DBT-STAR College Scheme
Department In-Charge: Dr. Kumar Shantanu
Coordinator: Dr. Aparna Nautiyal
DBT Star College Advisory Committee Member: Dr. Roshni Rajamohan Mathur
About DBT Star College Scheme*
DBT is committed to the values of (i) Pursuit of excellence (ii) Academic and intellectual freedom (iii) Creativity and innovation (iv) Diversity (v) Cooperation and Communication & (vi) accountability. DBT has therefore, launched a scheme for improving critical thinking and 'hands on' experimental work at undergraduate (college) level in sciences. It is expected to encourage, more students to take up higher education in science. DBT select colleges with ambition and potential for excellence and provide academic and physical infrastructure for achieving excellence in teaching and unique exposure of students to experimental science. The Star College Scheme is a pan India Scheme that envisages a Star College in every district of the country, thus the Department shall exert dialogues with the State Government and identify colleges that can be considered for support under this Scheme. It is important to know that the Department has supported over 200 undergraduate colleges across the country in the past 9 years. Apart from financial support, colleges benefit tremendously from guidance received in Advisory Committee Meetings, mentoring, Task Force Meetings and learning from peers in other colleges.
Objectives of the Scheme*
To strengthen the academic and physical infrastructure for achieving excellence in teaching and training.
To enhance the quality of the learning and teaching process to stimulate original thinking through ‘hands–on’ exposure to experimental work and participation in summer schools.
To promote networking and strengthen ties with neighboring institutions and other laboratories.
To conduct specialized training programmes for faculty improvement for optimizing technical capabilities.
To increase capabilities of core instrumentation resources by procuring new equipment and upgrading of existing facilities.
To provide access and exposure to students to research laboratories and industries in the country.
To help in devising standard curricula and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) / kits for practicals.
To provide better library facility to students and teachers.
*(Source: Department of Biotechnology, Government of India)
Activities Organized under the aegis of DBT STAR College Scheme
Minor Projects
- Seed dormancy in some medicinally/economically important plants: causes and methods to overcome
Mentor/PI: Dr. Rajender Kumar and Dr. Anju Chhibber
Number of students: Seven
Project status: On-going
Description : The project is designed to study the germination behavior, type of dormancy, causes and their removal methods. The later will be helpful for the propagation, cultivation and conservation of the species concerned.
- Floristic study of Deshbandhu College, with special reference to indigenous plants of medicinal importance.
Mentor/PI: Dr. Roshni Rajamohan Mathur, Dr. Madhu Rani, Dr. Rubina Chongtham and Ms. Anjana Singh
Number of students: Thirteen
Project status: On-going
Description : The study will provide an inventory of the flowering plants of the study region which including trees, shrubs and herbs. The inventory will be helpful in developing a checklist of plants of medicinal importance of the area. Diversity of plants of a region is an indicator of the richness of biodiversity of its insect pollinators as well. The outcome of the project can be of use in updating the flora at the district and state level. The students involved in the project will learn about the importance and methodologies involved in floristic studies- plant collection, herbarium techniques, cataloguing etc.
- Analysis of rhizosphere from different herbaceous plants for beneficial microbes which can be used as biofertilizers.
Mentor/PI: Dr. Bela Bhatia, Dr. Aparna Nautiyal, Dr. Anju Chhibbar and Dr. Neha Yadav
Number of students: Six
Project status: On-going
Description : The project aims at screening of wild herbaceous plants in the college campus for the diversity of different type of bacteria, and microbial flora including fungi showing association with the roots of higher plants in form of either chlamydospores or nodule forming bacteria, cyanobacteria or mycorrhizal associations. Screening of such wild herbaceous plants that promote AMF technology, will help us to judiciously grow only those plants which are beneficial for maintaining the diversity in the vicinity. This will further provide information regarding the diversity of useful microbial symbiotic associations in rhizosphere of different flowering plants.
- Role of rhizospheric microbiome in stress tolerance of crop plants
Mentor/PI: Dr. Rubina Chongtham, Dr. Madhu Rani and Dr. Dharmendra Kumar Mallick
Number of students: Five
Project status: On-going
Description : The project is designed to identify the susceptible and tolerant plant varieties and identification of associated microbes to assess their roles in stress tolerance. The scientific relevance of this study is immense as the role of soil microbiome in stress tolerance is proposed to be instrumental in sustainable crop protection in view of the eminent global climate crisis. The major research outcome of this project will be to attain a preliminary identification of different microbial component of the rhizosphere of the plants.
- Assessment of Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) and Anticipated Performance Index (API) in the avenue trees growing inside the Deshbandhu College Campus
Mentor/PI: Dr. Dharmendra K. Mallick, Dr. Aparna Nautiyal and Ms. Anjana Singh
Number of students: Six
Project status: On-going
Description : Urban air contamination is a serious problem in both developed and developing countries, Delhi, being the capital of India, has been facing many air pollution related problems and has also been ranked one of the ten most polluted cities in the world. Regular checking of the tolerance of the existing tree species to combat pollution and plantations of such more tolerant tree species will have a marked effect on various aspects of the air quality and cleanliness of life in a city. Different plants can respond differently to various types of pollutants, they could be either sensitive or tolerant in nature. In order to understand the effect of air pollution on plants and the adaptation mechanisms of plants under stress conditions, present study is based on the assessment of APTI (Air Pollution Tolerance Index) on few commonly occurring avenue trees of college campus.
- To study the physiological roles of some plant growth regulators
Mentor/PI: Dr. Rajender Kumar, Dr. Roshni Rajamohan, Dr. Sourav Singh Deo
Number of students: Six
Project status: On-going
Description : The project is intended to observe the effects of plant growth regulators (Auxin, Gibberellic acid and cytokinin) on various physiological processes such as rooting, senescence, seed germination and growth. Besides understanding of physiological roles of plant growth regulators the results will be helpful for vegetative propagation through stem cuttings (rhizogenesis), increased shelf life green vegetables/plants (Senescence), cultivation and conservation of the species (seed germination).
- Study of plant responses to various abiotic stresses
Mentor/PI: Dr. Kumar Shantanu, Dr. Rajender Kumar and Ms. Anjana Singh
Number of students: Four
Project status: On-going
Description : The project is designed to expose the plants to various abiotic stresses (salt, heavy metals) and to monitor physical and biochemical changes in response to the abiotic stress. The outcome will help to understand the role of certain metabolites (especially proline) and enzymes (anti-oxidative) in combating abiotic stress.
Conferences, Symposium, Talks & Webinars
Webinar on “IPR: Basic concepts, Its relevance and opportunities”.
Convener: Dr. Anju Chhibbar & Dr. Neha Yadav
Date of the program: January 28, 2021
No. of participants: 150
Invited Speakers: Dr. Arun Kumar Maurya, Assistant Professor, Multani Mal Modi Post Graduate College, CCS University, Modinagar, UP
Description : Department of Botany, Deshbandhu college, University of Delhi under the aegis of IQAC and DBT Star College Scheme organised a student counselling session on the topic “IPR: Basic concepts, Its relevance and opportunities”, on 28th Jan 2021 from 10.30 AM to 12.30 PM via zoom platform. Speaker for the day was Dr. Arun Kumar Maurya, Asst. Professor, Multani Mal Modi Post Graduate College, CCS University, Modinagar. He introduced the concept of Intellectual Property which is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect and the rights associated with it are called Intellectual Property rights. Afterwards he briefed the types of IPR that is Patents, Trade marks, copyrights, trade secrets etc. He gave an insight about the constitutional remedies such as Article 14 that is equal protection of law, Article 300A of the Indian Constitution provides constitutional safeguards against unlawful deprivation of property, Article 253 that plays an important role in the context of Intellectual Property Rights as it mandates the recognition of the international aspect of laws, legislations, and agreements. Schedule 7 of Indian constitution which has given Union Government power to make laws on Intellectual Property etc. He highlighted the importance of Intellectual Property rights with regards to a nation, it's people and the person associated with that property. He also briefly discussed few landmark judgements of Indian Supreme Court, High courts of India and Judicial courts of Countries like USA such as Divyajoti case of Uttarakhand, Anniev tribe etc. The event was a great success and well attended by more than 150 Teachers, Students and research scholars from Various colleges and institutions.
Webinar on “Arbuscular Mycorrhiza: A Promise for Sustainable Cultivation of Crops”.
Convener: Dr. Bela Bhatia
Date of the program: March 3, 2021
No. of participants: 120
Invited Speakers: Prof. Rupam Kapoor, Department of Botany, University of Delhi
Description : A webinar was conducted on March 3, 2021 by Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College, under the aegis of IQAC and DBT Star college scheme. A talk was delivered by Prof. Rupam Kapoor, Department of Botany, University of Delhi on “Arbuscular Mycorrhiza: A Promise for Sustainable Cultivation of Crops”. She enlightened the role of AM fungi in enhancing the commercial value of many medicinal plants like Artemisia , Stevia and Tulsi and reducing the cost of treatment of diseases like Malaria and Diabetes. Their role in reducing the effect of metal stress of higher plants was also well explained. The talk ended with a long list of questions by students and teachers as well. It was a very interesting and informative talk and benefitted the students of B.Sc. (H) Botany II Year and B.Sc. (P) Life Science II year as “Biofertilzers” is one of the SEC papers in their curriculum.
Invited talk on “Plant Diversity: Its importance in conservation”.
Convener: Dr. Madhu Rani
Date of the program: January 29, 2021
No. of participants: 150
Invited Speakers: Prof. S. R. Yadav, Department of Botany, Shivaji University
Description : Botanical Society of Department of Botany, Deshbandhu college, University of Delhi under the aegis of IQAC organised Inaugural talk by Prof S. R. Yadav, Department of Botany, Shivaji University on “Plant Diversity: Its importance in conservation” He emphasized on a clear vision, focused approach & determination towards achieving one’s goals. He delivered a mesmerizing talk and gave an insight of wonderful diversity in plant species and their importance in our life.
Invited Talk on “The Amazing world of the Winged Jewels”.
Convener: Dr. Dharmendra K. Mallick
Date of the program: September 9, 2020
No. of participants: 150
Invited Speakers: Mr Ishtiyak Ahamad, CEC-BNHS, Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, Delhi
Description: On the occasion of Big Butterfly Month India 2020 Mr Ishtiyak Ahamad, Education Officer at Conservation Education Centre, Bombay Natural History Society (CEC-BNHS) at Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, Delhi delivered virtual talk on the Amazing world of the "Winged Jewels". About 150 students and faculty members attended the session.
Invited Talk on “Journey of a Biologist: Exploring the Extremes”.
Convener: Dr. Anju Chhibbar
Date of the program: October 9, 2020
No. of participants: 200
Invited Speakers: Dr. Dinabandhu Sahoo, FNASc, FNAAS, FBRS Department of Botany, University of Delhi Former Director, IBSD in Manipur, Sikkim and Meghalaya & Mizoram
Description: Botanical Society of Department of Botany, Deshbandhu college, University of Delhi organised a invited Dr. Dinabandhu Sahoo to deliver a talk on “Journey of a Biologist: Exploring the Extremes” on the occasion of its Valedictory ceremony. The talk given by Dr. Sahoo was extremely endearing and motivating. Being the first Indian student to put on a foot on Antarctic ice, was a great feat to accomplish with its fair share of difficulties. In 1987, he started the journey to the Antarctic when he was only a Ph.D. student at Delhi University. He recalled that he never imagined traveling outside of the country, let alone an uninhabited continent. His 25-day journey to the Antarctic was alternating between rough seas and nice weather. Dr Sahoo gave an insight of his Journey through his career.
Webinar on “Introduction to GIS & Remote sensing in Natural science”.
Convener: Dr. Roshni Rajamohan Mathur
Date of the program: October 17, 2020
No. of participants: 150
Invited Speakers: Dr. G. Areendran, Director, Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre (IGCMC), WWF–India
Description : The Department of Botany, Deshbandhu College under the aegis of IQAC and DBT Star College Scheme is organized a Webinar on October 17, 2020 convened by Dr. Roshni Rajamohan Mathur, Assistant Professor, Deptt. of Botany on the topic- Introduction to GIS & Remote sensing in Natural science. The Invited speaker Dr. G. Areendran (Director of Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre (IGCMC) at WWF – India) gave a very lucid lecture on the topic which was appreciated equally by teachers and students. The very informative and useful talk was attended by over 150 people including students who were enlightened about the opportunities in the field of GIS. Dr. Areendran gave a clear picture about the history and components of GIS and Remote Sensing. He explained beautifully the various applications of GIS in different fields of life and the importance of having the knowledge about GIS in today’s world. He highlighted the importance of the technology by discussing various case studies related to different fields of science. Dr. Areendran also enlightened the students about how GIS can be useful in predicting various parameters like rainfall, temperature, species distribution, species tracking and how it can be used in biodiversity conservation and geo-spatial studies. He also explained how GIS combined with AI is revolutionizing the present world. The lecture was followed by an interactive session where the guest patiently answered the queries from inquisitive students.
Two-days webinar on "Evolution of Science seen from Historical Perspective"
Convenor: Dr. Aparna Nautiyal
Date of the program: 12th and 13th May, 2020 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm via Google meet.
No. of participants: 250
Invited Speaker:
Professor Arun Kumar Pandey (Honorable Vice Chancellor, Mansarovar Global University Sehore, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and former Dean of Colleges & Professor, Department of Botany, University of Delhi).
Dr. Rajendra Gupta (Former Associate Professor, Department of Botany, University of Delhi).
Description: On 12 th May, Prof. A. K. Pandey gave a talk on & quot;The Changing Paradigm of Flowering Plants Systematics & quot;. He enlightened the audience on the significance of naming plants in sciences, diversity in flowering plants and how molecular systematics plays an important role in study of different groups of plants. The presentation was full of beautiful illustrations of different rare and endangered plants. On 13 th May, Dr. R. Gupta spoke on “Walking with Ancestors-Naming Plants and Animals in the Ancient World”, wherein he explained the probable origin of naming of plants and animals during linguistic evolution.
Invited Talk on “Transgenic & RNA silencing based strategies for crop protection against pathogens & insect pests”
Convenor: Dr. Anju Chhibbar, advisor Botanical society, Dr. Rajender Kumar (Teacher-in-Charge) and Dr. Dharmendra K. Mallick.
Date of the program: 18th September, 2019
No. of participants: More than 100
Invited Speaker: Professor M. V. Rajam (Department of Genetics, University of Delhi, South Campus)
Description: The invited talk was delivered by eminent Professor M.V. Rajam of the Department of Genetics, University of Delhi, South Campus. He talked about how RNA interference is a potent method using only a few double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules of a particular gene to silence its expression, which has made it one of the hottest topics in molecular biology. The lecture was followed by an interactive question-answer session.
Invited talk on “Weather Forecasting, Climate Variability and its impacts” during the Botanical Fest, Sanjeevani.
Convenor: Dr. Anju Chhibbar
Date of the program: 31 January, 2020
No. of participants: All the students of B.Sc. (H) Botany and B.Sc. (P) Life Science participated.
Invited Speaker: Dr. Anand Sharma (DDGM, Indian Meteorological Department, Government of India, Mausam Bhawan)
Description: Dr. Anand Sharma (DDGM, Indian Meteorological Department, Government of India, Mausam Bhawan) gave a wonderful talk on Weather Forecasting, Climate Variability and its impacts. He interacted with the students and explained the basic principles of weather forecasting, highlighted the current scenario of world with reference to climate change and also threw light on the advancements in Indian Technology in weather forecast since last two decades.
One-week summer training programme in Plant Systematics
Poster making competition on the theme " Coronavirus lockdown rejuvenates our environment"
A Botanical Trip to Yamuna Biodiversity Park
A Field Visit to Botanical Garden of Indian Republic (BGIR), Noida
Butterfly Count in Deshbandhu College Campus
Botanical excursion to Chopta, Uttarakhand
Dragonfly Count in Deshbandhu College campus