The School of Mechanical Engineering (SME) at SMVDU hosted a one-day workshop on "Current Industrial Scenario: Opportunities and Challenges". Dr. Sanjay Mohan and Dr. Mir Irfan Ul Haq, both assistant professors at SME, coordinated the event. The workshop focused on highlighting the various opportunities and challenges posed by advanced technologies in the industrial sector, particularly in the mechanical sector. The sessions were conducted by experts in the field, including Dr. Balbir Singh, an associate professor at SME, Dr. Ankush Raina, an assistant professor, and Mr. Ashwini Koul, AGM of Suzuki Motors Gujarat. Professor Eswaramoorthy Muthumswamy, the head of SME, along with Dr. R.K Mishra and other senior faculty members, graced the inaugural ceremony of the event. Dr. Ajay Koul, the Dean of FOE, conveyed his good wishes for the event and encouraged the faculty to organize more such workshops.

One-day brain storming meeting sponsored by J&K Science Technology and Innovation Council, Deptt of Science and Technology, Govt. of J&K, with special emphasis on “Still birth, Congenital Malformations, Infants Death among newborns in Jammu and Kashmir Region” was conducted at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra. The meeting started with a welcome address by Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Organizing Secretary and Principal Coordinator, Indian Council of Medical Research-Center of Advanced Research (ICMR-CAR), SMVDU. The meeting addressed the crucial issues related to Still birth, Congenital Malformations, Infants Death. Padma Shri Prof. RNK Bamezai, former Vice Chancellor of SMVDU and Ex-Dean Life Sciences JNU, chaired the meeting. Representative of majority of the institutes of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir attended the meeting: Mrs. Sunita Razdan Dhar, Joint Director JKST&IC, Prof Ghansham Saini, Head Department of Paediatrics, GMC Jammu, Dr. Rakesh Raina PHC, Akhnoor, Dr Dinesh Kumar, Dean academics, AIIMS Jammu, Dr. Audesh Bhat, Central University of Jammu, Dr Javeed Iqbal Department Of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine (ERS) SKIMS, Dr. Renu Sharma, Dr Ritesh Kumar from AIIMS Jammu, Dr Anand Yelne Consultant Pediatrician, Dr. Sonia Nagyal Consultant Pathologist Dr. Arunima Consultant Gynae, Dr. Kamaljeet Kaur, Consultant Paediatrician, of SMVDNH, Katra, Dr Anindya Goswami and Dr Mohd. Jamal Dar Principal Scientists of CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, Mrs. Pushpa Oraon Associate Professor SMVDCON, Katra, Dr. Ruchi Shah from University of Kashmir, Dr. Ekta Rai from SMVDU threw light on different aspects of still birth and congenital anomalies prevalent in Jammu and Kashmir. Prof. Bamezai suggested identifying Biomarkers for Still birth, Congenital Malformations, Infants Death. He also stressed on continued evaluation of medical aid managed care program and its impact upon perinatal care and outcomes. Congenital anomalies can impose tremendous physical, social, and emotional distress on the patient with massive emotional, social, financial, and medical implications for the family and society. While the enormous strides in genetic testing and gene modification therapy have an encouraging impact on the diagnosis and treatment, the group decided to join hands together to work towards mitigating the suffering of patients. The Brainstorming was organised by team of ICMR-CAR Scientists and scholars led by Dr. Girish, Dr. Sonali, Ms. Minerva Mr. Rajeshwar and Mr. Bhawani, Dr. Rakesh Kumar presented the vote of thanks to the participants, and expressed his gratitude to Padma Shri R.K Sinha, Vice-Chancellor, SMVDU, for his continuous support and motivation and JK Science technology and innovation council for sponsoring such a critical area for brain storming.

An inter-departmental quiz competition on "Emerging Business Scenario in India" was held at SMVDU. Thirteen teams were selected from various departments of the university. The participants were evaluated based on their knowledge of current affairs, business, economics, culture, art, literature, entertainment, and sports.The team of Siddhant, Humera, Rohit, and Vinay from MBA 4th semester and the team of Vinayak, Rajan, Divaya, and Aina from BBA 6th semester were the joint winners of the competition. The team of Hitesh, Shivali, Abhiyanta, and Simran from MBA 1st semester was the runner-up. A total of 52 students participated in this competition.The quiz competition was coordinated by Dr. Deepak Jain, along with Dr. Shazia Bukhari and Dr. Rashi Taggar, with the support of research scholars Tapas and Shahbaz. It was organized under the National Innovation and Startup Policy (NISP) 2019 by the Institution Innovation Cell (IIC) in collaboration with the School of Business at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University.

NSS SMVDU celebrated " International Women's Day" by forming symbol of girl child by human chain. The day is celebrated every year worldwide on 8th March to have no discrimination against women in any form. The day represents gender equality and women empowerment. NSS Coordinator Dr. Rajiv Kumar welcomed all the participants and highlighted the objective of celebrating women's day. NSS volunteer Ms. Sumegha shared her thoughts on the day in the form of a poem. The event was held in the university stadium. Around 100 students participated in the said event. The event was conducted successfully by the NSS volunteers. NSS co-coordinator Dr. Kamaldeep were also present during the event. Vice chancellor Prof. R. K. Sinha appreciated the efforts of NSS volunteers.

Hill Thespians staged an absorbing presentation of Pratibha Agarwal’s Hindi translation of Badal Sarkar’s iconic Bengali play ‘Pagla Ghoda’, on the second day of the ongoing Festival of Plays, organized by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University Katra at Matrika Auditorium, here today. The modern Indian classic play written in 1967, deals with women question and emphasizes her subjugation in the patriarchy-entrenched Indian social system and its influences on both men and women.The play which uses surrealistic elements opens in a cremation ground at night, where four men are waiting for the incineration of the corpse of a young woman who has committed suicide. To pass the time, they play cards and drink liquor. The spirit of the young, nameless girl on the pyre motivates men to share their stories. They narrated love stories by each man in a roundabout revealing guilt in sacrificing his love instead of taking a risk in fear of social disapproval.

Directed and designed by young Sunil Sharma, today’s play was an engaging presentation by five amateur actors who were able to glide between the intense layers, subplots, and intertwining backstories of all five characters. Sunaina Kumari effortlessly slipped into multiple roles of Malti, Mili, Laxmi, and Ladki. Her perfect timing of intermittent dialogues and free-flowing on-stage movements knitted the narration. She successfully modulated her sonorous voice along with changing the colors of her dupattas rendering individuality to all four women characters. Sunil Sharma as Satu, Javed Gill as Kartik, Neeraj Sethi as Shashi, and Shubham Rajput as Heemadari, spoke respective lines with the flow and drove the play forward. The production design was marked by well thought and executed blocking, movements, and physical behavior. The music and light design also added emotional intensity to the scenes. Prof. RK Sinha Vice Chancellor, Sh. Nagendra Singh Jamwal JKAS Registrar, Sh. Neeraj Gupta JKAS Finance Officer, deans, directors, faculty, staff and large number of students were also present on the occasion.

On 1st March, NSS SMVDU celebrated "Zero Discrimination Day" by organizing a human chain formation in the shape of a butterfly at the university stadium. The butterfly is the symbol of this day, representing harmony and peace among humans. This day is celebrated annually worldwide to promote equality among people and eliminate discrimination based on gender, caste, religion, color, height, weight, and other factors. The message of this event is to live and let others live happily. The event was successfully conducted by NSS volunteers, and around 350 students participated in it. NSS Coordinator Dr. Rajiv Kumar and co-coordinator Dr. Kamaldeep also attended the event, and the Vice Chancellor Prof. R. K. Sinha appreciated the efforts of the NSS volunteers.

Researchers from the School of Biotechnology at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Mr. Hemender Singh and Dr. Swarkar Sharma, recently participated in the 23rd Annual Convention of ADNAT and International Conference on Precision Medicine held at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi from March 10th to 13th, 2023. The conference brought together 310 delegates from 17 states in India and 20 international speakers from 13 countries, featuring a total of 40 invited lectures and 70 poster presentations of high quality. Mr. Hemender Singh presented his Ph.D. research work conducted under the guidance of Dr. Swarkar Sharma and Dr. Ekta Rai at SMVDU. His research, which is the first-ever genetic study of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (a spinal disorder) in India, showed an association between developmental and bone morphogenetic pathway genes and Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis pathogenesis. Based on his work, Mr. Hemender was selected as a candidate for the prestigious Dr. PM Bhargava Award for the conference and won the first prize in the poster presentation. During the conference, Dr. Swarkar Sharma delivered an invited talk on precision medicine and the extensive work of the Human Genetics Research Group (HGRG) in the population of Jammu and Kashmir. In his talk, Dr. Sharma emphasized the gaps in genetic studies in Jammu and Kashmir due to limited resources and trained manpower in the region. He shared the research designs developed by HGRG to overcome these challenges and facilitate genetics research with the objective of precision medicine in the region. Dr. Sharma also presented an online open-access database, www.jkdna.in, created by the group for the use of researchers, scientists, and clinicians worldwide, to utilize human genomics data for healthcare research and the benefits of humankind.