Department of

Botany

Miranda House
University of Delhi
 The Department

• The Department of Botany was established in 1948.

• Botany Honours course was transferred to the college in 1973.
• UG courses offered are B.Sc. (H) Botany and B.Sc. Life Sciences.
• For M.Sc. Botany the students are admitted to the college but taught
in the Department of Botany, DU.
• The Add-on Certificate Course Bioinformatics and in silico
Medicine is conducted in collaboration with the Department of
Zoology.

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 1
 Profile

Name Qualifi- Desig- Specialization Exp Research

cation nation (yrs) guidance
Dr. S. Moitra Ph.D. Associate Plant Tissue Culture 37 M.Phil.: 1,
Professor Ph.D.: 1

Dr. J. M.Phil. Associate Physiology of 25

Subramanyan Ph.D. Professor Reproduction in Seed
Plants
Dr. M. Bajaj Ph.D. Associate Reproductive Biology 25
Professor of Higher Plants
Dr. S. Bahri Ph.D. Assistant Plant Tissue Culture 16
Professor
Dr. R. Shakya Ph.D. Assistant Plant Reproductive 10
Professor Biology and
Biochemistry
Dr. E. Geetanjali Ph.D. Assistant Algae in Carbon 03
Professor Sequestration
Dr. Deepali Ph.D. Assistant Microbiology and 08 Ph.D.: 1[O]
Professor Phycology

• J. Subramanyan and S. Bahri received the Australian Leadership Awards Fellowship (ALAF): Building Leadership Capacity in
Undergraduate Science Teaching in India (host organization: University of Sydney), 2013.
• R. Shakya was awarded a Fellowship under the Faculty Training Programme for pursuing Masters in Systems and Synthetic
Biology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, 2012-13.
[R]
• A. Sehgal received the UGC Career Award, 1993-96.
[R]
• M. Sethi was a Mombusho Fellow, Japan Science Foundation, 1980-81.

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 2
 Infrastructure

The Department has two faculty rooms, two laboratories for teaching,
purposes, and a museum. The museum houses the herbarium. The
Department also has a well stacked library with over 800 books. We grow all
the plants that we require for the practical classes in the Botanical Garden.

THE DEPARTMENT LABORATORY 1:

PHYSIOLOGY & ECOLOGY

LABORATORY 2: MUSEUM
PLANT DIVERSITY

HERBARIUM DEPARTMENTAL
LIBRARY

BOTANICAL GARDEN

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 3
 Infrastructure—UG Research

Students conduct research in the tissue culture laboratory and the DSKC undergraduate
research facility. The Podostemaceae, a unique angiosperm family, has been an
important material for research. Projects on nanoparticles and phytoremediation have
been conducted. Students also work on other subjects.

TISSUE CULTURE
LABORATORY

DSKC UG RESEARCH FACILITY

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 4
 Departmental Activities

Antheia, the Botanical Society organizes lectures and

the annual festival Koshika.
Quisqualis is our departmental annual magazine.
The Department also organizes the annual Manasi Ram
Memorial lecture. So far, 18 lectures have been
organized.

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 5
 Some of Our Speakers

Prof. Pradeep K. Burma (left) and Prof. C. R. Babu (right) delivering lectures
for the Botanical Society.

Left: Prof. Jitendra P. Khurana delivering the 18th Manasi Ram Memorial
Lecture; right: Prof. V. P. Singh at the IPR workshop for college teachers.

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 6
 NASI Award Lectures Organized

On 04 November 2016 On 16 September 2014

Shri Ranjan Memorial Lecture by Prof.
P. Sheel Memorial Award Lecture by Akhilesh K. Tyagi
Dr. Shelly Praveen Title of Award Lecture: Plant genomes
Title of Award Lecture: Virus for forward and reverse genetics
propagation: host fitness trade off and
resistance development Prof. B.K. Bachhawat Memorial Lecture
by Prof. Debi Sarkar
Title of Award Lecture: Gene therapy of
jaundice using animal virus

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 7
 College Garden Committee
• All Botany teachers are a part of the Garden Committee of the college.
• The college participates in the Annual Delhi University Flower Show.
• Every year the college wins many cups. This year we were placed second
at the 59th Annual Flower Show 2017 and won 3 cups, viz.

The The
The
Platinum Department
Registrar’s
Jubilee of Zoology
Cup
Cup Cup

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 8
 Workshops and Courses for Students and Teachers

• Bridge Course on Basic Laboratory Techniques for I Year B.Sc. (Hons)

Botany and B.Sc. Life Sciences students.
• Workshops on Molecular Biology and Tissue Culture for III Year B.Sc.
(Hons) Botany students.
• Workshops conducted for students under DU Innovation Projects.
• Workshops for school and college teachers.
• INSPIRE Workshops for school students on The Cell: Life’s Playground,
Designing Life: Small Experiments, and DNA: Close Encounters.

Miranda House organizes

One Day Workshop on
Green Nanotechnology for Beginners
Under the Aegis of
DU Innovation Project 310
Date : 28 January, 2016

Venue : Room No. 145,

Miranda House,
University of Delhi

Time : 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

Chairperson Registration Details

Dr. Pratibha Jolly Registration form available at:
Principal, Miranda House www.mirandahouse.ac.in MIRANDA HOUSE IN COLLABORATION WITH MHRD IPR CHAIR
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
No Registration Fee
Convener
Dr. Saloni Bahri Last date: 27 January 2016 Training the Trainers: IPR Workshop
Department of Botany (UNDER THE AEGIS OF DBT STAR COLLEGE PROJECT & MHRD IPR CHAIR)
Send your queries and
Coordinators registration form to:
Dr. Kalawati Saini saloni3bahri@gmail.com DATE: JANUARY 15TH, 2016 ( FRIDAY )
Dr. Smriti Sharma Bhatia TIME: 9:30 AM TO 5.00 PM
Department of Chemistry VENUE: SEMINAR HALL, MIRANDA HOUSE
Limited seats only

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 9
 Educational Visits

The recent local educational visits have SULABH

been to
• Sulabh International Social Service
Organization on 28 September 2016
• Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP), on
28 October 2015
• Sakura (cherry blossom) Plantation
Ceremony on 11 February 2016
• Orchid Exhibition on 07 February 2014

Outstation trips to YBP

• Kulu-Manali, 31 October to 04
November 2016

• Mussoorie, Dehradun, Dhanaulti and

Haridwar, 31 October to 03 November
2015
SAKURA PLANTATION CEREMONY

FRI, DEHRADUN

ORCHID EXHIBITION

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 10
 Research Projects

• The Department has successfully completed nine projects. Of these seven are
DU Innovation (interdisciplinary) projects, one is a UGC-funded project, and
the last is the DBT Star College Project.
• The DBT Star College Project has been given further extension of 3 years. The
Department has been granted the Star Status by the DBT.
• There are two ongoing Star Innovation projects. The titles are
 Eureka! MyLab Developing Resources and Hands-on Science Activities and an
Adaptation Accessible for Visually Impaired: Grant amount Rs 37.5 lakh.
 Therapeutic potential of medicinal plants: culture, extraction, physicochemical
characterization and testing their cytotoxic or immunostimulatory properties: Grant
amount Rs 26.67 lakh.
• The Department has completed 19 summer projects under the D. S. Kothari
Centre for Research and Innovation in Science Education, Miranda House.

Sugarcane to Nanoparticles: Green

Nanotechnology the Future

MIRANDA HOUSE,
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI,
DELHI-110007

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 11
 Results
B.Sc. (Hons) Botany
Academic Performance Semester Exam November-December 2016
BSc (H) Botany CBCS (I Yr I Sem)
40 36
35
Percentage of Students

30 27
25
20 18
15 12
10
5 3 3
0
Below 4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9 - 10 10
% of Students 3 0 3 18 27 36 12 0

SGPA

BSc (H) Botany CBCS (II Yr III Sem)

50
42
Percentage of Students

40

30
21
20 13 13 13
10

0
Below 4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9 - 10 10
% of Students 0 0 13 13 21 42 13 0

SGPA

35 33
BSc (H) Botany (III Yr V Sem)
30
25
Percentage of Students

25
20
20
15
15

10
5
5 3

0
< 40 40 - 50 50 - 60 60 - 70 70 - 80 80 - 90 >=90
% of Students 5 0 3 15 20 33 25

Percentage of Marks

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 12
 Results
B.Sc. Life Sciences
Academic Performance Semester Exam November-December 2016

BSc Life Sciences CBCS (I Yr I Sem)

Percentage of Students
40 37

30
22
20
20 15

10 5
2
0
<4 4 - 5 5 - 6 6 - 7 7 - 8 8 - 9 9-10 10
% of Students 2 0 15 20 37 22 5 0

SGPA

BSc Life Sciences CBCS (II Yr III Sem)

40 37
35
Percentage of Students

30
24
25 21
20 16
15
10
5 3
0
<4 4 - 5 5 - 6 6 - 7 7 - 8 8 - 9 9-10 10
% of Students 0 3 0 16 24 37 21 0

SGPA

50 BSc Life Sciences (III Yr V Sem)

45
40 45
Percentage of Students

35
30 26
25
20 16
15
10 6
5 3 3

0
< 40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90 >=90
% of Students 3 3 6 26 45 16 0
Percentage of Marks
DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 13
 Results

Academic Performance of the passing out batch of B.Sc.

(Hons) Botany 2016, FYUP restructured course

B.Sc. (H) Botany Passing out batch 2016

35
30
Percentage of Studnets

25
20
15
10
5
0
< 40 40-50 50-60 60-70 70-80 80-90 > = 90
% of Studnets 0 2 7 21 26 33 10

Percentage of Marks

• Our students pursue post-graduation in Botany and other disciplines.

• Following post graduation, many students continue at DU for their doctoral

work. Currently 11 students are working for their Ph.D. at the Department
of Botany, DU.

• Some students move on to other premier institutions for pursuing their

Ph.D. We have students at JNCASR, NIPGR, IITs, IISER Mohali, TERI,
FRI, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Hamdard, and Lady Hardinge Medical
College.

• Former students after successful completion of their Ph.D. are serving as

college and school principals and teachers, as scientists, in civil services,
and other fields.

• Some of our former students are in foreign universities for post-doctoral

work. Ninadini Sharma is pursuing her M.Sc./Ph.D. in Molecular Biology
at the International Max Planck Research School, Gottingen, Germany.

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 14
 Some Notable Alumnae
B.Sc.(Hons) Botany
• Dr. Neelam Sharma (1978) and Dr. Anuradha Aggarwal, Principal Scientists,
NBPGR, New Delhi
• Ms. Anju Chandna Puri (1978), Principal, DAV School, Vasant Vihar, Delhi
• Ms. Rohini Kapur Ghalaut, (1987), was in NIIT for the last 13 years. Currently
among the top 10 finalist teams in the Intel and DST Innovate for Digital India
Challenge
• Dr. Saman Habib (1989), Principal Scientist, Central Drug Research Institute,
Lucknow; INSA Young Scientist Awardee
• Dr. Meenu Kapur (1989), Associate Professor, GGSIP University, New Delhi
• Dr. Payal Mago, Principal, Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for
Women, DU
• Prof. Sudeshna Mazumdar-Leighton (1989), Department of Botany, DU
• Dr. Himani Pandey, (1991), Indian Administrative Service, Jharkhand cadre
• Dr. Shruti Rai (1996), Joint Director, Ministry of Environment & Forests
• Dr. Parul Khurana (2000), Assistant Professor of Biology, School of Natural
Science and Mathematics, Indiana University
• Dr. Geetanjali Kaushik (2003), Associate Professor in Management and
Campus Director of Mahatma Gandhi Mission Medical College, Aurangabad
• Ms. Aryaka Akhoury (2006), Indian Administrative Service, UP cadre.
Currently Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
• Ms. Shashi Meena (2011), Scientist, Indian Agricultural Research Institute,
New Delhi
• Ms. Sweta (2011), Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Social
Anthropology, Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, Bihar

B.Sc. General Group B and B.Sc. Life Sciences

• Prof. Ashima Anand (1969), Principal Investigator, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest
Institute, University of Delhi, and INSA Young Scientist Awardee
• Ms. Harsh Kumari, Headmistress, CIE Experimental School, DU
• Dr. Jugnu Jain, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Sapien Biosciences,
Hyderabad
• Ms. Pooja Mathur, Senior Manager (Head), Human Resources & Organization
Development, Plan International (India Chapter)
• Ms. Subbudhi Bantia, Head-Microscale and Technical Expert, The Gold
Standard Foundation
• Ms. Anupama Rai (2007), Teaching Assistant and pursuing Ph.D. at IIT Kanpur
• Ms. Shirin Ashraf (2007) pursuing Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge,
Cambridge, UK
• Ms. Anupama Rai (2007), Teaching Assistant and pursuing Ph.D. at IIT Kanpur
• Ms. Rupam Jha, at the London Research Institute, London, UK
• Ms. Nilu Mishra, Business Consultant, Infosys Consulting, Bengaluru

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 15
 Future Plans
• Research Project Applied for: Dr. Saloni Bahri, Dr. Sushma Moitra and
Dr. Smriti Sharma Bhatia have applied for a research grant of Rs. 17.3 lakh
for a UGC Major Research Project titled Detailed in silico and in vitro
analysis of the effect of TiO2, Fe and Al nanoparticles on Polypleurum
stylosum (Podostemaceae).
• Molecular Biology Workshop on RuBisCo: From sequence to protein
expression for students of B.Sc. (Hons) Botany III ear (20-21 March 2017)
under the DBT Star College Project.
• Ecology Summer School for teachers of undergraduate course (July
2017).

Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), Botanist Charles Robert Darwin (1809-

from Sweden, and Father of Plant 1882), was an English naturalist,
Taxonomy. Linnaea borealis geologist and biologist, best known
(twinflower), is a commemorative for his contributions to the science of
genus with a single species and three evolution. Darwiniothamnus is a
subspecies, one for each of the genus of flowering plants in the
continents of the northern hemisphere. sunflower family. All three species
The genus was earlier placed under of the genus are endemic to the
Caprifoliaceae. Recent reclassifications Galápagos Islands.
have placed the genus in the
commemorative family Linnaeaceae. It is not the strongest of the species
that survive, nor the most intelligent,
but the one most responsive to
change.
--Charles Darwin

* Front and back covers, inside of front cover, and pages 4, 5, 7, 9, and 16 have Google Images

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY 16
 Matsya-purâ?a 154:512

Meaning: A pond equals ten wells, a

reservoir equals ten ponds. A son
equals ten reservoirs, and a tree
equals ten sons!

Miranda House
University of Delhi
Delhi 110 007, India
Phone: +91-11-27666201, 27666983
E-mail: principal@mirandahouse.ac.in
office@mirandahouse.ac.in
Website: www.mirandahouse.ac.in