At a glittering function organized at the India Habitat Centre here, the Association of IT-BHU Alumni conferred on three of its distinguished alumni the Alumni Award of Excellence 2007-08. The awardees were Mr. R.P. Singh, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Power Grid Corporation of India, Dr. U. S. Awasthi, Managing Director, Indian Farmers Fertilizers Cooperative Ltd. (IFFCO) and Mr. L.C. Singh, Founder and CEO, Nihilent Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Each of them was given a standing ovation as their respective citations were read out to a full house of their co-alumni. The assemblage warmly applauded the singular achievements of these stalwarts in their respective fields and their commitment to the noble task of nation-building. Said Rajiv Gupta, Secretary, AIBA, “IT-BHU has been at the forefront of nation-building from even before independence, when the vision of Mahamana Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya Ji created the Banaras Hindu University and its constituent colleges of technical education. Long before the IITs came into existence, IT-BHU engineers were already leading the way in building the country’s nascent foundations. Naturally the galaxy of IT-BHU Alumni is much larger and it is really difficult to select from the many outstanding alumni who have served the country during its many phases of growth. Yet, we felt we needed to make a start, and the awardees tonight have been carefully chosen by an independent jury of peers”.

The high-profile list of guests at the function included Mr. Vinod Rai, IAS, Secretary Banking, Govt. of India; Dr. T.Ramasami, Director General, CSIR & Secretary to the Govt. of India and Dr. Ashok K. Chauhan, Founder President, RBEF & Chairman, AKC Group of Companies. The guests were unanimous in expressing their overwhelming appreciation of the rich contribution made by the alumni of the Institute in the onerous task of nation building.

IT-BHU, classified as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India, has a unique place in India’s growth story. In the early days, civil, mining, metallurgy and electrical engineers spread out across the country and laid the foundations of India’s early infrastructure. Later, more diverse disciplines like Ceramics, Pharmacy, Electronics and Computer Science were gradually added and its alumni contributed to the next wave of growth. The Institute is also renowned for its outstanding faculty and their research work, which has benefited the common man across all spheres of activity. IT-BHU has been taking students through the IIT-JEE process since the 1972-73 academic year, consistently getting ranked among the Top 10 Engineering Institutes of the country. Said Dr. B.B. Dhar, President, AIBA, himself an alumnus of the Institute in addition to having completed a distinguished academic and administrative career there, “The students who pass out from IT-BHU are not only technically proficient, but have an excellent Emotional Quotient as well. They are well-grounded and work very well in teams, thanks to the fact that they live on the multi-disciplinary BHU campus, which in turn is located in the culturally rich and diverse city of Varanasi, said to be the oldest living city in the world! Needless to say, this quality helps them develop into strong leaders and able technocrats. This ability to be a good team player is indeed a unique quality of every BHU-ITian and we are proud of the contributions made by our alumni to building the India of today.”

AIBA was launched in NCR five years ago with a view to channeling the collective resources of IT-BHU Alumni towards addressing the future challenges faced by the nation and for strengthening the Institute-Industry Partnership. With strong teamwork among the alumni, faculty and management of the Institute, the Association has made rapid strides over the last five years. It has organized several events, including CEO roundtables, industry visits and alumni get-togethers every year, with a view to fostering better alumni relations. The future looks even brighter, as more of the alumni join the mission of making IT-BHU a better institution with every passing year. For example, one batch of students donated internet connectivity to the Girls Hostel in 2003. Another Alumni initiative made all the hostels Wi-Fi enabled. An Alumni Guest House has recently come up on the campus, thanks to the liberal donation of a few distinguished alumni. Another batch is now targeting raising Rs. 1 crore for other campus improvement initiatives. The bonds of memories going back to their college days are so strong that members of AIBA are confident of beating even the most optimistic targets for fund mobilization.

The evening concluded on a high note, with the alumni loudly cheering the Awardees this year and also resolving to make the next year an even more eventful one.

Regards
AIBA Team, Delhi