Sundar Pichai – The KGP Chronicle

IIT Kharagpur honours Shri Sundar Pichai with DSc Honoris Causa & Mrs. Anjali Pichai with Distinguished Alumnus Award

Excellence embodies the relentless pursuit of the highest standards, driven by an unwavering commitment to continuous improvement and innovation. It transcends conventional measures of success, focusing instead on achieving exceptional quality and performance through dedication, expertise, and a passionate commitment to one’s craft. Those who embody excellence are not satisfied with merely meeting expectations; they aim to exceed them, setting new benchmarks and inspiring others to reach their fullest potential. This pursuit involves a cycle of persistent learning, thoughtful reflection, and tireless effort, reflecting a deep dedication to personal and professional growth. In essence, excellence is a journey rather than a destination, characterized by the drive to push boundaries and redefine what is possible, both for oneself and for those around them. This attribute has been embodied by our most illustrious Alum Shri Sundarajan Pichai and his wife Mrs. Anjali Pichai.

In a momentous occasion of pride, IIT Kharagpur honoured Shri Sundar Pichai with the Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) Award and Mrs. Anjali Pichai with Distinguished Alumnus Award in San Francisco. Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur in the presence of Sundar Pichai’s parents and their daughter Ms. Kavya Pichai bestowed the award to the Google Scion.

(L-R) Prof. Rintu Banerjee, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur; Shri Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google; Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur & Prof. Debashish Chakravarty, Dean, Alumni Affairs, IIT Kharagpur

The award ceremony was attended by renowned alumni of IIT Kharagpur including Vinod Gupta & Ranbir Gupta along with Prof. Rintu Banerjee, Deputy Director and Prof. Debashish Chakravarty, Dean Alumni Affairs of the institute.

“Last week I was grateful to receive an honorary doctorate from my alma mater IIT Kharagpur. My parents always hoped I would get my doctorate, I think an honorary one still counts (smiley). The access to education and technology at IIT put me on a path to Google and helping more people access technology. IIT’s role in technology will only grow in importance with the AI revolution, and I will always be thankful for my time there,” cited Mr. Sundar Pichai, Illustrious Alumnus of IIT Kharagpur & CEO of Google [https://www.instagram.com/p/C938BlwxKGB/?img_index=1]

A B.Tech (Hons) in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from IIT Kharagpur, Shri Sundararajan Pichai is recognized by the third highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. He stands as a quintessence of inspiration to the millions of Indians who aspire to dream big. Shri Pichai is the CEO of Alphabet Inc. and Google who led a technological revolution as the Senior Vice President and Product Chief at Google launching popular products like iGoogle, Google Toolbar, Desktop Search and Gadgets, Google Pack, and Gears. With more than 15 years of experience developing high-tech consumer and enterprise products, he is the pride of every Indian. Building technologies that improves the lives of people around the world, he has shaped the global economy by strengthening partnerships between governments, businesses and communities over two transformative decades.

(L-R) Kavya Pichai, Daughter of Mr. Pichai; Mr. Regunatha Pichai, Father of Mr. Pichai; Mrs. Lakshmi Pichai, Mother of Mr. Pichai; Prof. Rintu Banerjee, Deputy Director, IIT Kharagpur; Mrs. Anjali Pichai (Haryani), Alumnus & Wife of Mr. Pichai; Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur; Shri Sundar Pichai, Alumnus & CEO of Google; Shri Vinod Gupta, Alumnus & CEO and Chairman of infoGROUP; Shri Ranbir Gupta, Alumnus & President of Gupta Associates Inc., and Chairman of SIGMA7 and Prof. Debashish Chakravarty, Dean, Alumni Affairs, IIT Kharagpur.

In recognition of his remarkable contribution towards digital transformation, affordable technology and path breaking innovations, the Hon’ble President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, Visitor of the Institute, bestowed the degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) in absentia at the 69th Convocation of IIT Kharagpur held on December 18, 2023.

Shri Sundar Pichai receiving the DSc Honoris Causa from Prof. V K Tewari

On receiving the Doctor of Science Award from his Alma Mater, Shri Sundar Pichai remarked, “This is indeed a great honour that IIT Kharagpur has bestowed on me. I am truly blessed and humbled to receive this award from Prof. Tewari in presence of my family and friends. Standing with this award in my hands reminds me of the young boy that I was who dreamed to be in the world that I am trying to create with my inventions. IIT Kharagpur holds a special place in my heart as this was the place where I first met my beloved wife, Anjali and had beautiful memories of my second home that I grew up in. The ambience, the people, the environment, the culture imparts a diaspora of knowledge learnings that one can implement in shaping up their practical wisdom. I am grateful to my institute for rewarding me with this award and there is nothing in the world that can compare to this emotional euphoria that I feel right now. I look forward to connect with IIT KGP manifesting greater technological solutions in partnership with Google. KGP ka tempo high hai! ,” added Shri Sundar Pichai.

Mrs Anjali Pichai (Haryani) receives the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Prof. Rintu Banerjee

Ms Anjali Pichai is a highly accomplished professional with a background in Chemical Engineering, earning her B.Tech honours degree from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in 1993. Commencing her career in the early 1990s, Anjali initially served as a Business Analyst at Accenture, contributing her expertise for a span of three years. Venturing into the United States, Anjali transitioned her career as a Business Analyst at Sun Microsystems. She held the position of Business Operation Manager at Intuit, a prominent software company. Anjali’s career trajectory reflects her dedication and proficiency in the technology and business sectors.

The Awardees with their family and friends

Prof. V K Tewari, Director of IIT Kharagpur, expressed his delight in honoring both Sundar and Anjali Pichai, stating, “Their achievements exemplify the spirit of innovation and excellence that IIT Kharagpur seeks to instill in its students. We are privileged to recognize their outstanding contributions to the global technology industry and wish more laurels and attributes are added to their stature.”

Shri Sundar Pichai meeting the Alumni of IIT Kharagpur including Rabir Gupta & Vinod Gupta

The awards ceremony underscores IIT Kharagpur’s commitment to celebrating the achievements of its alumni who have made significant contributions to society and industry worldwide.

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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Three decades and counting!

“September 24^th 1982. I joined IIT Kharagpur as a Lower Division Clerk, giving in to my parents repeated requests. Today, after spending more than two-thirds of my life here, I do not regret the decision of my parents.

Rubber Technology Center had started the year before, in 1981. With no one to look into office work there, I was posted in that department as secretary to the HoD. My job profile consisted of mainly typing and maintaining office records. I stayed there from 1982 to 1987. With my promotion in 1987, I joined the Recruitment Section for a few days and was later transferred to the Deans’ Office. In 1989 I was posted in GATE office initially and then SRIC office. I served there for perhaps the longest time – from 1992 to 2006 – a good 14 years!

During my tenure at the SRIC office I was in the team of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which happens to be synonymous with IIT Kharagpur. This system was started by Prof R. N. Banerjee. We, as a team, were thinking of introducing a new system of documentation. ERP was initially a project mode of SRIC headed by Prof Banerjee and we were involved in providing all information to this pilot project for its smooth functioning – details of accounting, administration and project monitoring – all had to be fed into the project, which was further programmed by Prof Banerjee with the help of his students.

Since then, ERP has become an integral part of IIT-KGP system and has been upgraded continuously since the time of its inception.

It was during my tenure that the modernization of the SRIC office took place. What you see today is a complete rehashed version of what it was during the early 90s. A lot of brainstorming went into how to give the office a modern, corporate look. Under the leadership of Prof Damodar Acharya, the then Dean SRIC and Dr D Gunasekaran, the then Principal Administrative Officer (who was also the Registrar of the Institute), we visited a few corporate offices in Kolkata, to get an idea of a modern office set-up. We also concentrated on the work culture and environment, alongside a new corporate model. Workstations, with individual desktops were introduced along with in-service training for employees and new recruits. This included computer training, soft skill development training, training in office administration, rules’ implementation training and others.

After I took charge of the Establishment Section in the year 2006, the Institute took a policy to modernize all its administrative section on the lines of SRIC office. This called for a lot of effort, which had to be put in so as to get the desired infrastructure of a corporate office within IIT.

The best part of my service here at IIT Kharagpur would be the purchase of a piece of land from the Government of West Bengal to set up a Research Park, which will be operational very soon. I was one of the signatories in those official papers back in 2008.

We worked as a team under the leadership of Prof Samir Kumar Lahiri, the then Deputy Director and Prof. Anil K. Bhowmick, the then Dean SRIC, during IIT Kharagpur’s Golden Jubilee in 2001. It was a year-long celebration with an exhibition at Science City Kolkata, for three consecutive days. That huge event saw the participation of all departments of IIT Kharagpur, few industries and several colleges in Kolkata.

The work culture of the Institute was always highly appreciated by the guests / visitors to the Institute. Maintaining and nurturing a positive attitude to work and towards colleagues, I feel, is the need of the hour. Good conduct always pays off and it costs nothing. What do you say?”

Image credit: Suman Sutradhar, Mr Animesh Kumar Naskar

Humans of KGP

I have spent 38 years on this campus and the one thing that I can tell you as a result is this: I shall die a happier and more contented man than many others on this planet.

The lure of KGP is its people – all these bright, young minds as much as their brilliant teachers and mentors. And all these books that you see around me. These books are my passion – they are like my children.

Today, as a part time librarian in this Hall Library post retirement, I handle the entire process – from the acquisition of books to their cataloguing and arrangements, keeping track of them and ensuring the right library ambience. Ask me about any title, any author – and if it is here, I shall tell you. The trust, the appreciation and the respect that I enjoy from the students, the Library Secretary, the Hall warden – that is the highest reward I have for my work.

I joined IIT Kharagpur as an employee at the Central Library and some years later, I was approached by then warden of Nehru Hall to handle some responsibilities at the Hall library for a few hours in the evenings, after my regular work hours or whenever time permitted. I said I’d be delighted – that’s how it all started and here I am, in that journey still. Even after retirement. I could have just spent my retired life like any other – lazing at home, doing domestic tasks, playing with my grandson. But there’s a magic in this campus – you’d never leave if you had a chance to be here. I was fortunate to have had that chance.

I come here for a bit in the mornings and then again for the entire evening. I don’t keep track of hours. Sometimes, I’d just be locking up for the day and someone would come rushing with a request: “Please, Dulal-da, I really need that book.” I cannot say No, can I? We are here to facilitate their studies, how do a few extra minutes of duty make a difference?

I remember the early days in the Central Library, Midnight used to be closing hour. We would keep going around the heads pored over the books five minutes before closing, and they would keep saying, “Just a minute.” Especially right before exams. ‘Just one minute’ stretched into quite a few, but I don’t think any of us ever minded that. It is a strange sense of satisfaction that you get when you are helping such brilliant minds in their pursuit of knowledge.

It is a fact that library usage has gone down a lot in the age of the Internet. But I still feel nothing can replace a book. And the continuing footfalls, though less than earlier, tell me that a good many others even in this current generation also feel the same way. Every semester we keep getting requests for more books, more editions. We really need a larger space now for this library.

And then there are the memories. 38 years is a long time. There are so many, I don’t know how to filter them. Some years back, a student came rushing just as I was closing the Hall library. I thought it would be the usual last minute request for a book. So I opened the doors, and led him in. But no! It turned out he just wanted to sit and sing a song for me that he had just learnt! Such childish claims on you fill you with a warmth difficult to express in words.

There are the shared confidences, too. One of the brightest boys of his batch once came to me with a fallen face and shared how his mother refused to allow him to apply abroad. She did not want the only son to leave the country and home. I asked him to go slow, explained things to him from his mother’s perspective. He stayed on for a few more years, convinced his parents and then went abroad. Years later, when he came back to visit KGP, he made it a point to come meet me and we reminisced those conversations all over again.

Whenever older students come back, visit the library and congratulate me on my work, I feel flushed with pride. They are all so dear to me. Around two years back, one such alumnus visited the Hall. He had a lot of people around him, and everyone in the hostel was so eager to meet him. But he still took out time to visit the library. After going around carefully, just before leaving, he placed a hand on my shoulders, and said, “Very well maintained.” I felt a little bit taller at that moment. The name of the alumnus: Sundar Pichai.

(As told to Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya)