With an aim to empower students with knowledge and usher in sporting spirit, Chanakya National Law University inaugurated its four-day annual fest, Jeevatva, on Friday.

The first day of the second edition of the fest opened with a debate competition and a cricket match. In the coming days, cultural, literary, sports and social events would be organised on the university campus.

On day one, a parliamentary debate was organised on the campus. Around 30 teams from prominent institutions across the country participated in the contest. Inaugurating the debate, Justice Mridula Mishra, a retired judge of Patna High Court, said: "Debate is a way to create awareness about social issues among students."

Teams from Patna University (PU) and Patna Law College took the pitch for a cricket match. Most of the students were found taking keen interest in the match, which the team from PU won by 70 runs.

However, most of the students and teachers participating in Jeevatva, are waiting for the coveted discussion session on Modern United Nations (MUN).

Students from various participating institutions will enact the role of a delegate of a country to discuss various subjects seeking referendum on the issue.

Ashutosh Ranjan, a second-year student from Damodaram Sanjeevaiah National Law University in Visakhapatnam, said: "The discussion session will be similar to the United Nations General Assembly. Students representing a nation will raise issues pertaining to the country seeking support from the UN's highest body ' the Security Council."

The General Assembly is the deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN. Comprising all 193 members of the UN, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter.

Ranjan, who will represent Georgia in the session, said: "I will raise issues pertaining to rural women not getting medical facilities in Georgia."

Purushottam Kumar, a final-year student of CNLU, said the idea behind the discussion session was to acquaint students with the problems of not only India but also of other nations so that they could increase their knowledge base. The MUN will start on the second day and continue till the last day of Jeevatva.

Some of the major Indian universities participating in Jeevatva are West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Calcutta; NIT, Durgapur; St Xavier's College, Calcutta; Aligarh Muslim University; Banaras Hindu University; Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow; Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune; Nirma University, Ahmedabad; Kirori Mal College, Delhi; IIT-Patna, JPNAIIMS and many more.

The officials of CNLU said on Friday that the first convocation of the law cradle would be held on the university campus on February 23.

Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir would be the chief guest at the convocation, while the guest of honour would be chief minister Nitish Kumar.