A commemorative postage stamp on the 75^th Anniversary of the Vani Vihar, the oldest university in Odisha and 17^th-oldest Indian university located in Bhubaneswar :

Issued by India

Issued on Nov 27, 2018

Issued for : Department of Posts is pleased to issue a Commemorative Postage Stamp on Utkal University.

Credits :
Stamps/FDC/Brochure : Smt. Brahmprakash
Cancellation Cachet : Smt. Nenu Gupta

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi Colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Stamps Printed : 408000

Printing Process : Wet Offset

Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad

About : 

• Utkal University, established in the year 1943, is the seventeenth oldest University in India. Its present campus is located on a sprawling 399.9 acre area in the heart of Bhubaneswar. The foundation stone of this Campus was laid by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India on 1^st January, 1958 and the Campus was inaugurated by Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the second President of India on 2^nd January, 1963.
• After the separation of Odisha from Bihar and the creation of the new province of Odisha in April 1936, there was a strong desire among the leaders of the province for the establishment of a separate university in Odisha. Until 1936 all the colleges were under the jurisdiction of either Patna University or Andhra University. Subsequently the Government of Odisha, appointed a committee on 2^nd March, 1938, with Pandit Nilakantha Das as its chairman to examine the possibility of establishing a separate university in Odisha. During the premiership of Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati, who played a pioneering role in the establishment of the university, the recommendation of this committee was made available. Subsequently the Utkal University Act 1943 came into force on 2^nd August, 1943 clearing the way for the foundation of the university on November 27, 1943.
• In 1966 that Act was repealed and a new Utkal University Act came into effect from 1^st January, 1967. Initially Utkal University was operating from the Ravenshaw College, before it came to its own campus at Bhubaneswar, called Vani Vihar. Ravenshaw College remained affiliated to Patna University even after the separation of Odisha from Bihar in 1936; the affiliation was finally transferred to the newly created Utkal University in 1943. In fact, it was Ravenshaw College that gave birth to the new university, nursed and sustained it. It operated from Ravenshaw College’s present Zoology Department building premises.
• Professor Prana Krusna Parija (1 April 1891 – 2 June 1978) after whom the library of Utkal University has been named, was the first Vice Chancellor of the University. He was a botanist, academician and contributed immensely as a scientist towards agricultural development in Odisha. He was a member of Odisha’s first Legislative Assembly. He was conferred with the award of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1944) and Padma Bhushan (1955).
• Utkal University is a teaching-cum-affiliating University. There are at present twenty seven Post-Graduate Departments located in the University Campus for Post-Graduate studies and research in various disciplines of Science, Humanities, Business Administration, Social Science, Law and Commerce. The total number of students in the P.G. Department of the campus at Vani Vihar is nearly 3,000. This is in fact the largest affiliating University in the country with approximately 267 affiliated Colleges (Degree Colleges-219, Professional Colleges-44 and other Constituent Colleges-2) under its jurisdiction.
• The University has jurisdiction over 9 districts, viz. Angul, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Jaipur, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Khurda, Nayagarh and Puri and caters to the needs of higher education of a population of more than 110 lakh.
• Apart from the constituent Institutions at Vani Vihar, M. S. Law College of the University is located at Cuttack. Besides the regular courses, twenty-six sponsored courses are offered under the direct academic control of the P.G. Council of the University.
• The University’s vision is to be a centre of excellence in higher education with focus on innovative teaching, learning, research, consultancy and extension activities in building a creative, enlightened and productive civil society.
• The University’s mission is:
  • To provide the students with knowledge, skill, values and sensitivity necessary for a successful citizen.
  • To create and disseminate knowledge through interdisciplinary research and creative inquiry in developing a meaningful and sustainable society.
  • To equip the students with problem solving, leadership and teamwork skills and inculcating a sense of commitment to quality, ethical behavior and respect for others.
  • To provide a platform for free flow of ideas where discovery, creativity and professional development finds a scope for fulfillment in making the world a better place to live in.
  • To ensure academic excellence in a dynamic knowledge economy by exposing the students to new ideas, new ways of understanding, new ways of knowing in their journey of intellectual transformation.
• Text : Based on information received from the proponent.

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