The 9th Annual Alumni Meet of IIT Kharagpur was organized at the Kharagpur campus between January 6 -8, 2012. On this occasion the Institute honoured six of its alumni with Distinguished Service Award. Among the recipients was Jaideep Sarkar (IFS), the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister serving as a key interface with Government and Civil Society. He has been handling portfolios related to Foreign Affairs, Defense & Security, Atomic Energy and Space, Science & Technology, Environment, Health, Local Self-Government and Rural Development. Stainless steel guru and Country Head of Finnish Group Outokumpu, Yatinder Pal Suri also received the award for his support and initiative in reviving the IIT-KGP alumni associations. Another recipient was Pronob Kumar Guha, Managing Director at Gibraltar Airsprings Pvt. Ltd. and Secretary of IIT Foundation India. Director Prof. Damodar Acharya handed over the awards to all three distinguished alumni. The other three alumni who have been named for the award but could not be present were Dharam Vir, Roy Dasilva and Shyamal Roy Chowdhury. Dharam Vir is the State Election Commissioner of Haryana. He has co-authored a book on IIT Kharagpur titled 'Sixty Years in the Service of the Nation-An Illustrated History of IIT Kharagpur'. Roy Dasilva is the President of IIT Foundation USA and board member of Pan IIT Inc., Shyamal Roy Chowdhury is US based photojournalist and entrepreneur. He published the photo book 'Spirit of IIT Kharagpur' on the occasion of the Institute's 60th anniversary.
The 9th Annual Alumni Meet was graced with the presence of about 120 alumni from India and abroad and alumni-faculty members of the Institute. Some among them were Barnik Maitra - Partner, Mackenzie Ltd., Manavendra Sinha-President & CEO IDFC Project Equity, Mahesh Swaminathan - MD Credit Suisse, Bala Rama Nayar - MD Morpheus Capital Advisors, and who's who from various other fields. Several of these alumni also participated in the panel discussion organized by the alumni cell on the topic of enhancement of brand image of IITs. The alumni, faculty and students participated in this discussion with full vigour.
Other major attractions of the event were Hasya Kavi Sammelan, Mini Marathon and Illumination - an indigenous lighting tradition of IIT Kharagpur students. The book "The Game Changers - 20 extraordinary success stories of entrepreneurs from IIT Kharagpur" penned by three alumni was released on this occasion. The 3-day event closed with fine arts and photography exhibition by the students.
The alumni were not only nostalgic about their Alma mater which had a life-changing impact on them but were excited to see the developments in the campus and in the mindsets. They widely appreciated the Vision 2020 of the Institute and also committed to contribute towards it. The specially invited batches of 1962 led by Anupam Goyal (ME/ RP), President, LeadExcel Inc. and 1987 led by Supriyo Sircar (E&ECE / AZ), President, IIT Alumni Association Singapore and Arghya Das (MI/ AH), Country Manager, Hindustan Petroleum committed INR 50 lacs from each batch towards founding endowment funds for the Institute. Distinguished Service awardee Pronob Guha also made similar commitment for his batch of 1969. YPS Suri of 1975 batch has also committed towards the cause.
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Kharagpur
Annual Alumni Meet
