Mr. Aasif Ali Bhat S/O Muzafar Ahmad Bhat, Ph.D. student of School of Economics, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), has been declared qualified for the award of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).Mr. Bhat worked on the topic, titled “Impact of Tourism on Local Residents: A Study of Kashmir Region” under the supervision of Dr. Kakali Majumdar, Associate Professor, School of Economics, SMVDU, and Prof. R.K. Mishra, Senior Professor, ONGC Subir Raha Chair & Former Director, Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad. Mr. Bhat has been awarded the ICSSR Doctoral Fellowship administered through Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE), Hyderabad. He has published research papers indexed in the reputed ABDC ranked journals, and presented many research papers in international and national conferences. Mr. Bhat has worked in the different Research Projects sponsored by ICSSR and ICMR. In addition, he is a member of the European Union Research Project of Centers of Excellence in Sustainable Tourism to boost economic development and enhance University-Business cooperation in Southern Asia.The candidate has expressed his gratitude to the School of Economics, SMVD University and IPE Hyderabad for providing all facilities and necessary support for carrying out the research work.Prof. (Dr.) R.K. Sinha, Vice-Chancellor, SMVDU, and committee members congratulated the scholar and wished him a bright future ahead.