Head of the Department
Prof. V. Elangovan
Phone: 9235565647,
E-mail:
elango70@yahoo.com,
The Department of Zoology offers a Post Graduate and an Under Graduate degree, in Zoology, M.Sc. Life Science and B. Voc. Courses with major specializations comprising-Parasitology, Sericulture, Fisheries, Apiculture, Pearl Culture, Prawn Culture and Livestock Production that encompassed certain advanced and applied areas, including those of Genotoxicity, Molecular biology, Cell biology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Biostatistics and Biochemistry. The foremost objective of the Department is to impart special training to the students so that they could become self-employed and accomplished the height of success in their future endeavoures in their respective departments. Parasitology, in India, has provided a vast platform for dynamic research based in diverse field ,with respect to, viruses, bacteria, worms , etc., which is the need of the present hour, as evident in the present situation of COVID-19 pandemic which shows that there is a tremendous change observed in research pattern of yester year and of present day. Thus, Parasitology, endows rewarding careers in the form of:
Parasitologists in pharmaceutical industry,
Parasitologists in agricultural industry,
Veterinary parasitologists,
Medical parasitologists who work in the field of epidemiology, chemotherapy, immunology and pathology as well,
Fisheries parasitologists,
Microbiologists; etc.
Thereby, the branch of Parasitology provides significant jobs in both government and private sector. Our department which imparts specialization in Sericulture provides gainful employment, economic development and improvement in the quality of life of the people living in rural area and, therefore, it plays an important role in anti-poverty programme and prevents migration of rural people to urban area in search of employment. Hence, in India, wide researches have been taken up by Sericulture department to provide henceforth knowledge regarding the researches conducted and researches going-on in this specific field with regards to employment generation, which has gained worldwide recognition, through various programmes of the government like
• Sericulture and Silk Industry,
• Cosmetic industry
• Mulberry cultivation and Silkworm rearing industry,
• Reeling of Silk Cocoon-Market industry,
• Power-loom industry,
• Printing and dyeing industry,
• Silk waste processing industry,
• Technical Service Center (TSC) which provides employment to artisans for technological innovations,
• Chawki Rearing Centre (CRC) which provides employment to trained technicians for rearing of young age larvae, etc.
Also, the by-products generated by Sericulture provided a vast range of employment in cosmetic industry and, thus, this field is regarded as the “Queen of Textiles” the world over. On the other hand, it stands for livelihood opportunity for millions owing to high employment oriented, low capital intensive and remunerative nature of its production. The very nature of this industry with its rural based on-farm and off-farm activities and enormous employment generation potential has attracted the attention of the planners and policy makers to recognize the industry among one of the most appropriate avenues for socio-economic development of a largely agrarian economy like India. Some of the recent policy initiatives taken by the Ministry to promote the researches and enhance the employment structure through Sericulture are as follows:
• Inclusion of Sericulture in Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY),
• The Central Silk Board,
• Vanya silkworm rearing,
• Catalytic Development Programme under MGNREGA
(CDP-MGNREGA), etc.
The specialization of Fisheries which also aims to provide wide researches aims to ensure sustainable development of marine fisheries with due concern for ecological integrity and biodiversity. This calls for adopting fisheries management regimes as per the varied researches conducted in a manner to let it echo worldwide with respective recognition as per the researches, employment opportunities and entrepreneurial achievements in this specific field across several agencies and Ministries at the Central level. This can be evidend by a recent employment opportunities provided by:
• FAO, United Nations,
• South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) for various project which noted the potential of traditional method of fishing and products derived from it are of great importance worldwide,
• Fisheries and Aquaculture industry,
• Environmental Organization for prevention of practices such as illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and conservation of Nature and natural resources,
• FAO Blue Growth Initiative
• Commercial fishing industry,
• Seafood industry,
• Commercial and recreational saltwater fishing industry,
• Domestic lobster industry,
• Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI),
• ICAR institute,
• Fisheries Co-operative sector of Government, etc.
Presently India is the second largest fish producing and second largest aquaculture nation in the world after China. The marine fishery potential in the Indian waters have been estimated at 5.31 MMT constituting about 43.3% demersal, 49.5% pelagic and 4.3% oceanic groups, which affirms our foremost responsibility with respect to vast researches contributing to the socio-economic development of our nation, India. Marine Fisheries contributes to food security and provides direct employment to over 1.5 mn fisher people besides others indirectly dependent on the sector and getting direct employment in various government, public-private sector and varied national and international institutions. In India, Parasitology, Sericulture and Fisheries have been developed as agro-based industries with a vast potential incorporating the rural economy. These areas generate employment opportunities through direct employment like in the development of vaccine against disease causing bacteria, the fields of molecular and cellular biology, genetics and physiology, aquaculture, mulberry cultivation, nursery management, silkworm rearing and cocoon production. The areas of work as assigned by the courses assist in indirect employment through silk rearing, twisting, warping, dying and weaving. Finally, the ultimate goal remained the generation of employment and revenue which might be accomplished through inland fish culture. Additionally, the curriculum of M.Sc. Zoology includes general papers such as Biochemistry and Development Biology and Tools and Techniques in Biology that disbursed ample knowledge in the vast domain of Life Sciences. The Department has well equipped research laboratory as well as silkworm rearing and reeling unit and offers Ph.D. programmes in the field of Sericulture, Fisheries, Parasitology, Animal Behaviour and Conservation Biology. The allied works of the courses in the Department give a beautiful insight into the field of biodiversity, conservation of life forms, biological interaction, xenobiotics, environmental protection and bioremediation.
