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IIT Kanpur hosts 62nd Foundation Day in hybrid mode, honours illustrious alumni

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur celebrated its 62nd Foundation Day by honouring its illustrious alumni and fellows for their achievements and contributions in various fields. The event was held in hybrid mode owing to pandemic restraints.

The Foundation Day function was presided over by the institute’s Board of Governors chairman K Radhakrishnan, who was also the former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). 

IIT Kanpur director Abhay Karandikar said, “The pandemic saw the IITK fraternity coming together to support India and the world in the battle against the novel coronavirus. The IITK family rose to the occasion, providing solutions and services to overcome the challenges. As the world enters a ‘new normal’, we felt it appropriate to celebrate the Foundation Day of our ‘alma mater’ through the hybrid mode. Our alumni have contributed immensely at the national, and global level. We are proud of their achievements, and this is a moment to celebrate their accomplishments. This occasion is an opportunity for each of us to rededicate ourselves to the ethos of IIT Kanpur.”

A total of 20 awards were presented during the event, 16 to esteemed alumni and four to fellows of IIT Kanpur. The awardees included eminent scientists, industry experts, politicians, administrators and technocrats, most of them pioneers in their respective fields.

IIT Kanpur alumni who were honoured at the Foundation Day function: 

• Distinguished Alumnus Award: Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, who had done his MTech from the institute
• Distinguished Alumnus Award: Hemant Jalan, managing director (MD) of IndiGo Paints
• Distinguished Alumnus Award: Vartika Shukla, chairperson and MD, Engineers India Ltd. and the first woman executive in the Indian Oil and Gas industry to be bestowed with the PETROFED Woman Executive Award
• Distinguished Alumnus Award: Mukesh Bansal, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of CureFit.
• Satyendra K Dubey Memorial Award: Karnal Singh, former chief of Enforcement Directorate, for his exemplary service to the nation while in the Indian Police Service (IPS).
• Distinguished Services Award: Pradeep Bhargava, chief operating officer (COO) and co-founder of GladMinds,for facilitating alumni connect and major fundraising efforts of IIT Kanpur; and Kushal Sacheti, founder and CEO, Galaxy USA Inc., for his contribution to IIT Kanpur as a goodwill ambassador. 
• Young Alumnus Award: Prateek Jain, senior research staff at Google AI, Bengaluru; and Varun Khaitan, COO and co-founder of Urban Company.

The institute’s Fellows who were felicitated include Jagjeet Singh Bindra, member of the board of directors, LyondellBasell Industries N.V. & HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd; Gautam Biswas, Emeritus Fellow at the department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kanpur; Santosh K Gupta, distinguished professor at the department of Chemical Engineering, University of Petroleum and Engineering Studies (UPES), Dehradun; and Alak Kumar Majumdar, a former professor at the department of Physics, IIT Kanpur.