Chief Minister Pawan Chamling today was conferred with the prestigious Doctorate of Literature (Honoris Causa) by the Desh Bhagat University at Gobindgarh in Punjab, an official press release informs.
The honour was given to Chamling for his ‘exceptional vision, deep commitment and continuous efforts to uplift the weaker section, backward class and women; for his leadership and good governance with moral and spiritual wisdom’, the release mentions.
Delivering his keynote address, the Chief Minister congratulated the bright young students who have just received their degrees and medals and also complimented the Desh Bhagat University on its tremendous contribution in the field of education which is today one of India’s proud educational institutes.
The Chief Minister informed that State government in Sikkim has made tremendous progress in the education sector duly earmarking 20 percent of State budget under education sector which is the highest expenditure in India so far.
Talking about free education up to college level in Sikkim, the Chief Minister mentioned two unique programs of the Sikkim government - the Chief Minister’s Meritorious Scholarship Scheme at class V level and Chief Minister’s Free Scholarship Scheme for Sikkimese students enrolled in world’s top 20 universities.
The Chief Minister further said that Sikkim has become the most literate State in the country with the literacy rate of 96.72 per cent, life expectancy of 73.15 years and per capita income of Rs 3,41,000 at present.
“Sikkim is the cleanest State, first Open Defecation-free State of India, most peaceful and safest tourist destination state. During the period of 1993 and 2013, forest cover in Sikkim increased to 47.34 per cent from 43.95 per cent in 1993. Sikkim became the only State in India to have increased its forest cover in the past two decades. As a governmental response to growing unemployment, we recently launched a unique program –One Family One Job under which employment to 20,000 were given on January 12, 2019 ensuring 99 percent reach, covering all households in Sikkim,” informed the Chief Minister.
Talking about organic farming, the Chief Minister said that Sikkim has a unique identity as the ‘First and Only Organic State’ in the world and recounted some of the advantages of organic farming as sustainable farming system.
In the fast changing world, the Chief Minister advised students to update themselves with emerging world knowledge on a daily basis as modern advancement in bio-engineering is about to change the course of evolution itself.