BAIF FOUNDATION DAY CELEBRATION

Education is equal to future. When there is determination to pursue education even under adverse situations, the future is assured”, stated Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar, FRS, CSIR Bhatnagar Fellow and former Director General, CSIR, Government of India. Dr. Mashelkar was speaking at the 45th Foundation Day celebration of BAIF at the BAIF Central Research Station, Urulikanchan. He praised the bold approach and commitment demonstrated by the women’s groups from remote village clusters of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, present on the occasion and their decision to take up higher education and to encourage their children also to pursue higher education. Dr. Mashelkar recollected his early association with the Founder of BAIF, Late Dr. Manibhai Desai, a Gandhian, who he felt had been ahead of his times and was speaking of a bottom to top development approach in the early 1990’s, apart from being also conscious about the need to safeguard the environment.

Earlier on the occasion of the 13th Award Ceremony, Dr.Mashelkar, felicitated the best self help groups from BAIF’s programmes namely the Samarth Mahila Alpabachat Gat who are implementing various socio-economic development programmes at Urulikanchan in Haveli taluka of Pune districtand the Jai Bhuvaneshwari Self Help Group from Tumkur district of Karnatakawho were conferred the Smt. Vijaya Deshmukh Memorial Award and Dr.Manibhai Desai Gaurav Puraskar for their outstanding contribution to community development.

The Smt. Vijaya Deshmukh Memorial Award for the Second best self help group in BAIF’s Programmes went to Vijay Mahila Bachat Gat from Songadh taluka of Tapi district of Gujarat and to Saraswati Mahila Bachat Gat from Raniganj cluster of Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh.

The Smt. Vijaya Deshmukh Memorial Award for theBest self help group in Maharashtra was given to Anjanimata Mahila Bachat Gat from Trimbakeshwar taluka of Nashik district of Maharashtra.

The recipients shared their experiences which included the bottlenecks in receiving recognition in their village and support of the Gram Panchayat and other village level institutions and their success in ensuring better quality of life for the women of their villages through organizing of an eye camp, operation of flour mill, disbursement of loan for promotion of various micro-enterprises and for ensuring education of their children including daughters to making regular visits to the local banks to deposit the money collected from their savings to attending meetings of their groups regularly and trying to solve problems within the group, thereby demonstrating solidarity.

On this occasion, the following books were also released by Dr. Mashelkar.

  1. The Milky Way: BAIF in Dairy Development: Saga and Reflections: This book captures the innovative journey of pro-poor livestock development and the experiences learnt during the past four decades.
  1. Papers on Research, Thematic Areas and Case Studies- BAIF 2011: Compilation of research, thematic papers and case studies published in national and international journals, workshop proceedings and research reports during the year 2011.
  1. Sustainable Rural LivelihoodCreation and Natural Resource Management in Central and Western Himalayas: Proceedings of the Brainstorming Workshop for Crafting Potential Strategies and Measures, held on 11-12 November 2011 in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Meritorious students who had excelled in the secondary and higher secondary examinations were also felicitated. The best published scientific paper “Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on forage yield and economics in maize - berseem – sorghum cropping sequence”written by Dr. P.K. Kauthale and Mr. P.S. Takawale was also awarded on this occasion.

Earlier, Dr. Narayan G. Hegde, Trustee and Principal Adviser, BAIF welcomed the dignitaries and women’s groups from various states. Mr. Girish G. Sohani, President and Managing Trustee, BAIF, focussed on the new challenges and approach to strengthen our programmes for rural upliftment. Dr. Ashok B. Pande, Senior Vice President, BAIF provided brief information on the awards. Mr. Kishor A. Chaukar and Mr. Deepak C. Mehta, Trustees, BAIF, also spoke on the occasion. Dr. J.R. Khadse, Chief Campus Coordinator, BAIF Central Research Station, Urulikanchan proposed the vote of thanks.

1