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Publish Date: 7th November 2020

Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Addresses 51st Annual Convocation of IIT Delhi

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Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the 51st Convocation of IIT Delhi, an Institution of Eminence, on Saturday through video conferencing.

On this occasion, Hon’ble Minister of Education, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and MoS for Education, Shri Sanjay Dhotre were present as Guests of Honour.

Addressing the graduating students, PM Shri Narendra Modi asked the fresh IIT graduates to recognize the needs of the country and connect with the changes on the ground. He also asked them to identify with the aspirations of the common people in the context of Atamnirbhar Bharat.

Congratulating more than 2000 IITians on their convocation, the Prime Minister said AtmaNirbhar Campaign is a mission that gives opportunities to youth, technocrats and tech-enterprise leaders of the country.

The Prime Minister gave four mantras to the students for their workplace,

  • Focus on quality; never compromise.
  • Ensure scalability; make your innovations work at a mass scale.
  • Assure reliability; build long-term trust in the market.
  • Bring in adaptability; be open to change and expect un-certainty as a way of life.

He said working on these basic mantras will bring shine on one’s identity as well as on brand India, since students are India's biggest brand ambassadors. He remarked the work of the students will give global recognition to the country's product and will accelerate the efforts of the country.

The Prime Minister said post-Covid world is going to be very different and technology will play the biggest role in it. He said Virtual Reality was never thought of but now Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality have become the Working Reality. He said the present batch of students has a first mover advantage to learn and adapt to the new norms emerging in the workplace and he urged them to make most use of this. He said Covid-19 has taught Globalization is important but Self-Reliance is equally important.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi wished the students their parents, guides and faculty for the Convocation. He also wished IIT Delhi on its Diamond jubilee celebration and wished them success in achieving the goals envisioned by the institute for this decade. (Full Text of PM’s address at the Convocation ceremony of IIT Delhi- https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1670933)

eVIDYA@IITD

On the ocassion of the Convocation, Union Education Minister, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched eVIDYA@IITD (ई-विद्या@IITD)- Enabling Virtual & Interactive-learning for Driving Youth Advancement. Under this initiative, online certificate programmes will be offered by IIT Delhi in different domains of Engineering, Technology, Science, Humanities and Management for the Indian as well as international participants. eVIDYA@IITD will cater to the needs of the Industry, Society and Individual Participants.

The Union Minister of Education said that the online programme eVIDYA@IITD will prove a milestone in many areas like Cyber Physical System, Machine Learning, Consturction Project Management, Electric Vehicle, and Communication Technology. He praised the Institute for developing the diagnostic assay, which has made COVID-19 RT-PCR test cheaper. He said that with the help of the institutions like IIT Delhi the country will not only become a world leader, but the target of becoming a five trillion dollar economy will also be achieved. (eVidya details)

Minister of State for Education, Shri Sanjay Dhotre also addressed the graduating students and congratulated them. Addressing the students, Shri Sanjay Dhotre said, “This is an interesting time to be in the field of technology. The new Technologies like Deep learning, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, drones, robotics, block chain technology are opening the new vistas for the youth. The work started by our earlier generations has not yet finished. Few problems of humanity have been solved, but many have remained. Use the technology to resolve these unfinished problems. Use the technology, to make our farmers life happier, our agriculture sustainable. Use the technology to address the issues in the field of education and health. Use the technology to address the problems of water and energy security, to get back cleaner air, water and soil, and to preserve and protect the environment. Go and grab this opportunity. Dream big. Aim high. Follow your heart and never afraid of failure.”

Addressing the 51st Convocation, Dr. R. Chidambaram, Chairperson, Board of Governors, IIT Delhi said, “We have leading research workers in various advanced and diverse research areas ranging from Pure Mathematics, Photonics and Theoretical technologies, taking into account the threat of climate change/global warming; advanced manufacturing; Artificial Intelligence; technologies for MSMEs and for sustainable rural development. In all this, we need to develop self-reliance, with the objective of achieving Atmanirbhar Bharat I am sure IIT Delhi will play a major role in achieving this goal.” (Full Speech- Convocation 2020 Brochure: English | Hindi)

Presenting the Director’s report on this occasion, Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao said, “In the last 5 years, IIT Delhi faculty and students have written over 10000 high quality papers, filed over 500 patents, executed roughly 150 industry projects and obtained over Rs 1300 Crores of research funding from competitive grants from all over the world. We have also created 18 new Centers of Excellence with funding from alumni, industries and government agencies in the last 5 years. These numbers are anywhere from 2X to 4X higher compared to any previous 5-year periods since the inception of the institute. Also, our alumni commitments for fund donations to the institute in the last one year exceeded the last 55 year total value of donations received in the institute. We thank all our alumni, industries and other funding agencies for the trust reposed in us.” (Director’s Report- Convocation 2020 Brochure: English | Hindi)

The Convocation was conducted in a hybrid mode with a physical in-person ceremony with limited attendance in the Institute’s Dogra Hall, and an online webcast, which reached out to all graduating students, their parents, distinguished alumni, invited guests, and everyone else.

At the 51st Convocation, degrees were conferred on 2019 graduating students.

S.No. Programmes No. of Graduating Students
1. Ph.D. 298
2. Master of Science (Research) 13
3. M.Tech. 522
4. Master of Design 20
5. MBA 116
6. Master of Science 151
7. PG Diploma of IIT Delhi (Naval Construction) 25
8. Diploma of IIT Delhi (DIIT) 01
9. M.Tech (Dual Degree Programme) 105
10. M.Tech Under Advanced Standing 10
11. M.Tech (05-Year Integrated Programme) 01
12. B. Tech. 744
13. Undergraduate Diploma 13
Total 2019

The Institute awarded President’s Gold Medal, Director’s Gold Medal, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma (former President of India) Gold Medal, Perfect Ten Gold Medals and Institute Silver Medals to the graduating students at the Convocation.

The President’s Gold Medal was awarded to Mr Deepanshu Jindal, B. Tech in Computer Science and Engineering; Director’s Gold Medal to Ms Aashi Agarwal, B. Tech in Textile Technology, and Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma (former President of India) Gold Medal was to Ms Muskan Kularia, M. Tech in Applied Optics. (Medal Winners’ details)

The President’s Gold Medal is awarded to a student who is topper amongst all graduating UG students for highest academic achievement/ CGPA. Director’s Gold Medal is awarded to a graduating UG student for his/her achievements in Academics as well as Extra-Curricular Activities.

Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma (former President of India) Gold Medal is awarded to a graduating PG student who is adjudged as best among all M.Tech graduating students for general proficiency including character & conduct, excellence in academic performance, extra-curricular activities and social service.

Perfect 10 Gold Medal is awarded to a graduating PG student who secures CGPA of 10 out of 10. The Institute Silver Medal is awarded to a graduating UG student securing highest CGPA in respective programme.

At the 51st Convocation, IIT Delhi also felicitated its esteemed alumni with Alumni Awards 2020. Five IIT Delhi alums received the ‘Distinguished Alumni Award’ and one alumnus received the ‘Distinguished Alumni Service Award’ and two alumnus received the maiden Graduates of Last Decade (GOLD) Award. (Alumni Awards 2020 Awardees’ details)