TechSmartWorld

IIT Madras, organized a prestigious felicitation ceremony and book launch of "100 Great IITians – Dedicated to the Service of the Nation". The book is a tribute to the remarkable contributions made by IITians to the growth of India.

The general impression about IITians is that after passing out they decide to settle abroad. Commander VK Jaitly, who himself is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, wanted to break this perception. He researched and toiled for more than four years and compiled the stories of 100 great IITians who have dedicated their lives for the nation. These IITians either didn't go abroad or even if they did, they came back to their motherland to serve the nation. The IITians featured in this book are from diverse fields like Academics, Industry, R&D, DRDO, ISRO, Defense, Adventure and even Spiritual and Social Sectors.

Six great IITians who stay in Chennai and are featured in the book were honoured by the chief guest, Professor Ravi Bhaskaran, a renowned academician. The six IITians include Padmashri CN Raghvendran, a renowned architect of Chennai who has contributed globally, Srinivasan Vishwanathan, a versatile CXO, Padma Shri Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, who has empowered India through technology, Shri B Santhanam, the CEO - Saint-Gobain India and APAC and a renowned name in the industry with his contributions through CII, Prof Sujatha Srinivasan whose work in the field of developing support equipment for the disabled has been acknowledged far and wide and Balaji Sampath who is working with the economically weaker sections of the society in a big way.

Commander VK Jaitly explained that 100% profit from the sale of this book will be used for the upliftment of the society: 40% will go as scholarship to economically weaker students getting admission in 23 IITs, 40% will go for the transformation of Tribal Villages in the vicinity of IIT Kharagpur, 10% for PM CARES Fund and 10% to other miscellaneous social organisations like Youth4Nation etc. Commander Jaitly himself is one of the National Coordinator of Youth4Nation.

The event was organized in the AMM Arunachalam Auditorium at ICSR with the full support from the Director of IIT Madras, Prof V Kamakoti. Prof Devendra Jalihal, Director Designate of IIT Guwahati steered the function in an excellent way and with total punctuality. The President of IIT Kharagpur Alumni Foundation India, Rajah Venkat graced the occasion along with many other IITians, students and veterans from defense services.

The book has been described as a Must-Read for the engineering students and of course for all those whose hearts beat for the society and for the nation. The Excel Publishers of the book have produced a 429-page multi-colour hardbound book.