The ever increasing world population, and the consequent land expansion of cities into cultivable agricultural land are matters of universal concern. Vertical soilless farming via hydroponic and aeroponic farming techniques provide solutions and avenues for meeting the increasing food demands. In hydroponic farming techniques, plants are suspended in nutrient media, and in aeroponic farming they are sprayed with nutrient enriched mist. Soilless farming techniques are being implemented across the globe for improving agricultural produce in limited spaces and to cope with the changing climate. This is achieved by stacking several farm beds or trays to grow crops without soil on a nutrient rich media in confined spaces under controlled climate.

The Hydroponics and Aeroponics Lab has been established as a Skill Enhancement Centre in the Department of Botany, Hansraj College. The lab aims to train students in soilless farming practices. The Centre was funded by a special in-house grant for setting up a Skill Enhancement Centre to equip its students with a skillset for potential entrepreneurial possibilities and avenues. The centre follows a practical training approach with our undergraduate students to train them for setting up their own self-sustaining entrepreneurial farming ventures along with educating them about modern and sustainable farming practices. The lab provides active student engagement for setting up and managing the crops and equipments and thereby a complete hands-on experience in soilless farming. The Centre is also an integral part of a Skill Enhancement Course (SEC) on Hydroponic and Aeroponic Farming offered as per the NEP-UGCF 2020 in the college.