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14th, June, 2022

Sardar Patel Mandi University received the UGC affiliate. “The University Grants Commission, New Delhi, has granted 2(f) status to Sardar Patel University Mandi today.
The university was established with effect from April 1 this year by the Act Number 3 of 2022 of the state legislature of Himachal Pradesh as the second state university,” a spokesperson of the university said today.

With the 2(f) status, the university can award degrees as specified by the UGC under section 22 of the UGC Act 1956.

The UGC established in 1953 and has become a statutory organization with the UGC Act in 1956.
The UGC is responsible for the co-ordination, determination and maintenance of higher education standards.
The University Grants Commission recognizes Indian universities and provides funding to these recognized universities and colleges.

(News Source: The Tribune)

Himachal aims at doubling tea production over the next five years.
There are approximately 5,900 families of tea farmers in the state and the average farm of 95 percent of tea farmers is less than 0.5 hectares.

The Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday announced to start an ambitious plan to double tea production from 10,01,419 kg in 2021-22 to 20,00,000 kg in the next five years in the state.

Currently, tea is grown on 2,310.71 hectares on the lower slopes of the Dhauladhar Mountains in Dharamshala, Shahpur, Nagrota Bagwan, Palampur, Jaisinghpur, Baijnath, and Jogindernagar areas of Kangra district.
CSK Agriculture University Palampur has planted 800 tea saplings in Krishi Vigyan Kendras/Research Stations at Malan, Kangra, Bara, Berthin, Sundernagar, Bajaur, and Dhaula Kuan to access the scope of tea cultivation in non-traditional areas of the state.
An additional area of 5.6 hectares was also brought under fresh plantation during the year 2021-22 and a target has been fixed to bring an additional 100 hectares area under commercial tea cultivation in the coming 5 years, he further stated.

The tea industry has brought approximately 20 crores to the Himachal Pradesh economy.
In the last financial year, the industry had provided direct and indirect employment to around 5,000 people in the state.
The Kangra tea is mostly exported to foreign countries through the dealers in Kolkata and only 10 percent of the tea is being marketed within the state at present and 90 percent goes to the Kolkata auction center.
However, around 4,000 kg of Kangra tea was exported directly from Himachal to foreign countries, mainly Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, and France during the year 2021-22 and a target has been fixed to export 20 percent of tea production to foreign countries directly from Himachal in coming years.
There are approximately 5,900 families of tea farmers in the state and the average farm of 95 percent of tea farmers is less than 0.5 hectares.
There are 21 large tea plantations with an average area of more than 10 hectares, while approximately 237 tea plantations have an average area of 1 to 10 hectares.
The agriculture department has provided one lakh tea plants for infilling in existing gardens and for a fresh plantation for growers at the nominal rate of Rs 2 per plant for general farmers and Rs 1/per plant for Scheduled Caste farmers from its tea nursery at Palampur during the year 2020-21.
A target has been fixed to raise 1.5 lakhs plants in Tea Nursery Palampur during the current financial year to bring more area under commercial plantation.

The State government had organized a tea fair at Palampur for the first time in December 2021 in which around 400 tea growers had participated.

(News Source: thestatesman)