Department of Basic Sciences Nauni,Solan (HP)

HON'BLE GOVERNOR

Sh. Kavinder Gupta

HON'BLE GOVERNOR HP

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HON'BLE CHIEF MINISTER

Sh. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu

HON'BLE CHIEF MINISTER HP

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VICE CHANCELLOR

Dr. Harminder Singh Baweja

HON'BLE VICE CHANCELLOR

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Dr Ashu Chandel
Professor & Head

The Department of Basic Sciences was started in 1982-83 as a part of College of Agriculture, Nauni, the erstwhile Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishva Vidyalaya, Palampur. After the formation of Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry in 1985, it remained a separate department and has since been consolidated and strengthened considerably. Currently, the Department of Basic Sciences is a part of the college of Forestry and has five major disciplines; Microbiology, Statistics, Plant Physiology, Biochemistry and English.

At present, the Department is offering M.Sc. programmes in (Agri) Microbiology, (Agri) Statistics, (Agri) Plant Physiology and (Agri) Biochemistry along with Ph.D. programmes in (Agri) Microbiology and (Agri) Statistics to gear up the basic and applied research in these disciplines. The department has an excellent infrastructure and is actively involved in teaching of both the colleges along with specific research and extension activities. The department has undertaken various research projects and schemes of current importance. We take pride in the fact that our students have been suitably placed in leading national and international universities, ICAR research institutes, industries, government departments, banks etc.

Mandate

Strive for academic excellence in teaching, research and extension activities
Generate human resources in the field of Basic Sciences.
Carry out theoretical and applied research in various fields of Basic Sciences.

Strengths

Multidisciplinary department serving the basic academic and research needs of departments of the constituent colleges of the University.
The department offers M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Microbiology and Statistics. and M.Sc. degree in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry.
Well-equipped laboratories with adequate instruments.
Efficient and experienced teaching staff.

Academics

The Department of Basic Sciences offers both M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in different disciplines.

M.Sc.(Agri) Microbiology
M.Sc.(Agri) Statistics
M.Sc.(Agri) Plant Physiology
M.Sc.(Agri) Biochemistry
Ph.D.(Agri) Microbiology
Ph.D.(Agri) Statistics
Ph.D.(Agri) Plant Physiology

Services Offered

Statistical Analysis for thesis/ research work
Internship Programme for Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Plant Physiology.

Academic Achievements

2026

Rakesh Kumar (Ph.D.) joined Dr. YSPUHF, Nauni as Guest Faculty in 2026.

2025

Kritika Kesta (M.Sc.) joined the Forest Department, Government of Himachal Pradesh as Van Mitra in 2025.
Vishani Thakur (M.Sc.) joined Punjab National Bank, Haroli (Una) as Agriculture Officer in 2025.
Sukhdeep Kaur (Ph.D.) joined Lovely Professional University, Phagwara as Assistant Professor in 2025.
Vaibhav Chittora (Ph.D.) joined Sai Tirupati University, Udaipur as Assistant Professor in 2025.
Kashma Rani (Ph.D.) joined Sun Pharma, Mohali as Quality Technician in 2025.
Reshav Thakur (M.Sc.) joined Konnect Agro Pvt. Ltd., Haldwani as Agronomist and Data Analyst in 2025.

2024

Kavita Rana (Ph.D.) joined CSIR-IHBT, Palampur as Senior Project Associate in 2024.
Karuna Thakur (Ph.D.) joined Khalsa College, Amritsar as Assistant Professor in 2024.
Bindu Devi (Ph.D.) joined the Department of Microbiology, Sridev Suman Uttarakhand University, Rishikesh as Guest Faculty in 2024.
Dimple (Ph.D.) joined Shoolini University as Assistant Professor in 2024.
Vinay Kumar Dhiman (Ph.D.) joined Khalsa College, Amritsar as Assistant Professor in 2024.
Shilpa Sharma (Ph.D.) joined Lovely Professional University, Phagwara as Assistant Professor in 2024.

2023

Sarita (Ph.D.) joined Dr. YSPUHF, Nauni as Assistant Professor in 2023.
Vishnu Shankar (Ph.D.) joined TNAU as Teaching Assistant in 2023.
Diksha Sood (Ph.D.) joined CSIR-IHBT, Palampur as Project Associate-I in 2023.
Kavita Rana (Ph.D.) joined D.A.V. University, Jalandhar as Assistant Professor in 2023.
Meenakshi Dhiman (Ph.D.) joined D.A.V. University, Jalandhar as Assistant Professor in 2023.
Pawan Singta (Ph.D.) joined Christ University, Bengaluru in 2023.
Neha Mishra (Ph.D.) joined Amity University, Mohali in 2023.
Aishwarya Chauhan (M.Sc.) joined Wellistics Life Sciences, Punjab as Quality Control Executive in 2023.
Shiva Shankar Reddy (M.Sc.) joined Starchik Foods Pvt. Ltd., Telangana as QA/QC Microbiologist in 2023.
Pooja Sharma (M.Sc.) joined AgriClinic Diagnostic and Solution Center, Solan as Assistant Agridiagnostician in 2023.

2022

Samriti (Ph.D.) joined NIT Hamirpur as Guest Faculty in 2022.
Ajay Rattan (Ph.D.) joined the Department of Planning, Government of Himachal Pradesh in 2022.
Meenakshi (Ph.D.) joined G.D. Goenka University, Gurugram as Assistant Professor in 2022.
Vinay T.V. (Ph.D.) joined Christ University, Bengaluru in 2022.
Manjula (M.Sc.) joined Sun Pharma, Mohali as Quality Technician in 2022.
Bharath J.P.V. (M.Sc.) joined Relanto, Bengaluru as Senior Data Scientist in 2022.

2021

Geeta Verma (Ph.D.) joined Dr. YSPUHF, Nauni as Assistant Professor in 2021.

2020

Ajit Sharma (Ph.D.) joined Dr. YSPUHF, Nauni as Assistant Professor in 2020.

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Research

Thrust Areas

Development of indigenous PGPR/Biofertilizers/Biopesticides formulations for temperate horticulture, vegetable, floriculture and medicinal plants.
Conservation of microbial diversity and process development for microbial enzymes.
Eco-friendly solutions for growth and development of plants.
Valorisation of waste to value added products.
Developing statistical models for forecasting area, production, prices and arrivals and application of multivariate techniques in horticulture and forestry crops in Himachal Pradesh.
Establishment of physiological basis of crop response and resilience to climate change.

Research Achievements

Applied statistical and forecasting models to analyze crop production, market trends, and post-harvest losses in horticultural crops.
Evaluated natural farming–based multilayer cropping systems for sustainable agricultural productivity and agroecological development.
Management of white root rot of apple using indigenous biocontrol strain of Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus aryabhattai.
Potential phosphate solubilizer strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas lini were identified as phosphate sollubilizers.
Demonstrated that combined application of antitranspirants effectively mitigates drought stress and improves crop performance.
Developed a microbial consortium for accelerated composting and efficient solid waste management.
Developed a keratinolytic bacterial consortium for efficient conversion of poultry feather waste into organic fertilizer.
Studied the effects of autotoxicity on apple growth, development, and physiological performance.
Evaluated the productivity and stress resilience of apple cultivars in the mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh.

Extension Activities

Interaction with farmers in various extension functions organized by the University at the main campus and at various regional stations.
Conducting various training programmes to stakeholders on statistical analyses.
Trial-cum–demonstration on the use of Biofertilizers / Biopesticides on vegetables, ornamental and horticultural crops.
Lectures on use of Biofertilizer/PGPR and Javik Kheti in advanced and general training programmes, KisanMela summer/winter school organized by different departments of the university and other institutions of the state and the country at farmer’s field on vegetable and horticultural crops.
Organized Scientific Workshops, Webinars, National Science Day/National Mathematics Day etc.

Awards/Recognitions

Dr. Ashu Chandel was awarded the Best Oral Presentation Award for presenting the paper entitled “Success Story of Natural Farming in Himachal Pradesh” at the International Conference on Enabling Sustainable Food Systems through Natural Farming (ESFS-NF), held on September 13–14, 2024, at Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan. The award was conferred jointly by the Indian Ecological Society and Dr. YSP UHF, Nauni.
Dr. Ashu Chandel was awarded the Best Oral Presentation Award for presenting the paper entitled “Emerging Footprints of Natural Farming: Sustained Increase in Himalayan Farmers’ Income” at the National Conference on Indigenous Knowledge System and Practices for Sustainable Future: A Roadmap to Viksit Bharat-2047, held on February 13–14, 2025, at the College of Horticulture and Forestry, Thunag, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh.
Dr Neerja Rana received the Young Scientist award in 8th Academic achievement awards 2020 by EETCRS, Research wing, Mumbai India; Best article award 2022; Best Teacher award by Glacier Journal Research foundation in 2020.
Dr Sunita Devi received “Kanwar Virender Singh Memorial All India Best Publication Award 2021” award
Dr Anju Sharma received the best poster award in 2nd International Conference on ‘Recent advances in Agricultural, environmental and applied sciences for global development’, provided technical expertise as a Statistician to NABCONS, New Delhi for the research study by Ministry of Food Processing Industries, GOI.
Dr Ranjna Sharma awarded Women Scientist Award of DST, GoI in 2019 and Best Oral Presentation Award at International Conference on Microbial Innovation for sustainable development held on 20-21 Feb. 2026 at Graphic Era University, Dehradun.
Dr Sanjeev Kumar awarded Best Life Science Scientist Award by National Academy of Bio Sciences during the 8th Plant Science Researchers Meet-2026, organized by PLANTICA-AIPSR at Tula's Institute, held on 17–18 April 2026, in recognition of outstanding contributions in Botany (Plant Physiology).
Dr Nitin Sharma was awarded Best Oral Presentation Award in Indian Ecological Society International Conference 2024 held at PAU Ludhiana