Dr. Bhagyashree Patil, Chairperson and Managing Director of Dr. D Y Patil Vidyapeeth, Pimpri, Pune was conferred the Honorary Doctorate degree in Business Management by the University of Swahili, Panama, Central America. The convocation ceremony was held at Taj, Goa on October 19, 2019.
Dr. Patil is known for her humongous contribution in the field of health care, Biotechnology, Horticulture and Floriculture and women empowerment. For nearly three decades, she has worked in these various segments. She knew for India to progress, education and healthcare should be accessible to all. Keeping that in mind, Dr. D Y Patil College, Hospital and Research Centre, Pune was established. Today, the College is ranked 20th rank in the Medical Category in the NIRF ranking all over India. As for the Hospital & Research Centre, it is well-appointed with the latest technologies and equipment and is considered to be one of the best Hospitals across Asia.
Coming to the farming sector, Rise N Shine Biotechnology Company situated at Theur, Pune was established in 2004. The main premise of establishing this organization is to support the agricultural sector with special emphasis on horticulture and floriculture. It has also the distinction of being the first and the only Indian company to be actively involved in the global floriculture breeding space. Dr. Patil gave impetus to initiatives like “Grow in India” which has boosted and improved the quality of life of the marginalized farming community.
Today, under the able guidance of Rise N Shine, farmers are into high tech farming and protected cultivation techniques. The ISO 9001-2015 company is an exporter of international standard plants to over 30 countries worldwide. It has also invested in a large and well-equipped tissue culture laboratory that helps to produce more than 40 million plants annually. Rise n Shine has international collaboration with World’s top leaders in Floriculture like Fides from Netherlands, Barbaret & Blanc from Spain, Bock Bioscience from Germany and Darwin Plants which is a subsidiary of Ball Horticulture Inc, USA.
In fact, the organization has been able to assist poor farmers as well as cater to the techno-commercial needs of its alliance partners. Her focus is to take Rise n Shine Group to newer heights and make noteworthy valuable contributions to the field of Biotechnology worldwide by 2020.
Dr. Patil believes in women's empowerment. At Theur, nearly 800 women are employed out of which around 95 percent have been recruited from rural areas. They are given technical training in the production process. After their training, they become adroit in handling technical production. Women are also taught how to juggle their home and their profession. Special schemes like “Bacchat ghat,” which is a saving scheme have been initiated for them. In short, women are made self reliant, so that they can face the competitive world of tomorrow.
