The Department of Commerce and Business Studies of the Central University of South Bihar (CUSB) organised “People’s Choice Campaign- A Campaign for Vocal for Local” as per the guidelines of Ministry of Commerce & Industry during 11-13 December, 2023. Under the mentorship of Vice Chancellor Prof. Kameshwar Nath Singh various events were organized during the three-day celebrations.
Day 1 (11th December 2023: In the series of celebrations, the event was inaugurated with a talk on “One District One Product and Geographical Indication” through virtual mode by the guest speaker Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh, Chairman, East Zone Khadi and Village Industries Commission. The session started with welcome note Prof. (Dr.) Brajesh Kumar, Head, Dept. of Commerce in which he welcomed the guest speaker and said that the purpose of the talk was to make the participants aware about the campaign and enhance knowledge about vocal for local. Further, Prof. Subramanian Shanmugam, Dean, School of Management and convenor of the program briefly introduced the resource person.
The guest speaker focused on the significance of ‘One District One Product and Geographical Indication’ and he explained how ‘One District One Product’ initiative helps to develop industries by decentralizing decisions regarding industrial growth. He also mentioned that this helps in inclusive development and can be proved as a major step on the avenue of becoming ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. Program coordinator Dr. Rachana Vishwakarma expressed her gratitude to Shri Manoj Kumar Singh for providing industrial insight and answering the academic queries raised by faculty members, research scholars, and students of the university. The event was moderated by Ms. Simran. The vote of thanks was proposed by the event coordinator, Dr. Pawas Kumar, Assistant Professor. All the faculty members of the department, Mrs. Renu, and Dr. Pradip Ram contributed their efforts to make the program successful. Miss Anjali, Mr. Saket and Mr. Aniket helped with technical support and the successful completion of the session. Approximately 70 participants were present for the session including research scholars, master’s students, and professors from different departments of the university.
Thereafter, Poster Competition and Blog Writing Competition (Online Mode) was conducted by the department in the series of event. Blog Writing competition was coordinated by Mrs. Renu for which online entries were received from approximately 8 participants regarding blogs on ‘One District One Product and Geographical Indication’.
Further, the Poster Competition was organized on the ground floor of Chanakya Bhawan from 2:30 to 4:00 pm on the theme of ‘Vocal for Local’ and a total of 10 participants from different departments took part in it. The event was coordinated by Dr. Pradip Ram in the presence of other faculty members of the department.
Day 2 (12th December 2023:
In Continuation of program, on the day two, to enhance the social outreach of students about the working conditions of stone craftsmen a visit to Pattharkatti & Khukhari village in Gaya was organized by the Department of Commerce & Business Studies. Unden the leadership of Dean school of Management Professor Subramanian Shanmugam & Head Department of Commerce and Business studies Professor Brajesh Kumar all faculty member of commerce Dr. Pawas rai, Dr. Pradip rai, Dr. Rachana Vishwakarma along with students of M.com visited Pattharkatti & Khukhari Village Which is Known for its Stone Crafting art. Where they came across variety of stones such as black stone, Vietnamese stone, Italian stone etc and also various forms of stone craft. The local Stone craft created by the artisans of Pattharkatti & Khukhari are famous across our country. Dr. Rachana Vishwakarma was the event coordinator of the visit. The faculty members and students asked queries to the artisan about the stone craft and the story behind it. Students in order to promote this local art also made a video blog about their stone crafting art and their working conditions and history.
According to artisans this stone crafting is not just the occupation for them but its more like a heritage for them. According to students and faculty members this visit was a different experience for them as they came to know about the craftsmen and their working conditions. Students said their talent to craft stone is very commendable and must be popularised further by being vocal for local. Student showed concerns towards the safety issues should be taken care of as like providing them with safety equipment like gloves and mask.
Vice Chancellor, Professor Kameshwar Nath Singh appreciated the work of Local craftsmen and also appreciated the efforts of Department of Commerce & Business studies and praised them for organising such programs in future also.
Day 3 (13th December 2023:
On day three the valedictory session was organized on 13.12.2023 at 3 pm in the Seminar Hall of Vivekanand Lecture Complex, CUSB. The program was graced by the Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Prof. Kameshwar Nath Singh. The program was started with lightening lamps and garlanding by the chief guest followed by the Kulgeet performed by M.Com students. Thereafter, the felicitation of the chief guest Hon’ble Vice Chancellor was performed. Thereafter, Prof. Brajesh Kumar, Head of the Department welcomed the chief guest and other guests of the university to the program. While addressing the audience, Dean and Convenor Prof. Subramanian Shanmugam spoke about the importance of vocal for local at district level and recognized the Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s efforts to promote the one district one product and geographical indications. The program was coordinated by Dr. Rachana Vishwakarma and the session was moderated by Ms. Akshara, a Research Scholar. During the program, Ananya and her team performed the Jhijiya Dance (A local dance from Mithila, Darbhanga) which captured the eyes of the audience. Mr. Brij and Mr. Ajith presented glimpses of the entire program of the campaign, Further, Sangam and her team showcased the life of Artisans and how they gain recognition with their art through a skit. Different event coordinators Dr Pawas, Dr Rachana, Dr Pradeep, and Mrs. Renu were felicitated during the session. Further, the winners of the Blog Writing Competition i.e. Saumya, Aniket and Anushka and Poster Making Competition i.e. Kirti, Ananya, and Vinita were awarded. Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Sir appreciated the talent of students for their extracurricular performance. Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Prof. Kameshwar Nath Singh addressed the gathering in his presidential speech and mentioned that despite the diversity in our country, this Vocal for Local campaign is helping the local art and culture to emerge on the global platform. He further expressed his opinion that we should all take the initiative to support local products and local art to support the artisans and help them get the recognition they deserve. Toward the end of the program, the vote of thanks was proposed by the Program Coordinator of the People’s Choice Campaign, Dr. Rachana Vishwakarma. She thanked the Hon’ble Vice Chancellor for his gracious presence and expressed her gratitude for his motivational words and appreciation. She also expressed her gratitude to all the authorities, faculty members, and students of the university for their presence. Saket, Anjali, Sanjeev, Kritharth, Simran, Rashmi etc actively contributed their effort to make this program a success.
