Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti Appointed Director; IIT Kharagpur Alumni End Their Campaign

NEW DELHI and KHARAGPUR, India, July 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The IIT Kharagpur alumni have ended the PPC for Director campaign as Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti was cleared by CVC and his appointment letter was issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). The President of India and the IIT Kharagpur's Chairman Board of Governors (BoG) have approved the appointment.

Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti received the much-awaited CVC clearance and was appointed as the next Director of IIT Kharagpur, effective immediately. 

Today, Shri Shiv Nadar, Chairman Board of Governors, at the Annual Convocation ceremonies at IIT Kharagpur, announced Prof. Chakrabarti's appointment to a standing ovation from the newest graduates, parents, alumni and faculty members.

Mr. Arjun Malhotra, Chair of the PPC for Director campaign, a distinguished IIT Kharagpur alumnus and the co-founder of HCL and Headstrong Inc. said, "We are delighted that CVC has given clearance to Prof. Chakrabarti and MHRD Minister, President of India and the Chairman BoG have all approved his appointment as the Director of IIT Kharagpur. We can finally put the protests behind and focus on Vision 20-20 - a bold initiative to be a top 20 institute in the world in the next 20 years. Such an inspiring vision requires an extraordinary person and a capable leader at its helm. Prof. Chakrabarti is just such a person and leader. He has the caliber to transform Nehru's, BC Roy's and our founding fathers' dream of building and sustaining an institution of global pre-eminence that is dedicated to the service to our nation into a reality. My heartiest congratulations to Prof. Chakrabarti and the IIT Kharagpur community."

Remarked Mr. Ramnath Mani, President, IIT Kharagpur Alumni Association, "This is a red letter day for IIT Kharagpur and its faculty, staff, alumni, students and partners. I look forward to a bright future for IIT Kharagpur under Prof. Chakrabarti's leadership. Also, I want to acknowledge and thank all the faculty members, students and alumni who stepped up to make their voices heard and the protests a reality."

Mr. Brijendra K. Syngal, one of the senior most alumni of IIT Kharagpur, who is recognised as the Father of Internet and data services in India, and was the Chairman and Managing Director of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. said, "The best person was selected to be IIT Kharagpur's Director! Prof. Chakrabarti is an exceptional scholar (President Gold Medallist, 1985, IIT Kharagpur), inspiring teacher (loved and respected by an entire generation of IIT Kharagpur students and researchers), outstanding researcher (one of the youngest winner's of the S S Bhatnagar award, he has also published papers in internationally acclaimed journals, which are also widely cited), and an able administrator (Dean of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy, IIT Kharagpur from 2004 to 2012.) I am thrilled that Prof. Chakrabarti is now the Director and we look forward to a new era at IIT Kharagpur."

About IIT Kharagpur

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Kharagpur was the first IIT to established in 1951. IIT Kharagpur is also the largest and most diverse of the IITs. Since 1951 IIT Kharagpur has been a trailblazer in academics, research and service to the nation. Its alumni have gone on to establish successful new ventures and are holding key positions in corporations and research universities in India and around the world, such as Prith Banerjee (CTO, ABB); R. Gopalakrishnan (Executive Director, Tata Sons); Pradeep Khosla (Chancellor, University of California, San Diego); Arjun Malhotra (co-founder, HCL and Headstrong Inc.) Sundar Pichai (SVP, Google) and Brijendra K. Syngal (previously Chairman and Managing Director, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.).

Primary Media Contact: Aneesh Reddy, [email protected], 91-9903365411

Secondary Media Contact: Damyanti Bansal, 91-9810893188