Bhubaneswar, Jan. 27: Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) joined the rest of the nation in celebrating the 76th Republic Day on Sunday with the Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Amit Banerjee unfurling the national flag and urging the faculty members and students to build a strong and more prosperous India.
“Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan has remained in the forefront of the nation building process in the field of higher education, research and healthcare. Your hard work and dedication will inspire the SOA family to strive to reach greater heights,” Prof. (Dr.) Banerjee said after inspecting the parade and taking the customary salute.
“The onus is on each one of us to ensure that India becomes a developed nation by 2047. Vikshit Bharat is the goal which should inspire us to put our best foot forward,” he said.
SOA had taken giant strides in expansion by establishing the second campus of Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital at Phulnakhara where 150 MBBS students had taken admission in 2024-25 while another SUM Hospital had started functioning at Berhampur, Prof. (Dr.) Banerjee said while referring to groundbreaking advancements in healthcare in 2024.
IMS and SUM Hospital had conducted Odisha’s first Haploidentical Hematopoietic Stem Transplantation establishing a milestone in treating Acute Myeloid Leukemia. The hospital also became the first in the state to undertake the revolutionary Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cell (CAR T-cell) therapy successfully treating blood cancer patients during the year, he said.
Prof. Prasanta Kumar Patra, Dean (Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy) and acting Vice-Chancellor of SOA, Deans of different institutions, Directors, students and officials were present at the colourful ceremony held at the university stadium.
Students of different institutions under SOA, a contingent each of NCC and NSS volunteers, Institute of Higher Secondary Education and security personnel participated in the parade. The university’s Flag Unit, which participated in the parade for the first time, walked away with top honours when it was adjudged first in the parade. Students of the faculty of agricultural sciences and faculty of engineering and technology came second and third in the parade respectively.
The program ended with a colourful cultural extravaganza featuring students of different institutions. Awards were also given for the first time for cultural performances this year with students of faculty of law and faculty of agricultural sciences winning the top two spots.
Mr. Abhishek Bhanja and Mr. Abinash Nanda, both Senior Under Officers of NCC, were felicitated on the occasion by the Chancellor.
Earlier, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Registrar Prof. Bibhuti Bhushan Pradhan unfurled the tri-colour at the university office. Chairman of SOA’s Advisory Board, Prof. Damodar Acharya, Director of University Outreach Program Prof. Nachieketa Sharma, SOA’s Distinguished Professor Uma Charan Mohanty and Joint Registrars Mr. Bhisma Charan Das and Mr. Sasanka Mishra, among others, were present.