Bhubaneswar: The 29th annual conference of Odisha Political Science Association (OPSA) will be organised here on December 25 and 26.
Being held under the aegis of Utkal University’s Political Science department, the two-day event will be inaugurated at the new convocation hall by Odisha Assembly Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro at 10 am on Saturday.
OPSA general secretary Dr Pramod Kumar Ray said the conference will have two plenary sessions with the topic ‘Odisha: Society, Politics and Economy’ on the opening day. On day two, the topic is ‘State of Ideology Today’.
Besides the plenary, four technical sessions and one special session will also be organised. The special session will be held on the topic ‘Politics and Development In India: Issues and Challenges’.
The four remaining technical sessions will have the themes ‘Political Economy of Reforms’; ‘India And Her Neighbours: The Strategic Concerns’; ‘Public Policy and Democratic Decentralisation in India’ and ‘The Dynamics Of Development In The Post-Pandemic Era: Issues and Challenges’.
In the absence of the president of the event, Prof Suryanarayan Mishra, who is on America tour, former professor of Berhampur University Amiya Parichha will preside over the programme, which will also be attended by Odisha Higher Education Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo as special guest.
University V-C Sabita Acharya will give the welcome speech while Political Science professor from Calcutta University (Alipore Campus) Dipankar Sinha will give the valedictory speech.
Organising editor of the event Prof Smita Nayak has urged all the members of the association to join the conference in large numbers. She can be contacted on 8908100707 or 9861093060.
It must be mentioned that the last conference of the association was held in Utkal University under the initiative of renowned political science professor Sriram Chandra Das in 1986. It is after a long gap of 35 years that the prestigious event is being held here again.