VARANASI, March 25 -- The Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) will set up a field station at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU), officials said on Tuesday. BHU vice-chancellor Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi and AnSI director BV Sharma made the announcement at the valedictory session of a symposium on paleogenomics and paleoarchaeology held at the Department of Zoology, Institute of Science. The field station will be set up in the department of zoology. Faculty members, researchers and students welcomed the announcement.Officials said the MoU will promote interdisciplinary research, education and bio-cultural heritage conservation. Established in 1945, AnSI will mark its presence in Varanasi after more than eight decades through this facility. It will be the first such field station at BHU. Chaturvedi said the collaboration would strengthen research in biological and cultural anthropology and open new avenues for interdisciplinary studies. He added that such efforts would support research, development and social initiatives. Sharma said BHU has strong research infrastructure and traditions. He added that the field station would help advance studies on the country's tribal, cultural and bio-cultural diversity. Prof Gyaneshwar Chaubey said the facility would pave the way for new research opportunities and strengthen academic collaboration....