willing to further strengthen its contribution as PAU expands its global academic outreach.
Highlighting the significance of the initiative, Dr Rishi Pal Singh, IAS, Registrar, PAU, remarked that the high publication costs associated with reputed open-access international journals often limit the outreach of quality research. He informed that the present grant would help overcome this barrier by enabling wider dissemination of PAU’s scientific outputs at the global level. He further shared that the idea of instituting such a support mechanism for students emerged during his recent informal discussions with Mr Jain.
Earlier, the Dean, Postgraduate Studies, PAU, welcomed the guests and expressed gratitude to the Vardhman Group for its generous support. He highlighted that the initiative would significantly benefit postgraduate scholars by helping them publish their research in internationally acclaimed journals. He also apprised the guests of the postgraduate education system and the diverse research activities being undertaken across various disciplines at the university.
During the interaction, several Heads of Departments and student advisors, including Dr Surinder Sandhu, Head, Plant Breeding and Genetics; Dr Manjeet Singh, Head, Farm Power and Machinery; Dr Hari Ram, Head, Agronomy; Dr Yogesh Vikal, Director, School of Agricultural Biotechnology; and Dr Manpreet Kaur, Head, Chemistry, highlighted innovative research being carried out by postgraduate students. The research addresses critical challenges related to climate change, resistance breeding against insect-pests, diseases and weeds, food safety and standards, precision agriculture, robotics, and genome editing.
The faculty members informed that PAU postgraduate students are actively publishing in reputed international journals such as Frontiers in Nutrition, BMC Plant Biology, Scientific Reports, Phytopathology, and Frontiers in Plant Science, with NAAS ratings extending up to 11.1 and beyond. The research spans diverse domains including food and nutrition, biotechnology, plant breeding and genetics, agronomy, engineering, and natural resource management. It was also highlighted that publication charges in many high-impact open-access journals range from nearly ₹50,000 to over ₹3.5 lakh per article, underlining the importance of financial assistance mechanisms such as the present initiative.
The programme was coordinated by Dr Sandeep Jain, Incharge, University Counselling and Placement Guidance Cell, and attended by senior faculty members and university officials. Media coverage of the event was facilitated under the supervision of Dr Tejinder Singh Riar, Additional Director of Communication, PAU.
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