IIT Madras 1981 Alumni Donates Electric Bus Fleet To Institute – NDTV

New Delhi:

The 1981 batch of Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) graduates has donated a fleet of electric buses to the institute. The class which is having its 40th reunion on campus today, December 21, consists of about 600 students who graduated in 1981. The 1981 alumni included BTech, MTech and PhD students. The class, according to an IIT Madras statement, is now widely dispersed over the globe, from Australia to the U.S.

Addressing the reunion celebrations, Professor V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said: “I am very pleased and thankful that the Class has decided to donate a fleet of Electric Buses and Golf Carts to replace the existing diesel fleet. This will be a very good start towards our goal of a zero carbon campus by 2050 and will serve as a living reminder of our commitment to residents and visitors alike. I wish the batch a great reunion!”

The IIT Madras BTech Class of 1981 joined the institute in July 1976 for what was then a five-year BTech course, graduating in 1981 at a convocation where R Venkatraman presided over and Director Professor PV Indiresan handed over the certificates. Many from the graduating batch went abroad to pursue higher education. Some settled there but a fair number returned to India, the institute said.

During the three-day reunion, the batch will explore the campus to learn about the vast changes over almost half a century since they graduated. They would also be discussing with Professor V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, and Professor Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, the projects that the batch had initiated during their 25th reunion in 2006.

The alumnus who championed Electric Mobility as a Legacy Gift, Krish Bhargavan, Class of 1981, IIT Madras, said, “IIT Madras has set itself on the road to carbon neutrality, to be fully achieved by 2050. This electrification of the IIT Madras campus’ public transport fleet will complement the institute’s two existing centers of excellence: CoE for Electric Mobility and CoE for Zero Emission Trucking. Several components of electric vehicles are imported and expensive. Any home-grown technology that reduces external dependence, will further India’s energy independence.”