How is the growing population currently being affected, and how will it be impacted in the future by climate change-induced compound extreme events? This study delves into exposure of the Indian population to compound precipitation-temperature extremes, specifically hot-dry and hot-wet extremes. The study reveals an increase of over 10 million person-years of exposure across various regions in India. In densely populated areas, the increase in hot-wet extremes has been more pronounced compared to hot-dry extremes, a trend that is expected to persist into the future. The research identifies the Indo-Gangetic plain and southern coastal areas as future hotspots.
India being world’s most populous country and sixth most vulnerable to climate extremes, faces escalating climate challenges. The country’s reliance on rain-fed agriculture intensifies the repercussions of increasingly frequent dry spells and heavy rainfalls, a result of erratic precipitation patterns observed since the beginning of the 21st century. Further exacerbating the crisis, India has been warming steadily since the 1980s. This rise in temperatures has led to a spike in heatwaves, causing substantial human fatalities and posing serious threats to health, agriculture, and natural ecosystems. The simultaneous or successive occurrence of these temperature and precipitation extremes, known as compound extremes, poses a greater societal and environmental risk as compared to their individual occurrence.
The journal paper titled “Population Exposure to Compound Precipitation-Temperature Extremes in the Past and Future Climate across India”, authored by Prof. Rajib Maity, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kharagpur; Prof. Harald Kunstmann, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-IFU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany and Ms. Subhasmita Dash, Research Scholar, IIT Kharagpur provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of climate change on the Indian population through the lens of compound extremes. The research, published in Journal of Hydrometeorology under the American Meteorological Society, delves into the increasing number of compound extremes events due to climate change and their societal consequences in terms of population exposure.
The study specifically focuses on compound precipitation-temperature extremes (hot-dry and hot-wet) across India, a region characterized by a wide variety of climatic regimes and significant variation in population density. Utilizing a copula-based statistical approach, the researchers evaluated changes in population exposure to these compound extremes in the past i.e. 1981-2020 and project future changes for the periods 2021-2060 (near future) and 2061-2100 (far future), under different future warming and socioeconomic development scenarios.
In recent years, from 2001 to 2020, India has experienced a notable increase in both hot-dry and hot-wet extreme weather events, surpassing the frequencies observed in earlier decades. The study highlights that densely populated regions in India are expected to experience more adversity due to the hot-wet extremes in the future as compared to the hot-dry extremes. Considering both hot-wet and hot-dry extremes, the influence of climate is identified as the predominant factor towards the increase in exposure. This emphasizes the crucial role that climate change plays in amplifying the population exposure to compound extremes in a warmer future. Regions like the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the southern coastal areas are identified as future hotspots with maximum increases in exposure under projected warming and population scenarios.
This study explores the population exposure to an increasing number of hydroclimatic extreme events owing to the warming climate. It is well agreed that the extreme events are increasing in terms of frequency as well as intensity due to climate change and that the exposure to compound extreme events (concurrent occurrence of two or more extreme phenomena) affects population, ecosystems, and a variety of socioeconomic aspects more adversely. The results indicate an increase of more than 10 million person-year exposure from the compound extremes across many regions of the country, considering both near and far future periods. The increase is as much as sixfold in many parts of the country, including the Indo-Gangetic Plain and southernmost coastal regions, identified as the future hotspots with the maximum increase in exposure under all the projected warming and population scenarios. The study helps to identify the regions that may need greater attention based on the risks of population exposure to compound extremes in a warmer future. It underscores the critical need to confront climate-related challenges arising from increasing exposure to compound extremes in India.
Prof. Rajib Maity Ms. Subhasmita Dash Department of Civil Engineering Research Scholar IIT Kharagpur IIT Kharagpur
Inputs By : Prof. Rajib Maity, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Kharagpur Email: rajib@civil.iitkgp.ac.in
Edited By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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As the country enters its 78th year of Independence, IIT Kharagpur also enters its 74th year of foundation on 18th August 2024 which was adorned by the eminent personalities. Shri Amitabh Kant, India’s G-20 Sherpa and Former CEO of NITI Aayog graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Dr. S P Somanath, Chairman ISRO; Dr. Samir V Kamat, Chairman, DRDO and Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Padma Vibhshan Awardee and Former MP, Rajya Sabha also graced the occasion as the Guests of Honour. The invocation started by hoisting the national flag and institute flag at the main building. Gitindra Saran Sanyal Faculty Excellence Awards; Young Alumni Achievers Awards, Nina Saxena Excellence in Technology Award; Staff Excellence Awards were conferred along with the institute employees who were felicitated upon completing 25 years of service.
Prof. Karabi Das, Dean Outreach welcomed all the dignitaries with her opening speech saying, “Today marks a significant milestone in our journey as we reflect on our rich history, celebrate our current achievements and envisioned our future filled with hope and innovation. It is my honour to see a diverse and distinguished group of people who have played a crucial role in shaping the trajectory of our institute. Our foundation day is not just a celebration of our history but a tribute of the collaborative spirit that propels IIT Kharagpur forward. When IIT Kharagpur was established in 18th August, 1951, it was found on the principles of excellence in education, ground breaking research, innovation and a strong commitment to societal impact. Today we have come a long way becoming global leaders in education and research which could not have been possible without the dedication of our faculty, brilliance of our students, ingenuity of our staffs and the continued encouragement and support of our Alumni. Today as we celebrate our Foundation, we also acknowledge the challenges that have defined our journey. Our institute’s strength lies in our abilities to adapt, innovate and lead with purpose, we are proud of the numerous contributions our communities have made in advancing technology and addressing the critical issues facing our world. The strong presence of all the dignitaries is the testament of all the strong network and collaboration that has helped us to grow. I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our Alumni for their continued engagement and contributions which have been essential for our growth and development along with my deepest gratitude to each and every member of the IIT Kharagpur family, your unwavering support, dedication and spirit have made a profound difference. Once again, I welcome you all to our 74th Foundation Day and look forward to a memorable day and inspiring day of reflection, celebration and forward looking dialogue.”
Prof. Rabibrata Mukherjee, Dean of International Relations congratulated all the awardees and welcomed everybody to the 74th Foundation Day of the Institute. He remarked that people might be wondering why is there a Dean of International Relations in an Indian Institute of Technology to which I would like to say that Shri Amitabh Kant ji is the testimony that we are no longer satisfied with what we are doing in the country. India is now poised to become global leaders and definitely technology and science is one such domain. While we are thriving to become the very best in the country, we are also competing and collaborating with the best in the world where incidentally are alumni are spread all over, if you talk about any institution, any organization, our alumni are present there. Today the world has changed a lot, previously when people needed to find some information, some data, people used to look in the newspapers, Encyclopedia Britannica, today when you want to check something where do you go, you go to Google which is headed by an IIT Kharagpur Alumnus. So, that is the level of internationalization that the IIT system has produced and I take lot of pride in telling everyone that this is the place that has given India its best known international brand that is the IIT System. So I welcome all of you here and to the Alumni and Young Alumni Achievers who are visiting us, you were students for 4 years but you are Alumni and KGPians for life. Just the way your teachers and professors have helped shaping you and your career either by attending the lectures and staying away from them, please understand that now the institute needs your help. We need active support, feedback, orientation, suggestions from the Alumni so kindly help us. You grow, you shine and along with you your Alma Mater will also shine.”
Prof. Rintu Banerjee, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur in her welcoming address said, “We are celebrating our 74th Foundation Day and we are entering the platinum jubilee celebration this year. As the institute of Eminence, IIT Kharagpur has successful glorious stories, which have revolutionized the scientific motivations. And if we look back, the first day the institute had started with 42 faculty members and 224 students and on today’s date we have around 17,000 student community and 800+ faculty members in this institute. If we see the different departments, centers and schools then we can find that around 58 such departments, schools and centers and the most recently added department is the AI department. Everybody nowadays is talking about AI and IIT Kharagpur has thought to start the Undergraduate B.Tech programme in AI and this year 51 students have joined this programme. If we see the magnitude and diversity of this particular institute, we can find that in this institute, we have several unique departments that start with ocean and naval architecture. It has new different centres of excellence like the Advance Manufacturing Technology, Advance Transportation, Safety and Reliability Engineering, Advance Manufacturing Engineering, Artificial Engineering, Precision Agriculture and Food Nutrition are few to name. Now the institute expands its horizons in the field of medical education. Many of you are aware that we have started the New Hospital which is called the Syama Prasad Mukherjee Institute of Medical Science and Research. None of this would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff, students and our Alumni. We owe our deepest gratitude to our current Member and future generations including our founding fathers who laid out the ground work of this institution, let us honour their legacy by upholding the values what IIT Kharagpur is today. In the recent address of our Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan ji, he emphasized a compelling vision of Indian Institute of Technologies. He highlighted that the need of IITs is not to just excel within the country but we have to go completely globally. IIT Kharagpur has already started and implemented the New Education Policy NEP 2020 and from this year we have given the flexibility of multiple entry and exists and double degree for the newly entered students of this institute. The major strength that lies with IIT Kharagpur is the globally recognized faculty members, students and the researchers as a result, in the Global QS Ranking, we are 222nd. In NIRF ranking also, we have improved a little bit which is not satisfactory, but we are working in that direction. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who have been a part of this remarkable journey, your passion, commitment and the vision have shaped IIT Kharagpur into what it is today. And together we will continue to drive its success into the future. Let us celebrate this day with pride, joy and renewed sense of purpose. Here is to many more years of excellence and innovations.”
Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur,remarked, “I welcome our Guests of Honours who are the two most important persons of India Dr. S P Somanath, Chairman, ISRO and Dr. Samir V Kamar, Chariman, DRDO along with Chief Guest Shri Amitabh Kant, India’s G-20 Sherpa & Former CEO of NITI Aayog. In addition to our long term association, Chairman DRDO has given us a 25 year DRDO project which is called the DRDO Industry Centre of Excellence. We are inculcating certain strategic and futuristic research in very important areas and I am sure that this project’s outcome will be utilized by DRDO, for the Deference requirement of the country. I would also like to thank our Guest of Honour Dr. Sonal Mansigh, Padma Vibhushan Awardee and Former MP, Rajya Sabha for taking out time and enchanting us with her mesmerizing performances. Our goal has been to be the top 10 universities in the world and we are rigorously working towards it. On the similar lines IIT started out with 224 students and now stands at 17000 students. Our own education research and consultancy with new infrastructure development have been aligned with the country’s growth and requirement. Being the first IIT and the indigenous IIT of the country, the IIT Kharagpur mothered the IIT system structure which was later followed by IIT Bombay and IIT Madras. IIT Kharagpur has the best AQI among all the other IITs, which is between 20-40 and the best atmosphere with beautiful and clean campus and I hope we also perform well in our sustainable initiatives. This is the first IIT to have implemented NEP 2020 in its letter and spirit and changed our course curriculum in 2020. We initiated that anybody who enters IIT Kharagpur should have atleast one course in AI. IIT Kharagpur has the largest number of faculty members working in AI as compared to other IITs and centrally funded universities, having a department in AI with 51 students. We already have an M.Tech in AI and now we are gearing up for having PhD in AI. We are the first IIT to have a Department of Education which was granted to us by the Ministry of Education to produce top quality students and teachers for schools. We are currently providing B.Sc & B.Ed in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Economics. There is a lot of flexibility in the current curriculum as well with students being allowed to pursue any other course they want apart from their parent domain. Having 59 departments, schools, centres and academies, we have branched out to Academy of Classical & Folk Arts where Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Padma Vibhushan accepted our invitation to guide us since last one year.”
Shri Amitabh Kant, India’s G-20 Sherpa and Chief Guest of the 72nd Foundation Day of IIT Kharagpur remarked, “For the growing India, we need innovation of the highest order which would require India to become an Innovation hub. This in turn will require us to invest in applied research and market oriented innovation for which we need a huge build-up of Academia-Research-Industry Partnership. We also need to build innovation, infrastructure talent with prototyping and testing to transition from labs to markets. The mistakes we did in our initial years was to establish research Institutes outside which were independent bodies, but all future researches should be part of the academic institutions like the IIT Kharagpur. All CSIR/DSIR institutions should be linked to the academic institutions as all the innovations in the world happens from the academic institutions where professors and students work together, that is how Silicon Valley was created. Industry oriented skills has to come from institutions like IIT Kharagpur and further innovation and research must come IIT research base. High quality patents can lead to huge competitive advantage for India and make India a market leader because patents must lead to commercially viable innovation and all patents must lead to commercial innovation. We also have to enhance the scientific and public innovation. India is paying much more in Intellectual Property Royalties (IPR) than in returns. We have 24000 PhD graduates in India, the US produces 68000 doctoral graduated. According to the economic survey only 51.25% of the Indian graduates are deemed employable. So, we are responsible for whoever we produce from the academic institutions, must not only be employable but should be highly innovative and should be an innovator, disrupting society in a manner that has ever seen before. We need to create many more institutions like ISRO and DRDO which will ensure that our defence imports are brought to zero and we become the world’s leading exporter with space entrepreneurs. The government has taken several initiatives, it has pushed for innovation, a new mission on artificial intelligence, quantum computing, pushed for 76000 crore scheme for semi-conductors and 25000 crore scheme for green hydrogen; 1.93 lakh crores on production linked incentive manufacturing in India so that Make in India & Start-up India receives huge impetus. In a very short time we have become the 3rd best start-up ecosystem in the world. To become the 5 trillion dollar economy in the next 4-5 years, the challenge for India is to raise its per capita income which can come from intuitions like IIT Kharagpur. IIT Kharagpur was the founder of all IITs, it has been the father figure to all IITs. It has not only inspired million of engineers in India but also encouraged all other IITs to become the Centres of Excellence so the future of India is truly in the hands of Institutions like IIT Kharagpur. Its energy, its vitality, its dynamism will shape India in the years to come.”
A total of 09 Faculty Excellence Awards, along with 30 Staff Excellence Awards. Until last year, the staff members who have who have completed 25 years of service were recognized and presented with a wrist watch as a token of appreciation for their unwavering dedication towards the service of the institute. This year for the first time opinions were shared and discussed with the faculty and staff members to suggest something that will have a greater impact of belonginess than just being a souvenir. Therefore, it is decided that a silver medal along with a designer box carrying the IIT Kharagpur logo will be presented to the employees who have completed their distinguished services in the institute. In regard to this, a design competition was organized in the institute to select the design of the medal and the box. The first placed was given to Mr. Sanjeev Halder from the Department of Agricultural & Food Engineering; the second place was give to Dr. Prakash Sharma from Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law and the third place was given to Mr. Sunil Patra from Computer and Informatics Centre. A total of 74 employees were recognized for their uninterrupted 25 years of service to the Institution.
When the Guest of Honours became the Awardees
In an exciting and surprising change of events the 74th Foundation Day of IIT Kharagpur was changed in to a quick set-up of Convocation Day for the Conferment of our Life Fellow Awards of 2023 to Dr. S P Somanath, Chairman ISRO and Dr. Smair V Kamat, Chairman, DRDO.
The Man, the Legend, the Achiever, Dr. Sreedhara Panicker Somanath is the Distinguished Scientist and Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization. Under his chairmanship, ISRO carried out the third Indian lunar exploration mission named Chandrayaan-3, making India the first country to successfully land a spacecraft near the lunar south pole and the fourth country to demonstrate soft landing on the Moon. Dr. Somanath also served as the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram and Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. He is globally renowned for his contributions to launch vehicle design, particularly in the areas of launch vehicle systems engineering, structural design, structural dynamics, and pyrotechnics. Also served as a Secretary of the Department of Space and Chairman of Space Commission, he piloted the National Space Policy, draft Space Bill, facilitated IN-SPACe activation, engagement of ISRO with new space actors and leading the Indian Space Enterprise. He also played a crucial role in human rating of the LVM3 launch vehicle for the ambitious Gaganyaan mission for sending Indians to Space. Under his leadership, a new launch vehicle, TV-D1, was developed and successfully demonstrated the crew escape systems capability. An expert in the area of system engineering of Launch Vehicles, under his leadership seven PSLV missions, two GSLV missions and two GSLV-MkIII missions were accomplished successfully along with the successful demonstration of the Pad Abort Test (PAT). Awarded the Doctorate of Science (Honoris Causa) by SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu, Dr. Somanath has been providing leadership in motivating young minds through innovative programs of outreach and spreading the awareness of the power of space technology on the lives of common people of this country.
After receiving the award Dr. S P Somanath, Chairman ISRO, said “Thank you so much for this opportunity and selecting me for the Life Fellow Award. I would like to tell you that I am totally 100% made in India product. Whatever I did was from the knowledge and skill I acquired from the Indian Space Research Organization. I would like to thank my alma mater and TKM College of Engineering, IISc Bangalore and others. I thank all my teachers and gurus in ISRO and these institutions. Our work has been in building certain capabilities in this organization in the last 38 years along with the years I was working. I am fortunate to work with great people, motivators, leaders, who made ISRO what it is today and had the opportunity to follow their footsteps today and do certain works that made all of us proud like the Chandrayaan 3. This gives us more courage and determination to work towards achieving greater goals in the future. Whatever you are doing, it is great as an institution and the ability to connect with you is very important for all of us in ISRO and other scientific organizations in the world and in this country. There is a great vision ahead for all of us in ISRO and I will like you to be a part of it as well, contributing in your capability in different domains. I would be more than happy to connect the faculty of IIT Kharagpur with the scientist in ISRO for greater goals that we have set for ourselves. Thank you so much for the opportunity.
A Distinguished Alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, Dr. Kamat stands on the pedestal of transformational leadership providing direction to several critical materials programmes in DRDO as the Secretary DDR&D and Chairman Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) such as development of high strength steels for naval ship hulls, development of high temperature titanium alloys and nickel base superalloy based components for aero engines, development of tungsten heavy alloys for kinetic energy penetrators, development of fused silica radomes for missile seekers, development of armor solutions for personnel as well as combat vehicles and stealth materials for airborne and naval applications. He has been conducting cutting-edge research and development on materials for various defense applications for the past three decades and has also spearheaded the development of naval systems such as advanced lightweight torpedo, anti-torpedo decoy systems, autonomous underwater vehicles, advanced hull mounted and towed array sonars for ships and fuel cells based air independent propulsion systems for submarines. Recipient of the Metallurgist of the Year Award from Ministry of Steel and Scientist of the Year Award from DRDO, Dr. Kamat is also responsible for setting-up state-of-the-art experimental facilities at DMRL such as Thin Film Lab, Small Length Scale Mechanical Testing Lab and Stress Corrosion Cracking test facility.
Dr. Samir V Kamat, Chairman, DRDO, “At the outset my greetings to you on your 74th Foundation Day. I am indeed humbled and honoured by this conferment of the Life Fellow Award. As you are aware, I am the Alumni of this institute and it is indeed special when you alma mater recognizes you. Whatever little I have achieved in my career is because of the strong foundation that I got in IIT Kharagpur. And let me say it is not only the knowledge I gained here but it is the life skills that I learnt here which has helped me in my career. So as Dr. Somanath said that when you work in organizations like ISRO and DRDO, it is not individuals who make the difference. It is a collective effort which goes in when you have to realize large systems and where I am standing today is because of all the collaborations and all the team work that several people contributed in achievements that we made. As Dr. Somanath said we are on the threshold of a transformation in the nation. The Prime Minister has given us a clarion call to become a developed country by 2047 and that we should become a technology leader. And this can only happen if academia, industry, R&D organizations work together, work in synergy and develop innovative technologies which are cutting edge, which are first in the world and I am sure, the way things are going forward in this country, this dream will be achieved even before 25 years are complete. So, thank the Director of IIT Kharagpur for granting me this Life Fellow Award, I will cherish this for the rest of my life.”
The Nina Saxena Excellence in Technology Award 2024 was awarded to Mr. Pankaj Kumar & Mr. Siddhant Aagrwal at IIT Guwahati for developing the technology of Floating Solar PV Technology. The Young Alumni Achiever Award was given to 32 young alumni of IIT Kharagpur honouring excellence in innovations, technological developments, research, community welfare, leadership, entrepreneurship, social impact, nation building, national interest and professional accomplishments.
The Alumni Endowed Chair Professorship Award – Prem Prakash Verma Faculty Award, was instituted by Mr. Sharad Verma distinguished alumni of IIT Kharagpur (1997/B Tech/CH/PH) in the year 2023. The award is given to support the State-of-the-art research in the domain of ‘Mechatronics’ from the Departments of Mechanical Engineering (ME), Electronics & Electrical Communication (E&ECE), Computer Science & Engineering (CSE), G.S Sanyal School of Telecommunication (GSSST) and Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship (RMSoEE). This year the award is given to Prof. Anandaroop Bhattacharya, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur for his outstanding contribution towards Teaching, Research and Institutional Development.
The G S Sanyal Faculty Excellence Award, instituted by the IIT Kharagpur Alumni Foundation (USA) since the year 2020, is awarded each year to a faculty member of the institute, based on his/her contributions to the students through student-related activities, such as social and cultural activities, technology, innovation and/or entrepreneurship. The purpose of the Award is to recognize a faculty member for going out of the way to help students in academics, social or other matters representing the best of legendary Prof. Gitindra Saran Sanyal. This year the award was bestowed upon Prof. Vikrant Racherla, Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Prof. Debashish Chakravarty, Dean Alumni Affairs, IIT Kharagpur talked about Gurudakshina, an aesthetic giveaway by the Alumni of IIT Kharagpur. Guru Dakshina for my Alma Mater will be received from the Alumni of the institute which will help in making IIT Kharagpur self-reliant over a period of time. The funds received through Guru Dakshina shall alleviate the challenge of collecting funds by the students for Spring Festival, Kshitij, Sports Fest and even for increasing and improving hall amenities. Total 34 Pledges of Gurudakshina has been received with the current batch of students. Dr. V Narayanan, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, ISRO; Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur; Prof. Debashish Chakravarty, Dean Alumni Affairs and Commander V K Jaitly, Chairman, C_cube Consultants are the donors who have already contributed their part of Gurudakshina to IIT Kharagpur.
Dr. Sonal Mansigh, Padma Vibhushan Awardee & Former MP, Rajya Sabha in her address said,” I am very happy to know about the Gurudakshina scheme as India really believes in this Guru-Shisya Parampara in which I have also learnt. Science and Arts are like Ganga and Yamuna, they always have met with each other. All Rishis and Munis were scientists and the ashrams were then the laboratories where experiments went on for decades and sometime centuries and then we got the results. IIT Kharagpur is one such ashram in modern day India and I am sure it will continue to produce great minds and great names who will contribute to India and to the world proving “Vasudeva Kutumbakam.” With this, I would like to share a quicks thought that, this is not the season for flowers anyway but my most favorite sweet is honey. You cannot describe the taste of honey except to say or use as an Upama or analogy saying as sweet as honey and all the beloveds are called honey. We have to have bees to collect Amitra from varied flowers and convert them to honey but it is not of their own use, it is for the common good and this is exactly the message of Vidya and Knowledge which is not only for self-glorification but it is to be shared, spread around so that the common good is achieved and the global benefits are achieved. I am sure, that IIT Kharagpur is the “Bee-Hive” producing honey, so I wish you all great brilliant years ahead and wish IIT Kharagpur great future, delighted to be a part of it.
“The institute is also working towards all the 12 areas in G-20 declarations and have conducted several programmes aligned with its vision in various disciplines like AI, semiconductors, energy and environment, working on sustainability, quantum mission, rare earth metals etc. By 2030, we will be 30 trillion dollar economy where the role of IITs will play a major aspect for growth and development along with the role of MSMEs which employs around 10 crore people with 27% GDP in employability, education and services. We also have various Centres of Excellence in Advance Manufacturing Technologies and Industry 4.0 , the SAATHI (Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institutes) centre with students and experts participating in capacity building to create good products for a global market. We are also working on 6G and beyond with a centre of excellence funded by one of our Alumni. From the last 30 years we are also working on communications and radar. We have instituted the first school of management in an IIT system, the Vinod Gupta School of Management conceived by our Alumnus Vinod Gupta along with the Academy of Leadership started by one of our Alumnus Partha Ghosh, which was never heard of before in an IIT. These unique inclusions will take us to the top 10 in the world in the coming years. With these strong foundations and strong alumni network with the likes of Mr. Sundar Pichai who has said that very soon he would develop a strategic partnership with IIT Kharagpur as well. So, we are growing towards a performance based direction not only as an academic institute, we are also becoming the knowledge economy for India and for the world. I would like to congratulate all the winners of the Young Alumni Achievers Awards, the people who have completed 25 years of services in the institute, the faculty and the staff excellence awards,” added Prof. Tewari
By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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On the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Day, the Intellectual Property (IP) Cell of the Office of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (SRIC), IIT Kharagpur organized a programme on Intellectual Property in Ben Gupta Auditorium of the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law (RGSOIPL) on 26th April, 2024. The programme accentuates the importance of IP in modern science and transformational technological pursuits and was inaugurated by Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, in attendance by a large number of students, research scholars faculty and staff members.
The theme of The World IP Day 2024 was to align the inventions towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). IIT Kharagpur has already taken a leap towards aligning with SDGs and has published the Sustainability Policy of the Institute in the Website. The Institute has also taken initiatives towards directing the innovations towards attainment of the SDGs for shaping our future together with the Intellectual Property.
In the opening address, Prof. Santanu Dhara, Associate Dean R&D and Professor In-Charge of Intellectual Property Rights (PIC-IPR), talked about the genesis and history of the IPR and introduced its basic aspects. He also touched upon the various IPR and patent filing activities of IIT Kharagpur and urged the faculty, students and scholars to secure their IPR by filing patents.
Prof. Rintu Banerjee, Dean R&D, IIT Kharagpur
Prof. Rintu Banerjee, Dean R&D, presented the record of annual patent filing at IIT Kharagpur which showed a positive trend over the last few years. Prof. Banerjee also compared the details of patents filed and granted from IIT Kharagpur with those from the other top academic institutions in India and the world. Overall, Prof. Banerjee emphasized on the importance of filing patents for institutional and national development and called the IIT Kharagpur community to come forward and make the endeavour of ‘100 patents in 100 hours’ successful. Prof. Banerjee also shared some of the administrative and academic measures the institute is going to implement for promoting the IP drive.
Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur
In the Chairman’s speech, Prof. V K Tewari delivered a fascinating and encouraging lecture covering the journey of patent filing at IIT Kharagpur. It is wonderful to hear that back in 1982 Prof. Tewari visited the patent office in Kolkata every day for around two weeks to learn the rules and regulations of patent filing following the advice of his M.Tech supervisor, which resulted in the filing of the first patent from this institute. Prof. Tewari continued his drive and owned as many as twenty patents throughout his academic journey. Prof. Tewari particularly focused on the importance of securing IP and translating that to successful start-ups to foster the country’s economy and generate employment.
There were two successive lectures first by Prof. Padmavati Machikanti from RGSOIPL on the overview of different forms of IP and subsequently by Prof. Tapas Kumar Bandyopadhyay, Professor of the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, on the patenting aspects in Indian context. Prof. Banerjee also touched upon how technological research can benefit the rural economy through IPR.
Mr. Sumit Chatterjee, Legal Associate, SRIC, briefly mentioned the IP-related activities of SRIC
In the end, Prof. Banerjee and Prof. Dhara thanked the tremendous support extended by the IIT Kharagpur faculty members in performing a timely review of the proposals submitted for patent filing. The programme ended with a long Q&A session where Prof. Goutam Saha, former PIC of IPR, and Prof. Soumitra Paul, Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department, shared some of their opinion and suggestions to make the patent drive at IIT Kharagpur a more effective one. [Read : IIT Kharagpur calls for 100 Patents in 100 days]
Finally, in the vote of thanks Prof. Niharika Sahoo Bhattacharya acknowledged the Director, Dean R&D, Associate Dean R&D, the speakers and attendees for making the event successful. Special thanks was imparted to the Deans and all the faculty and staff members of the Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law for extending all support in organizing the event at their venue.
About WIPO
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to promote and protect Intellectual Property (IP) across the world by cooperating with countries as well as international organizations. It began operations on 26 April 1970 when the convention entered into force. The current Director General is Singaporean Daren Tang, former head of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, who began his term on 1st October 2020.
WIPO’s activities include hosting forums to discuss and shape international IP rules and policies, providing global services that register and protect IP in different countries, resolving transboundary IP disputes, helping connect IP systems through uniform standards and infrastructure, and serving as a general reference database on all IP matters; this includes providing reports and statistics on the state of IP protection or innovation both globally and in specific countries. WIPO also works with governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and individuals to utilize IP for socio-economic development.
WIPO administers 26 international treaties that concern a wide variety of intellectual property issues, ranging from the protection of audiovisual works to establishing international patent classification. It is governed by the General Assembly and the Coordination Committee, which together set policy and serve as the main decision making bodies. The General Assembly also elects WIPO’s chief administrator, the Director General, currently Daren Tang of Singapore, who took office on 1st October 2020. WIPO is administered by a Secretariat that helps carry out its day-to-day activities.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, WIPO has external offices around the world, including in Algiers (Algeria); Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Beijing (China), Tokyo (Japan); Abuja (Nigeria); Moscow (Russia); and Singapore (Singapore). Unlike most UN organizations, WIPO does not rely heavily on assessed or voluntary contributions from member states; 95 percent of its budget comes from fees related to its global services.
WIPO currently has 193 member states, including 190 UN member states and the Cook Islands, Holy See and Niue; Palestine has permanent observer status. The only non-members, among the countries recognized by the UN are the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and South Sudan.
WIPO was formally created by the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, which entered into force on 26 April 1970. That date is commemorated annually as World Intellectual Property Day, which raises awareness of the importance of IP. Under Article 3 of this convention, WIPO seeks to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world. WIPO became a specialized agency of the UN in 1974. The Agreement between the United Nations and the World Intellectual Property Organization notes in Article 1 that WIPO is responsible:
“For promoting creative intellectual activity and for facilitating the transfer of technology related to industrial property to the developing countries in order to accelerate economic, social and cultural development, subject to the competence and responsibilities of the United Nations and its organs, particularly the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, as well as of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and of other agencies within the United Nations system.”
WIPO Development Agenda
In October 2004, WIPO agreed to adopt a proposal offered by Argentina and Brazil, the Proposal for the Establishment of a Development Agenda for WIPO —from the Geneva Declaration on the Future of the World Intellectual Property Organization. This proposal was well supported by developing countries. The agreed “WIPO Development Agenda” was the culmination of a long process of transformation for the organization from one that had historically been primarily aimed at protecting the interests of rightholders, to one that has increasingly incorporated the interests of other stakeholders in the international intellectual property system as well as integrating into the broader corpus of international law on human rights, environment and economic cooperation. In 2009, WIPO started drafting future treaties on intellectual property and genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore in relation with indigenous peoples and local communities.
In December 2011, WIPO published its first World Intellectual Property Report on the Changing Face of Innovation, the first such report of the new Office of the Chief Economist. WIPO is also a co-publisher of the Global Innovation Index.
Recent Events
WIPO, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WTO launched on 11 April 2022 their new Trilateral COVID-19 Technical Assistance Platform. This new tool aims to help members and WTO accession candidates address their capacity building needs to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Platform provides members and accession candidates with a single contact form which they can use to reach out to the trilateral organizations.
World Intellectual Property Day
World Intellectual Property Day is observed annually on 26 April. The event was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000 to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life and to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of economies and societies across the globe.World Intellectual Property Day is WIPO’s largest Intellectual Property (IP) public outreach campaign, instituted with the aim of establishing a set up framework for broader mobilization and awareness, to open up access to the promotional aspect of innovation and to recognize the achievements of promoters of intellectual property throughout the world.
Prof. Sudipta Seal is an eminent scientist, entrepreneur and a distinguished professor who was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award 2018 by IIT Kharagpur in the 64th Convocation of the Institute. Recently, he revisited his Alma Mater after a gap of many years to take a walk down the memory lane, reminiscing his college days and reuniting with his mentors and professors. While visiting his department and his hall, he sank into the depths of memorabilia and the evergreen nostalgic pages of his life. He was bestowed with Distinguished Alumnus Award which he was unable to collect previously, by Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur in the august presence of Prof. Amit Patra, Deputy Director; Prof. Krishna Kumar, Dean FoS; Prof. P K Dutta, Dean FoID & BTBS; Prof. Saibal Gupta, Associate Dean, Faculty of Sciences (FoS); Prof. Sujit Kumar Dash, Associate Dean, FoE&A; Prof. Debashish Chakravarty, Associate Dean International Ranking & Alumni Affairs and Captain Amit Jain (Retd.), Registrar, IIT Kharagpur.
He is currently the chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, as well as a Pegasus Professor and University Distinguished Professor at the University of Central Florida (UFC). Prof. Seal joined the Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center at UCF in 1997. He has been consistently productive in research, instruction and service to UCF since 1998. He has served as the Nano Initiative Coordinator for the Vice President of Research and Commercialization. He served as the Director of Advanced Materials Processing Analysis Centre (AMPAC), NanoScience Technology Center (NSTC), UCF College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, USA.
Prof. Seal completed his B.Tech in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering in 1990 and won the Institute Blue for outstanding performance in sports and games at IIT Kharagpur. He did his M.Met from the University of Sheffield, UK and PhD in Material Science and Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Milwauke, USA in 1996.
Prof. Seals’ outstanding research has developed surface engineered nanoscale transition metal and rare-earth oxide ceramics for catalysis, energetics and nano-biomedicine. He has developed the patented scalable methods for template nano-oxide particles. He engineered nanoceria (3-5 nm) with switchable valence states with regeneration capability. Using a similar concept, his team developed spherical nano-ZrO2 ceramics without doping with metastable tetragonal crystal structure and explained for the first time the reduced activation energy for grain growth in nano binary oxides.
He discovered the antioxidant properties of nanoceria by controlling defect chemistry and has created a unique field in inorganice nano-antioxidants for medicine. He believes that the unique structure of nano-particles with respect to valence and oxygen defects, promotes cell longevity scavenging super-oxide radicals produced in excess in cellular matrix and regenerate stem cell. This research is immensely significant for both cancer therapy and glaucoma.
“Material Science and Engineering has become an important interdisciplinary field and I feel this because I am associated with it like in computation materials and lunar surfaces. We at UFC hire mainly in strategic directions, now there are 6 of them, one is cybersonic, another is energy, then space mining for space centre etc. We are surrounded by large companies including Lockheed Martin, Mitsubishi Power Corporations and Siemens. Currently, we are looking at start-ups and space sciences. Being in IIT KGP has been one of the greatest joys and a timeless experience. I still remember my time, when I was in the RK hall. While visiting the hall again, I felt a plethora of emotions that this place shares with me. KGP ka tempo high rahe”
Prof. Seal has also developed multi-functional nanomaterial additives for aerospace nanoenergetics and his research in power plant fly ash waste has created unique chemistry of ash particles with nano structures that can be used to clean up oil spills.
The academic units that Dr. Seal overseas are continuously creating new inventions and technology at UFC. Dr. Seal has published more than 400 journal papers, book chapters, and three books on nanotechnology. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Materials, American Association of Advancement of Science, American Vacumm Society, Institute of Nanotechnology-UK, National Academy of Inventors, Electrochemical Society and the American Institute of Medical & Biological Engineering.
Prof. Seal has won the prestigious Schwartz Tech Award and was recently elected to the World Academy of Ceramics. He hold 48 US patents and his technology is licensed to multiple companies, many of them start-ups such as nSolGellnc, nTiOX, NanoCelLC and Helicon.
Inputs by:Anamika Das, Executive, Office of the Alumni Affairs
Email: deanfoea@iitkgp.ac.in; vcjee1@adm.iitkgp.ac.in; Ph. No: +91-3222-281860
Edited By: Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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India’s premier educational institution IIT Kharagpur signed an MoU with Jindal Stainless, the country’s largest stainless steel manufacturer, marking a pivotal moment in the advancement of metallurgical research and development. In a bid to foster industry-academy collaboration, Jindal Stainless and IIT Kharagpur will work together on metallurgical projects, such as process optimization, materials characterization, and primary alloy production. This strategic alliance signifies a significant step forward in metallurgy, promising ground- breaking advancements and fostering a culture of innovation, as both organisations leverage their strengths to drive meaningful progress and contribute to the industry’s growth.
Prof. Virendra K Tewari, Director, IIT, Kharagpur, said, “This MoU with Jindal Stainless adds another milestone to industry-academia collaboration. By combining the academic expertise of IIT Kharagpur with Jindal Stainless, India’s largest stainless manufacturer, we aim to address pressing challenges and unlock new opportunities in the field of metallurgy. IIT KGP is suitably poised to offer technical and operational solutions. Together, we envision pushing the boundaries of innovation, fostering transformative solutions, and nurturing a new era of excellence in stainless steel technology promoting Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) under Vikshit Bharat 2047. This MoU with industry expert will affirm India’s position in global manufacturing industry and contribute to the vision and mission of IIT Kharagpur & the country at large.”
Prof. Virendra K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur; Prof. Rintu Banerjee, Dean, R&D; Prof. Shiv Brat Singh, Dean BTBS & HOD, Dept. of Metallurgy and Prof. Manas Paliwal, Dept. of Metallurgy at IIT Kharagpur were in attendance at the signing ceremony that took place at the IIT Kharagpur campus. Jindal Stainless’ Jajpur Unit Head, Mr. Deepak Agrawal; Business Head (Phase-I) & Chief Metallurgist, Mr. Awanindra K Singh; and Head, R&D, Mr. Daitari Kamila were also present on the occasion. The meeting was virtually attended by CEO, Jindal Stainless, Mr. Tarun Khulbe; COO, Jindal Stainless, Mr. Jagmohan Sood; and CHRO, Jindal Stainless, Mr. Sushil Baveja.
Commenting on the collaboration, Managing Director, Jindal Stainless, Mr. Abhyuday Jindal said, “We are thrilled to embark on this collaborative journey with one of India’s oldest and leading education institutes, IIT Kharagpur. This partnership will enable us to harness cutting-edge research in metallurgy and translate it into tangible solutions that benefit the industry and society at large. The MoU is a testament to our commitment to shaping the trajectory of stainless steel technology and making substantial strides in the industry, contributing to our collective pursuit of an Atmanirbhar India.”
Under the terms of the MoU, IIT Kharagpur will provide technical consultancy and engage in academic and industrial research to enhance productivity and process improvement at Jindal Stainless Limited. They will conduct lab-scale experiments, facilitate material characterization techniques, and support modelling and simulation studies, emphasizing the importance of waste reduction, recycling, and water conservation for sustainable metallurgical practices.
By: Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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IIT Kharagpur has proven its Tryst with Innovation with its latest dominant supremacy in the field of Artificial Intelligence with two of its ground breaking projects on AI-enabled non-destructive testing for weld defect analysis, from Centre of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing Technology (CoEAMT), IIT Kharagpur led by Prof. Surjya K Pal, Chairperson, Centre of Excellence in Advance Manufacturing. These two innovative solutions have been shortlisted by TATA STEEL for “TechEx 2024” exhibition.
The first, “iWeld, an AI-enabled NDT” software is an innovative solution developed for Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Kolkata, Ministry of Defence. iWeld is designed to identify, localize and classify different types of weld defects, such as blowhole, wormhole, porosity, lack of fusion, and inclusion, from radiography images with remarkable accuracy. The performance of the iWeld has been certified by the Indian Register of Shipping (No.: 2023PC001, Dated: 9th Aug 2023). This was also recently shortlisted as one of the four innovations from IIT Kharagpur which were showcased at “IInventiv 2024” – the first-of-its-kind, mega R&D fair, where all IITs, NITs and other top Institutions in the country participated to show case the their cutting-edge innovations in R&D.
The ability of iWeld to enhance the quality and efficiency of weld inspections has marked it as a truly successful product, standing as a testament to successful collaboration between CoEAMT and GRSE. Jointly copyrighted with GRSE, iWeld is now primed for commercialization. Mr. Avishek Mukherjee, a Doctoral Scholar in Advanced Technology Development Centre, has devoted considerable effort and dedication to bring about this development.
“Recently, this has also been selected and showcased by the mega technical Event, IInventiv 2024, organised by MoE at IIT Hyderabad. This software is already certified by Indian Register of Shipping, and has been handed over to GRSE for daily operational usage with human-like accuracy. This software has been jointly copyrighted with GRSE as well. It is a product with TRL:8/9. GRSE and CoEAMT will now jointly go ahead for commercialization at other industrial ends. AI-enabled NDT for auto evaluation of weld defects from Ultrasound data: This project is being funded by TIH. It has already been filed for patent. A group of students at CoEAMT are planning to spin-off soon with these AI-enabled NDT solutions for weld defect analyses. Our students are doing wonderful job. Their success for solving perennial industrial problems is awesome. The credit goes to the interns and scholars,” said Prof. S K Pal, Chairperson, CoEAMT.
The second solution, “iToFD“, under a project funded by (TiH) of IIT Kharagpur, revolutionizes the detection and sizing of weld defects using ultrasonic time-of-flight diffraction (ToFD) data. This cutting-edge system integrates advanced signal processing with AI algorithms for precise defect localization and measurement. This automated solution, patented recently (Patent filed ref no: 202331060331), is nearly 15 times faster than traditional manual inspections. Mr. A K Vishwanathan, Undergraduate student in Chemistry; Mr. Sarvan Kumar Singh, Undergraduate student in Chemical Engineering; Mr. Ananta Dutta, Doctoral Scholar in Mechanical Engineering, and Mr. Avishek Mukherjee, Doctoral Scholar in Advanced Technology Development Centre are diligently contributing to this project.
“The Centre of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing Technology at IIT Kharagpur is geared up in solving various perennial problems of the industries through deployment of artificial intelligence, and Industry 4.0 concepts. I am extremely happy to see the passion of students associated with the CoEAMT while working with the industries, at this stage of their lives, providing innovative solutions. They shine with a profound grasp of industrial challenges. CoEAMT is open to induct more students and train them to take up interesting and challenging industrial problems, and solve them,” added Prof. Pal.
Inputs by:Prof. Surjya K Pal, Chairperson, Centre of Excellence in Advance Manufacturing Technology
Email: surjya.pal@icloud.com
IIT Kharagpur and Vedanta Aluminium have developed a process to significantly reduce the generation of bauxite residue, commonly known as red mud, in the alumina refining process. The patented process reduces bauxite residue by a remarkable 30 per cent by eliminating iron values while simultaneously recovering a higher alumina yield, reducing the total organic content of bauxite during the alumina refining. The process significantly enhances resource efficiency and curbs energy consumption during refining. The project was led by the Research and Development Department of Vedanta, the country’s leading aluminium producer, in collaboration with the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur.
Red Mud is produced as a result of the bauxite-to-alumina processing through the Bayer process. The production of every 1 tonne of aluminium results in the generation of 3.3 tonnes of red mud, the sustainable management of which has been a long-standing challenge for the industry. Vedanta Aluminium is actively engaged in various initiatives aimed at minimizing bauxite residue, while also exploring avenues to extract value from the same. The company’s newly developed process represents a significant and revolutionary advancement in tackling the challenges associated with the utilization of red mud in the future. The pioneering development has undergone successful validation in laboratory settings and has completed the patent process. Currently, the company is forced to establish a pilot plant to implement and access the process, along with determining the potential advantages.
“The reduction of bauxite residue has been one of the key challenges for the aluminium industry, requiring significant technological advancements. The process, developed through the collaborative efforts, will not only significantly improve bauxite residue management but also contribute to reducing the carbon footprint in the process,” said Prof. Chenna Rao Borra, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering of IIT Kharagpur.
Bauxite is the primary ore for aluminium, and it undergoes an intermediate refining stage, known as the Bayer process, to produce alumina which is then subjected to electrolysis to produce aluminium. This refining process generates bauxite residue as a by-product. To produce 1 kg of aluminium, it requires 2 kg of alumina, which consumes 6 kg of bauxite, leaving behind 4 kg of bauxite residue. Managing this voluminous by-product sustainably has been a long-standing industry challenge.
“We look forward to implementing our groundbreaking process in bauxite residue management in our refinery operations. This is a significant milestone that will offer a pathway to enhanced resource efficiency and energy conservation and contribute towards reshaping the global aluminium industry,” said Amit Chatterjee, Chief Research and Development Officer, Aluminium Business, Vedanta Ltd.
Vendanta Aluminium, the largest aluminium producer in India, has announced developing process to reduce generation of bauxite residue, commonly known as red mud by a remarkable 30%by eliminating iron values while simultaneously recovering higher alumina yield from bauxite during the alumina refining. The process significantly enhances resources efficiency and curbs energy consumption during refining. The research project was led by the company’s Research & Development (R&D) department in collaboration with the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur with support of a financial grant from Lanjigarh. Odisha Unit, home to Vedanta’s world-class alumina refinery. The cutting-edge technology will not only enhance the operational excellence of the company, but will also have a sustainable impact on the global aluminium industry.
Inputs by: Prof. Chenna Rao Borra, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur Email: chenna.borra@metal.iitkgp.ac.in
Edited By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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A ‘Workshop on the Recent Progress in Microalloyed Steels with High-Strength and Toughness’ was organized by the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, and the Indian Institute of Metals, Kharagpur Chapter. The workshop was based on the project being investigated at IIT Kharagpur on the development of vanadium microalloyed high-strength steel in collaboration with the Research & Development Centre for Iron & Steel (RDCIS), Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), Ranchi, and with support from the Vanitec Limited, UK. The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. Chandan Chakraborty, Head, Electrical Engineering, along with Prof. Karabi Das, Head, Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering. Mr. Nirvik Banerjee, Executive Director, RDCIS, SAIL, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.
A special session was conducted by Chairman Dr. Vinod Kumar, CGM, RDCIS, SAIL with a keynote lecture by David N Crowther, Technical Consultant, Vanitec Ltd. About 75 delegates attended the workshop including several executives from the steel industries along with the faculty members and research scholars from IIT Kharagpur and the other academic institutions. Technical Sessions were conducted by Chairman Prof. Siddhartha Das, Managing Director, STEP, IIT Kharagpur and Chairman Mr. Arunava Dasgupta, CGM, ISP with senior officials of SAIL
Prof. Karabi Das extended cordial welcome to the delegates at the Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, and emphasized the long tradition, contribution, and strength of this institute in metallurgical research.
In his lecture, Prof. Chandan Chakraborty mentioned the importance of steel technology for nation-building and conveyed the potential and desire of IIT Kharagpur to become the prime hub for steel technology and related research in the country, in collaboration with the steel industries.
Mr. Nirvik Banerjee, Executive Director, RDCIS, SAIL, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. He emphasised the urgent need of the Indian Steel Sector to achieve carbon net neutrality for ensuring sustainability and requested the researchers to focus on this area.
Mr. Banerjee covered all the important areas where the Indian steel industries require immediate technological support. Dr. David Crowther, Technical Consultant, Vanitec Limited, UK, delivered the keynote lecture highlighting the importance of vanadium microalloying for application-specific steel development.
Dr. Vinod Kumar, Mr. Arunava Dasgupta, and Mr. Abhijit Dutta, the General Managers from SAIL elaborated on the development of high-strength microalloyed steels by different production units of SAIL.
Dr. Sudipta Patra from IIT BHU and Prof. Debalay Chakrabarti from IIT Kharagpur delivered lectures on the fundamental aspects of microalloyed steels. Thus, the workshop covered the industrial processing and development of advanced grades of steel for important applications such as structural, automotive, energy, engineering, naval and defence to support the “Make In India” initiative of the Govt. of India, as well as the fundamental aspects of microalloying related research in steel.
Finally, the attendees had an extensive discussion during the valedictory session and decided on the pathways for academia-industry collaborative research on the development of advanced steel for a sustainable future. The distinguished delegates who attended the event concluded that such a workshop is hardly organized with almost equal participation from the academia and the industry and it can pave a milestone to set up the collaborative research ecosystem on steel technology in India.
By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer) Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) to organize joint academic programme and faculty support for various courses to contribute knowledge and literature in multidisciplinary domains identifying areas of studies and research leading to patent rights, copyrights and other intellectual property rights in accordance with polices on intellectual property.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti, Vice-Chancellor, WB National University of Juridical Sciences in the august presence of Prof. V K Tewari, Director; Prof. Dipa Dube, Dean, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law; Prof. Debashish Chakravarty, Associate Dean, Alumni Affairs/IR; Captain Amit Jain (Retd.), Registrar of IIT Kharagpur along with senior professors of NUJS.
Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur stated, “On the lines of multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary development of students mentioned in NEP 2020, this academic exchanges will indeed be beneficial to generate translational research domains that encompasses both law and technology. Our law school has been recognized among the top 10 in India by NIRF ranking 2023 and we hope to amalgamate technical studies with law in a larger perspective of excellence in mutually convergent areas of both the domains.”
Apart from academic exchanges, certificate/diploma courses relating to law, science, engineering, technology and practical training along with facilities will be initiated between the partner institutes.
Dr. Nirmal Kanti Chakrabarti, Vice-Chancellor, The WB National University of Juridical Sciences remarked, “Today the MoU entered between IIT Kharagpur and West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences will give us a new opportunity to do academic collaboration and research which interfaces Law and Technology. The systems of both the institutions will grow by exchanging our human resources as well as academic resources, thereby attempting to fulfill the objectives of NEP2020. We start our collaboration within this month itself in formulating some road map.”
Edited By :Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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The Foundation of a Family, that’s where it all began for IIT Kharagpur in 1951. The history of the IIT system dates back to 1946 when a committee was set up by Hon’ble Sir Jogendra Singh, Member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council, Department of Education, Health and Agriculture to consider the setting up of Higher Technical Institutions for post war industrial development in India. The 22 member committee headed by Sri N.R. Sarkar recommended the establishment of four Higher Technical Institutions on the lines of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. With the above recommendations the first Indian Institute of Technology was born in May 1950 in Hijli, Kharagpur, in the eastern part of India. The present name ‘Indian Institute of Technology’ was adopted before the formal inauguration of the Institute on August 18, 1951 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. IIT Kharagpur started its journey in the old Hijli Detention Camp where some of our great freedom fighters toiled and sacrificed their lives for the independence of our country in the revolutionary struggle against the British Raj.
As the country enters its 77th year of Independence, IIT Kharagpur also enters its 73rd year of foundation on 18th August 2023 which was adorned by eminent personalities. Mahamohopadhyay Bhadreshdas Swami, Head, BAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh and Dr. P Arun, Director, Tata Medical Center also graced the occasion as the Guests of Honour. The invocation started by hoisting the national flag and institute flag at the main building. Conferment of Chair Professor Awards, Gitindra Saran Sanyal Faculty Excellence Awards, Young Alumni Achievers Awards, Staff Excellence Awards, and the institute employees who completed 25 years of service were felicitated.
Mahamohopadhyay Bhadreshdas Swami, Head, BAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute, the Chief Guest of the 72nd Foundation Day of IIT Kharagpur said, “This day embarks the foundation of IIT Kharagpur along with a Bhavya Bharat – The extraordinary India. If you want to understand the glory of any culture or any country or civilization, observe its education, research, literature and spirituality. India is a land of education system, a natural education system and a systematic and organised education. I can proudly say that India will be the answer to Artificial Intelligence, it will create a balance to endure and sustain it. India is a land of spirituality. The moto of this institution is ‘Yoga Karmashu Koushalam’ from the Bhagwat Gita. When we attach our self to a purpose, its ‘Yog’ and with ‘Yudyog’ we have to travel in forward direction to succeed and then comes ‘Proyudhyog’ which highlights the focused and sincere approach. India is a Land of Education, Land of Research with art Music, Science, technology and philosophy, the land of new innovations, the land of Literature, legacy and scripture, the land of spirituality, land of living idols, because we celebrate diversity equality, and inclusion. Most importantly India is glorious because it is the land of IITs, especially IIT Kharagpur.”
The foundations of IIT Kharagpur rests on the eternal motto of ‘Yoga Karmashu Koushalam’ from the Gita. It means that the individual interests behind any action which is either driven by material success or failure must be transformed to a higher and universal process of Yoga i.e., a communion between the self of an individual with the web of self in all, the Cosmos itself. As the Mother of all IIT system, and as the pioneering pace setter of science and technology, IIT Kharagpur was initiated as a mansion of learning on the bedrock of sacrifice by our martyrs seeking national independence.
The Institute started with 42 teachers and 224 students in 1951 on the lines of MIT. We have grown enormously since then with almost 17000 students currently and I would like to thank all the previous directors and chairman for nurturing this institution. We need to have a critical mass where the goals of the Institute should not only be administration driven but where a particular system must continue irrespective of other things and need to focus on our strengths identifying the respective parameters. Today major organizations, institutions, administration and governance are operational under the leadership of IITians. The talent we have in this country should be tapped than losing them to MITs. The items in NEP 2020 has been implemented in the Higher Education system at IIT Kharagpur. We have implemented the entry exit policy with exposure of the students to industries with semester away programs. We have Centre for Classical & Folk Art, Indian Knowledge System, Academy of Leadership which are first of their kind in the country, remarked Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur.
The Young Alumni Achiever Award was given to 26 young alumni of IIT Kharagpur honouring their excellence in innovations, technological developments, research, community welfare, leadership, entrepreneurship, social impact, nation building, national interest and professional accomplishments.
“As an Alumnus of IIT Kanpur, I can say that IIT education is different from other education as it develops the holistic character of the students for not only the respective industries, they need to address the concerns of the society as well. I was amazed to find out that IIT Kharagpur has law school and medical school as well.” After speaking on Amrit Kal, Atmanirbhar Bharat and Developed India he continued to say that it gives him immense pleasure to see so many young entrepreneurs here who provide technology solutions to the remotest of the country. He shared his insights on Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators for India that would bring in new technology, new skills, new developments to fulfil the construction requirements of the people of this country. We make a new Chicago every year in this country based on sq feet measures. Today we can join in the transformation process of the country having the 3rd largest start-up ecsystem and more than 100 unicorns producing for the world. IITs can provide collaborative platforms for research and innovation and need to work on distance skilling,” shared Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, IAS, Chief Secretary Uttar Pradesh candidly.
The institute honoured five professors including Prof. Niloy Ganguly, Department of Computer Science and Engineering; Prof. Subhasish Basu Majumder, Materials Science Centre; Prof. Dilip Kumar Pratihar, Department of Mechanical Engineering; Prof. Peeyush Soni, Department of Agricultural & Food Engineering and Prof. Chirodeep Bakli, School of Energy Science and Engineering with the Faculty Excellence Award 2023. The Institute Chair Professor Award 2023 was bestowed to Prof. Suman Chakraborty, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur. along with 32 Staff Excellence Awards 2023. A total of 25 people were recognized for their uninterrupted 25 years of service to the Institution. “Premise that EVs reduce carbon footprint is a myth,” was the topic for Foundation Day Debate which was conducted by Prof. Anandaroop Bhattacharya, Department of Mechanical Engineering engrossing the participation of Faculties, Students and Staffs in Netaji Auditorium followed by a cultural programme. Prof. Dipa Dube, Dean, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law handed over the prizes to the all the participants.
Dr. P Arun, Director, Tata Medical Centre explained the need of low-cost and sustainable healthcare products. He said, “Today learning cannot be just multidisciplinary, it has to be interdisciplinary. For IIT Kharagpur, a joint training program where strengths could be shared, the strength of a doctor could be shared with that of an engineer and that public knowledge could be used for public good. The progress of technology is relentless and you have to be prepared for it. With the invasion of AI, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary cooperation is going to be imperative in the years to come. We need to develop indigenous technology, our own technology, our own infrastructure and that is what is impressive about IIT Kharagpur which has done do much on affordable healthcare and technology. “
On March, 1952, Pandit Nehru laid the foundation stone of the new building. The first Board of Governors was constituted with Dr. B.C. Roy, as the chairman of the Institute. On Sept. 15, 1956, the Parliament of India passed an act known as the Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Act declaring this Institute as an Institution of National Importance. IIT Kharagpur is the oldest IIT established in India in 1951 and has been awarded the status of Institution of Eminence by the Government of India in 2019.
“We hope to be in the top 10 in the world by 2030 and identified niche areas in precision agriculture, Industry 4.0, affordable healthcare, Advance Transportation and Infrastructure. We are the first one to have AI Innovation Hub in Machine Learning. We will also have a Centre of Excellence on Futuristic Technologies with DRDO. The Government of India also gave us the responsibility of instituting a Department of Education from this year itself to train quality teachers. We are also working in the areas of medical sciences and technology for many years and have signed MoUs with AIIMs Kalyani and AIIIMs Delhi on the same lines. We believe in taking the technology to the last man standing of the society. We are also developing sustainable technologies in the rural sectors and have helped more than 20,000 farmers in West Bengal with prominent works that have been done in Bioenergy and Food Technology. Now we have more than 80,000 Alumni. We want our faculties and staff to think in a positive frame of mind so that they can reform, perform and transform – a clarion call by our Hon’ble Prime Minister,” added Prof. Tewari.
Today the institute as the largest of all IITs, comprises of 19 departments,12 schools, 18 centres (including five Centres of Excellence) and 2 academies, 21 halls of residence, 810+ Faculty Members, 880 Staffs, 15,7200+ Students with vast tree-laden campus spreading over 2100 acres has a self-contained township of over 15,000 inhabitants excluding students. Apart from engineering & technical studies, IIT KGP has multi-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary academic capabilities that commensurate with the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) from day one. Along with incorporating India’s culture and knowledge tradition in NEP 2020, the way it has opened ways to sustainable innovations, smart solutions and modernization, has created a whole new dimension of productive inclusion. The Institute will also set its course for a new age of becoming the, “Vishwaguru and Vishwamitra – Sarvajan Hitaya: Sarvajan Sukhaya.”
Edited By :Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007
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