National conference on Silk Route Tourism: The Revival of Tributaries of Cultural and Archeological Heritage concluded at CUJ. The three day long conference sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, was an endeavor of the School of Business Studies, Central University of Jammu towards assessing opportunities and challenges of Silk Route region and further taking a collaborative approach to develop Silk Route Tourism vis-à-vis Trans-Himalayan region.  Farooq Shah, secretary Tourism, Education and Floriculture, Chief Guest on the occasion of valedictory function congratulated the School of Business studies and appreciated the Vice chancellor, for initiating a dialogue on such an intense area of strategic relevance. He appreciated the Central University of Jammu, for initiating various critical scholarly pursuits, the current theme being one of these. Sh. Saleem Beg, Member secretary, National Monument Authority of India, also lauded the efforts of the School of Business Studies for the elaborate exercise of conducting an intellectual discourse to meet this critical need of time.

He urged upon the Vice Chancellor to embark on the success of this scholarly pursuit and let this be the initiation of a detailed dialogue and a foundation for strategy formulation on Silk Route and its Tributaries. Prof. Ashok Aima,    Vice Chancellor, Central University of Jammu had earlier stated that The Silk Road epitomizes a civilizational construct both chronologically and thematically which has relevance not as a mere trade route but also archeological, cultural, historical and ethnic relevance. He said that The School of Business Studies, CUJ, though in initial stage is striving to develop into a centre of quality research and policy think tank with an intention to increase public participation and promote fair debate in the area.

Earlier, Dr. Jaya Bhasin, presented a detailed report on the events of three days, wherein she briefed that three plenary discussion sessions took place wherein professors of eminence from various Universities across the country, government officials and other stakeholders participated and an intense dialogue had transpired.   She informed that in all 70 research papers were received from across the country and around 42 scholarly presentations were made by scholars and researchers during the seven tracks spread across three days.

Among the dignitaries present, Sh. S.M Sahni, convener, INTACH, Jammu, and Sh. V.K Sehgal made their presentations on the topic. Prof. Manu Mittal, from JNU, Prof. Inayat Zaidi (JMI), Prof. Ashraf Wani (University of Kashmir), Prof. Sunita Zaidi (JMI), Prof. Gulshan Majeed(University of Kashmir), Prof. B.C Sharma( University of Jammu)were also present. Dr. Shahid Mushtaq, Organsing Secretary of the conference coordinated the whole event.  Later, Dr. Neelika Arora presented a formal Vote of Thanks. The proceedings of the day were conducted by Dr. Bharti Gupta and Ms. Bharti Sujan.