Setting the strong foundation in the 60s to become India’s first agricultural University, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, has developed managers and leaders for the business world, leaving a legacy of excellence and integrity in every graduate.
Jawahar Lal Nehru formally inaugurated it as the ‘Uttar Pradesh Agricultural University’ on November 17, 1960. (UPAU). In honor of Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant, the first chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and a statesman who received the Bharat Ratna, the institution’s name was later changed to ‘Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology’ in 1972. The University is situated at Pantnagar, Tehsil Kichha of Udham Singh Nagar district. The University is the birthplace of the Green Revolution in India.
College of Agribusiness Management (CABM) is a constituent college of Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, which was established in October 1996. With the establishment of international connections, the college has emphasized keeping the curriculum updated with the constantly changing global business environment dynamics. The arduous and stringent selection processes make it a genuinely exceptional educational center that can be compared to the best in the world.
Dr R.S. Jadoun, the Dean of the CABM, aims to make it the top 5 institutes in Agribusiness in India. His objective is to attract the best faculty available in India and upgrade the skill set of its students to par with the best in the field.
Developing Tomorrow
CABM’s mission is to provide qualified, well-trained, motivated, and committed managers; upgrade the managerial skills of practicing managers; and solve managerial problems through contract research and consultancy to help achieve organizational excellence in agribusiness and other sectors in the country.
It envisions becoming the harbinger of managerial excellence in Indian agribusiness and other sectors and becoming the country’s best sectoral business management institution.
Dr Jadoun mentions that the core values of CABM are to develop human resources to serve the nation, nurture integrity and creativity, provide academic freedom, and prepare human resources to think big and see the bigger picture.
Leading from the Forefront
As the Dean of College of Agribusiness Management, Dr Jadoun utilizes his over three decades of vast experience to upscale the teaching assignments. He is an alumnus of the famous IIT education system and has worked across a cross-section of industries and services sectors. He has also headed the departments of Production Engineering, been Dean of Student Welfare, and Director, Placement and Counselling. At present, he is also heading the Centre for Good Governance and Vice Chancellor’s Secretariat at the University.
His valuable contribution has excelled CABM to newer milestones. Below are a few mentions:
- Collaboration with CTARA (Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas) of IIT Bombay for joint work on Faculty & Student Exchange.
- MOU has been signed with IIMKashipur for NABARD funded project on nurturing startups. Project name: Rural Business Incubation Centre.
- CABM has been designated as Nodal Training Institute (NTI)by MANAGE (An institute under the Ministry of Agriculture), Hyderabad, for setting up Agribusiness Clinics to promote rural entrepreneurship.
- Collaborate with IIT-Delhi to conduct classes for CABM students in identified areas.
- Collaboration with NITIE, Mumbai, for training students in the area of Supply Chain Management.
- Active support in the establishment of the Centre for Good Governance at the university.
- Admissions diversification: Follow the path set by top institutions in the field, i.e., to allow students from all streams to benefit from teaching at CABM.
- Training program for SC/ST entrepreneurs.
- Various Blood Donation Camps were organized.
- Every year: 100% placements of students. Around 1500 alums in senior & middle management positions across leading Agribusiness & Rural development organizations.
- CABM faculty are collaborating on teaching & research with various institutions flourishing under union ministries, viz., Agriculture, Cooperation etc.
- Exploring tie-up with Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi, for academic collaboration.
- Renovation and up-gradation of college infrastructure.
Going Above and Beyond
The University has established itself as a world-class Academia in agriculture, veterinary sciences, agricultural engineering, and allied subjects and is involved extensively in teaching, research, and extension work.
Course Objectives
- To educate and train young blood to develop managerial skills in areas of Agribusiness.
- Provide consultancy services for business organizations to solve corporate problems.
- Offer training courses for policymakers, executives, and in charge of business-related projects.
- Contribute to the State and Central governments in the formulation of business policies.
- Improve the management of enterprises and projects by researching problems of agribusiness and other functional areas.
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to analyze and make the most suitable decisions/inferences.
- The capacity for effective oral and written communication will be reflected in the students.
- Students will exhibit a comprehensive appreciation of the ethical implications of decisions and knowledge of the legal and ethical environment that affects agricultural organizations in their careers.
- Students will familiarize themselves and be accustomed to diversity and globalization and their impact on modern farm organizations.
- Students will exhibit critical thinking by examining issues and will work on feasible solutions.
Awards and Accolades
- In 2006, CABM, on behalf of the University, acted as Knowledge Partner in the ASSOCHAM Summit on Hager Education held on 22-24 November in New Delhi.
- In 2007, The college was awarded ISO 9001:2000 certification for quality education imparted by it.
- In 2008, CABM organized a daylong workshop on October 13 on ‘India@75’ under the aegis of CII to share the vision envisaged by International Management Guru Dr C K Prahalad of London Business School.
- In 2009, The students participated in the e-summit 2009 at IIT Roorkee.
- In 2010, The college developed strong linkages at a national and international platform, including ICAR, CACP, APEDA, NABARD, and IDS.
- In 2014, Students participated in a workshop organised by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research on Poverty, Hunger, Food Security, and Nutrition.
- In 2018, Eight days Model Training Course on Agribusiness Management and Agri-preneurship was organized in CABM for the Government officials of India.
- In 2021, the college had its Silver Jubilee Celebration.
Distinctive and Well-Versed
Dr Jadoun states that the college is transforming itself into the global agricultural powerhouse in the country by entering into MoUs with other institutions of importance and motivating students to participate in various business festivals and events being organized in the country.
Various MoUs are being signed with:
- Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology.
- Pantaloon Retail India.
- Illinois University, USA.
- Cornell University, USA.
- IIM – Kashipur.
- The MBA students participated in e-Summit 2009 at IIT Roorkee.
- The PGP-1 Students presented B-Plans at IRMA (Udaan) Fest.
- A university-level management fest, ‘MAGNATE 2016,’ was organized by CABM.
- The college has been approved by the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) to conduct a master’s programme in Management.
- CABM has also started Ph.D. programme in Management from the year 2007-08.
- CABM is the first Agribusiness Institution in the country, set up under the SAU system, having approval from AICTE and accreditation from ICAR, New Delhi.
- The College has also been awarded ISO 9001:2000 Quality System Certification for maintaining world-class academic standards and ranked in the Top 5 Sectoral B-School of the Country (Outlook Surveys).
University has various ongoing student exchange programs in collaboration with NAHEP (National Agriculture Higher Education Project). The college has also developed strong linkages at national and international platforms with ICAR, CACP, APEDA, NABARD, IDS, and many more.
Infrastructure
The college has state-of-the-art infrastructure. This includes smart classrooms fully equipped with smart and interactive boards, LCD Screens etc, an auditorium, two separate halls for conducting Management Development Programs and Executive Development Programs, Computer Lab, Stress Management Lab, Rooms for conducting Group Discussions and Personal Interviews during the campus placement process and numerous other similar facilities. The college is fully Wi-fi, and all rooms are fully airconditioned.
CABM helps students by putting them in a situation where they have a free hand in learning the concepts. “Encouraging the students and giving them opportunities to show their creativity is what we look for in students. Foremost, we look to our students to add value to our place and contribute to a larger extent,” Dr Jadoun asserts.
The future of agricultural education in the university is quite bright as it is one of the leading Agricultural Universities in India and ranked 351 in QS World Ranking. College is marking excellence in terms of academics and extracurricular maneuvers. The college aims for excellence in research by securing public and private funding and collaborating with various institutions. Recently, an MOU has been signed between CABM and IIM Kashipur for students and faculty exchange programs.
The Dean understands that creating an edge in subject matters, learning and developing their personality by making them phenomenal experts as well as great people, with understanding and respect for human qualities, pride in their legacy and culture, a feeling of good and bad, and longing for flawlessness and soak up properties of the boldness of conviction and activity.
Dr Jadoun advises educators who wish to cater to the agricultural education space to understand their role in student’s life and be their mentors. “Also, give the students a free hand to work and study as this will yield high output and secure their presence in the outside world where they have to make many decisions on their own,” he concludes.