Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand): National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval was on Thursday conferred Honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) in Uttarakhand's Pantnagar.
The NSA was conferred by Uttarakhand Governor Lieutenant General Gurmeet Singh (Retd) at the 34th convocation ceremony of GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar town in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand.
University Vice Chancellor Manmohan S Chauhan said that the presence of the NSA at the convocation has motivated our students to work harder.
Addressing a convocation, NSA Doval said that after the partition of India, people used to think that India would not be able to feed its people as the cultivable land went to Pakistan.
"After partition, 22 million hectares of cultivable land went to Pakistan and many thought India won't be able to feed its 35 crore population. Our population is 135 crore now, food grain production has gone up to 315 million tonnes. We can not only feed our own but also export food grains."
In 2014, Doval, who was appointed as India's fifth NSA, played a crucial role in ensuring the secure return of 46 Indian nurses who were trapped in a hospital in Iraq.
Doval was widely credited along with the then Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar and Indian Ambassador to China Vijay Keshav Gokhale, for resolving Doklam Standoff through diplomatic channels and negotiations.
In October 2018, he was appointed as the Chairman of the Strategic Policy Group (SPG), which is the first tier of a three-tier structure at the National Security Council and forms the nucleus of its decision-making apparatus.
It is being said that Doval also played a crucial role during the Balakot airstrikes and the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman held in Pakistani custody. —ANI