Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankar. File
| Photo Credit: H.S. Manjunath

Amid much criticism, the Raj Bhavan in Tamil Nadu announced on Tuesday (April 22, 2025) that Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar will inaugurate the annual two-day conference of Vice-Chancellors (V-Cs) of State, Central, and private universities in the State. The conference that is to be presided by Tamil Nadu Governor Ravi is scheduled to be held on April 25 and 26 at the Raj Bhavan campus in Udhagamandalam.

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According to a press release from the Raj Bhavan, Mr. Dhankhar will be the chief guest of the conference. “It aims to have detailed deliberations and interactive sessions on a gamut of issues covering implementation of National Credit Framework, academic collaborations among universities, use of Artificial Intelligence to maximise learning outcomes, financial management in educational institutions, research excellence, promoting entrepreneurship, capacity building for learners, creating wealth through Intellectual Property (IP) and careers in rehabilitation of differently abled persons,” the release said.

Eminent speakers from academia, government and industry will cover the above topics. Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India will deliver a special address on the topic ‘Frontiers in Science and Technology’. The Conference aims to foster collaboration, share best practices and explore innovative approaches to higher education in a rapidly evolving academic landscape, the press release added.

This announcement comes after Mr. Ravi held a meeting with Mr. Dhankhar in New Delhi on April 19, days after the Supreme Court ruled that various Bills pertaining to universities, re-adopted by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and pending with the President, were deemed to have been granted assent. The Supreme Court judgment on April 8 had also set a timeline for the President and Governors to take decisions on Bills passed by State Assemblies.

Following the apex court verdict, on April 16, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin held a consultative meeting with Vice-Chancellors and Registrars of all State universities. Earlier, some of the allies of the ruling DMK had opposed to Mr. Ravi’s move to convene the V-Cs’ conference.