As many as 448 degrees and gold medals were awarded on the occasion to meritorious students, of which 276 were boys and 172 girls. 
     
Vivek Kumar was awarded the D Litt degree, whereas Afghan national Mohammad Sharif Shaheen was given a gold medal in public administration.
     
Meanwhile, the Students Federation of India (SFI) under its HPU unit head Ravindra and secretary Gaurav staged a protest against "anti-education policies" of the Centre. 
     
Congratulating the medal recipients, the HRD minister urged them to work with dedication to make India a dollar 5 trillion economy in the next few years. 
     
The challenges in life become opportunities for those who accept them, he added.
     
Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatraya called upon the students to develop skills along with higher education, which would help them get employment. 
     
Students were the foundation of any country and India was fortunate that it had the highest youth power in the world, he added.
     
Expressing concern over drug abuse among the youth, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur urged the students to make the campaign against it a movement.
     
Congratulating the gold medal winners, Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Singh Thakur said every possible support would be provided to strengthen the university.
     
State Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj said the budget for the university had been increased to Rs 130 crore, which showed the commitment of the state government towards it.
     
Earlier, HPU Vice Chancellor Sikander Kumar welcomed the dignitaries.
     
He said it was a historic day for the university as the Union Human Resource Development Minister was the chief guest on its 25th convocation ceremony.