Stories

Jun
26
2019
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By Chirosree Basu
The art of tinkering

The art of tinkering

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Summer is always a busy time at the M.N. Faruqui Innovations Centre. Established in 2014, the Centre is named after former Deputy Director and former faculty, Dr M.N. Faruqui, and seed-funded by the Institute’s distinguished alumnus Mr Arjun Malhotra, was conceived as a place where fresh undergraduate students could work, chat, discuss, and get hands dirty in the mechanical workshop or the wet lab setups. Students, even first year students, are encouraged to bring a project idea, have it ratified by some faculty, mentors and experts and then just begin experimenting to heart’s glory. And they have, unfailingly. Prerit Gupta…
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Jun
05
2019
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By Shreyoshi Ghosh
The Young Investigating Kgpian

The Young Investigating Kgpian

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Kgpian Dr. Piya Pal has been conferred with 2019 Young Investigators Award by the Office of Naval Research (ONR). She has been to the group for her work in 'New Unified Framework for Super-Resolution Imaging with Prior Information.' Dr. Pal graduated with B.Tech. in Electronics and Electrical Communications Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 2007 and went on to pursue Ph.D. from CalTech funded under Atwood Fellowship. She is at present Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, San Diego. Prior to this Pal was Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of…
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May
31
2019
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By Chirosree Basu
Shape of water

Shape of water

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“Wherever you are is the entry point” – Kabir We don’t know if Vijay Kiyawat (1967/BTech/ME/NH) came across these words of Kabir, the great mystical poet and saint. But the trajectory of his life demonstrates the truth of the statement. That is, you can make a fresh beginning from any point of your life. That is what happened when Kiyawat retired in 2008 after an extremely successful corporate career. “I wanted to do something different - something different from consulting, or teaching,” he says. So he took up the paint brush - a rather unusual choice for a person who…
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May
29
2019
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By Shreyoshi Ghosh
Loophole Games

Loophole Games

Stories
Kgpian Smarak Swain (B.Tech./EE/2006), IRS 2008 batch, Jt Commissioner of Income Tax, Bengaluru has published his seventh book Loophole Games: A Treatise on Tax Avoidance Strategies. The book reveals loopholes available within the ambit of law, used by corporates in legal ways to avoid paying taxes. All abusive tax avoidance structures have been brought together in a single book. Tax avoidance preys on loopholes available within the ambit of the law. In this book, the bestselling author has discussed key rulings of Indian as well as foreign courts and brought out the modus operandi discussed in major court rulings. He…
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Mar
22
2019
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By Chirosree Basu
In fond memory of Ranjan Khastgir

In fond memory of Ranjan Khastgir

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We are deeply saddened by the demise of our much respected and admired alumnus, Shiva Ranjan Khastgir (1957/BTech/ME/AZ). He passed away at home in Kolkata, surrounded by his family, on March 18, 2019. Lovingly referred as ‘Khasta’ by his friends, many of whom continued to be in close touch with him long after their graduation from college, Ranjan Khastgir was a frontrunner among those who are the life force of the Technology Alumni Association of Kolkata. He was a former President of TAA, Calcutta Chapter, and strived hard to bring together IITians of all “shape and vintage under a common…
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Mar
11
2019
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By Chirosree Basu
Breakfast with Ron

Breakfast with Ron

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At the Distinguished Service award ceremony at IIT Kharagpur in January 2019, Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti, Director, IIT Kharagpur, laid bare a fact that should have been pretty obvious but, as usual, had not occurred to anybody else. While talking about IIT KGP alumni’s contribution to the Institute, Prof. Chakrabarti referred to the recent hoopla over the donation pledge of Rs 25 crore undertaken by the alumni of a particular IIT and pointed out, “Among several batches, more than Rs 50 crore has been given by the Batch of 1970 alone.” There are, of course, other batches, which have donated…
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Mar
07
2019
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By Chirosree Basu
Gone too soon

Gone too soon

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There are not too many who can act as a bridge across peoples, cultures, disciplines, institutions and vocations  – all at the same time. Lord Sushanta Kumar Bhattacharyya was one of them. Renowned academic, successful entrepreneur, manufacturing expert and leading consultant to industry and government across geographies, this eminent alumnus of IIT Kharagpur donned many caps and influenced many lives. Not surprisingly, his demise on March 1, 2019, has come as a rude shock not only to the people of Britain, where he lived and worked, but also to multitudes of individuals and institutions who gained from his genius; our…
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Feb
07
2019
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By Chirosree Basu
Young and honoured

Young and honoured

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Keshav Kishor Jain (2013/B Tech/AG/HJB) has received the much coveted Economic Times Young Leaders 2018 award. The EYTL identifies and rewards India's most promising young managers in the age group of 26 to 32 years and is widely recognized by the corporate world as a gold standard to identify future leaders of India Inc. Keshav is currently Assistant Vice President at Barclays. As a finance professional, he has worked with various investment banks and financial institutions in the areas of financial modelling, M&A, risk management, risk advisory, derivatives research and financial analysis. He has experience in leading teams for multiple…
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Feb
07
2019
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By Chirosree Basu
The Institute’s Eleven

The Institute’s Eleven

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Forbes India has just published its sixth edition of ‘30 Under 30 list’. The 2019 list features young achievers who are on the top of their game in their chosen fields. Of that list of 30, close to 40 per cent of the winners come from a single institution – IIT Kharagpur – and 50 per cent of them are Economics majors from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Institute. The Institute’s 11 are all successful entrepreneurs. Keshav Prawasi (2011/BTech/CS), Nitin Babel (2013/MSc/HS) and Shishir Modi (2012/DD/EE) together run Niki.ai, an artificial intelligence company headquartered in Bangalore…
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Jan
07
2019
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By Shreyoshi Ghosh
Kgpian Receives NATO Award

Kgpian Receives NATO Award

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Business Standard      India Today      Outlook      Zee News      Odisha Sun Times      Patrika       Swarajya       Devdiscourse IIT KGP alumnus Dr. Prakash Patnaik has been conferred with the prestigious NATO Science & Technology Organization (STO)’s Panel Excellence Award. Dr. Patnaik is a globally recognized scientist in the domain of Aerospace Materials Science and Engineering. Much of this work, in the last 30 years, has been performed in a collaborative global milieu, including governments, industries and academic organizations. He has been awarded in recognition and appreciation for his longstanding service and extraordinary scientific contribution rendered to…
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