Two students of the Utkal University of Culture — Biswakant Panda and Yanita Priyadarshini — have entered the World Records India for making the longest Rakhi. The duo, from the varsity’s visual arts department, made a 50-feet-long and 500-feet-wide rakhi during the festival in August. The creation, themed on Nabakalebar, was exhibited on the day of Raksha Bandhan at Indira Gandhi Park in Bhubaneswar. It was also displayed for public for four days during which World Records India officials inspected it. Besides, two students of the varsity’s Hindustani vocal department — Bidyadhar Satpathy and Sandeep Soumyaranjan Barik — came first and second respectively at the 21st state-level youth festival at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi, which is organised by the state’s sports and youth affairs department.

Youth challenge

Odia girl Jyoti Shresth has been selected for the popular Youth Citizen Service (YCS) Leadership Challenge, a youth volunteering and empowerment programme launched by Development Alternatives and Voluntary Service Overseas. Ten other young Indians have also been selected for the challenge. Shresth, a resident of Keonjhar, has been chosen to work for six weeks at Pipra village of Tikamgarh district in Madhya Pradesh, where she will learn various ways to strengthen economic development of rural India. The 23-year-old is a geology graduate from North Odisha University and an avid social worker. She believes her ability to communicate easily with everyone will help her to connect with villagers instantly during the training period. 

Insurance seminar

Students of Ravenshaw University’s school of commerce organised a national-level seminar on insurance on November 29 to discuss the emerging trends, challenges and opportunities on various issues relating to insurance sector, covering services, regulatory, human resources and innovative aspects. The varsity’s former vice-chancellor Baishnab Charan Tripathy, who is now the dean at the school of life sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, spoke to students about the importance of insurance, which has now emerged as a basic necessity for every individual. They talked about how the growing economic challenges across countries have affected the overall development process. However, they believe the present phase of slowdown is temporary and the economies, particularly in developing nations, will shortly be back on track. Various methods that can help the insurance sector to turn around and adapt to changing times in the future were also discussed.

E-evaluation

Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) will introduce e-evaluation of answer sheets from the current semester. The students of the varsity have also welcomed the decision of the authorities. BPUT is confident that this new initiative will help in timely declaration of results. About 22 nodal centres across the state have been identified for the introduction of the new evaluation process. Officials said the nodal centres that already existed for manual evaluation of answer sheets were being upgraded to e-evaluation centres. The answer sheets would be kept at centres in Bhubaneswar, Rourkela and Berhampur. The copies would be scanned and uploaded from there. The university plans to deliver the copies for scanning every day at its three major centres. BPUT policy says that results to be declared within 40 days of completion of the examination. Students feel the process would bring transparency in the process of evaluation and ensure faster declaration of results.  

Archery competition

A two-day state-level archery competition was held for the state’s Plus-II students at Baripada. About 60 students took part in the boys’ and girls’ categories. Manuram Hansda of Bhejabahal College, Sundargarh, won the title in the boys’ category. The girls’ category was won by Asalata Das of KISS Plus Two College, Bhubaneswar. The event gave the students an opportunity to interact with senior archers from the state and hone their skills. They also took tips from experts in the field during practice sessions.  

Constitution Day

Central University of Odisha observed Constitution Day on November 26. Students and professors paid tributes to the maker of the Indian Constitution, freedom fighter, philosopher and social thinker B.R. Ambedkar on his 125th birth anniversary. A lecture on Ambedkar and the Constitution of India was also organised. Former professor of political science at Utkal University Surya Narayan Mishra delivered the lecture. He elaborated on the life of Ambedkar and his contribution towards the nation. The students also shared their views about the role of the Indian Constitution and its ideas in their lives.  A few students spoke about the role and responsibility of Ambedkar in the construction of Indian democracy and drafting of Indian Constitution. One of the students read out the preamble to the Constitution of India at the beginning of the programme.