Chandigarh, September 18, 2019 (Yes Punjab News)
Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today said the Ministry of Human Resource Development had sanctioned Rs 67.75 crore for establishment of the Centre for Inter Faith Studies in Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
Disclosing this after a meeting with representatives of various ministries held at Delhi to oversee implementation of action plans of various ministries for celebrating the 550th Parkash Purab celebrations of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji, the union minister said the officials of the HRD ministry briefed her that Rs 67.75 crore would be sanctioned in the first phase of the project. She said the HRD ministry had been asked to communicate the timeline for disbursing the grant and schedule for inaugural ceremony of the Inter Faith Studies Centre.
Mrs Badal said she had also been apprised that the University Of Birmingham, United Kingdom had agreed to set up a chair on Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji and provide funding for 85 per cent of the project cost. The representative further apprised that Ministry of External Affairs was also in the process of finalizing University at Canada for the same purpose and that talks were on with Concordia University, Montreal.
At the meeting, Mrs Badal also suggested that University Grants Commission (UGC) could mobilize other universities, government or private, for holding commemorative events in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Patna and Nanded. She further suggested that possibilities may be explored for holding a combined seminar in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi with the combined efforts of Guru Nanak Dev University, SGPC and the HRD ministry.
Mrs Badal said the representative of the Northern Railway informed that they would complete the construction work of a museum/auditorium by middle of October 2019 and the same may be used for displays, cut-outs, and screening of documentaries.
The union minister was also apprised that an international level seminar on Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji was proposed in the month of February 2020 wherein 550 scholars from all over the globe would be invited. She was apprised that 100 seminars were planned across the country and that a Mobile Digital Exhibition would also be taken held in major cities.
Mrs Badal said the MEA apprised her that it was coordinating to organize digital projections on iconic buildings in countries like UAE, US, UK, Germany, Italy, Thailand and France. Kirtan Darbars are also being organised at various missions abroad, she added.
