Orissa Botanical Society registered in 1975 (Reg. No. 16671/1506 of 1979-80) is an offshoot of Department of Botany in Vani Vihar which came to existence on July 2, 1969 in a rocky terrain but with a tremendous potential full of opportunities to deliver in the time to come. Its attractive palatial look design was conceived by none other than the father of botany in Odisha, Prof. Pranakrishna Parija, the first Vice Chancellor of Utkal University. The idea was brought to fruition and boosted successfully by three of his disciples viz. Prof. Bidyadhar Padhi, Dr. Satya Narayan Patnaik and Dr. Dinabandhu Mishra who acted as the three foundation pillars doing everything to establish this new Department in the campus. A super genius Prof. Padhi was the leading architect and became the first Head of the Department and founder of the inbuilt magnificent Botanical Garden, unique in the city. He had his Ph.D. in Pathology from Berkeley campus, California, USA, Dr. Dinabandhu Mishra had Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from Manitoba, Canada and Dr. S. N. Patnaik received Ph.D. in Taxonomy working in Shillong under the supervision of Dr. Gopinath Panigrahi, Joint Director, Botanical Survey of India. All the three botanical giants were Ravenshawvians, who are considered instrumental for the growth of Botany in Vani Vihar. They subsequently provided input of the subject to all over the state in various ways. With limited man power including only three faculty members, twelve students each year (fifth and sixth) and a few supporting staff, the department remarkably continued to progress with several ramifications inside and outside. Presently the department is swollen with about 15 faculty members, 08 nonteaching staff, 02 new self-financing courses such as Environmental Science and Applied Microbiology and 114 students. One of the outreach activities worth mentioning which have brought laurels to the department is its Old Students Association, by now with about 600 members. It functions regularly with number of social, cultural and particularly student’s beneficiary programs. ‘Sanjog’ is its mouthpiece. Orissa Botanical Society (OBS) is another significant byproduct and a progressive venture by the Department with its official address at Vani Vihar. It moves throughout the state to organize regional and national seminars along with annual meetings where a huge assembly of students, research scholars, teachers, innovating entrepreneurs and industrialists takes place. OBS since its inception i.e. in 1977 publishes a NAAS rating and Asian Science Abstract included journal viz. “Plant Science Research” which is a peer reviewed journal. Over the years successive Heads of the Botany Department who have been responsible in protecting such volumes are the following: Prof. Bidyadhar Padhi, Prof. Satya Narayan Patnaik, Prof. Prafulla Chandra Tripathy, Prof. Bhabani Prasad Choudhury, Prof. Aruna Mishra, Prof. Rama Chandra Mohanty, Prof. Manoranjan Kar, Prof. Hemant Kumar Patra, Prof. Siba Prasad Rath, Prof. Pradeep Kumar Chand, Prof. Santi Lata Sahoo, Prof. Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra, Prof. Kunja Bihari Satapathy, Prof. Anath Bandhu Das and Prof. Chinmay Pradhan. Prof. Chinmay Pradhan has been continuing as HOD since 01.06.2017.