(Photo: Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO, ANRF, delivering institute lecture)

New Delhi: Dr. Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO, Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), on 1st September 2025, visited IIT Delhi as a distinguished speaker for the prestigious “Institute Lecture Series”. This was also the first Institute lecture of the Academic Calendar 2025-26.

Dr. Shivkumar delivered an impactful lecture titled "ANRF Vision: Catalyzing India’s Rise as a Research and Innovation Powerhouse." Through his talk, he shared the vision of ANRF and how the organisation is working towards establishing the best research environment for scientists and faculty members, while providing a conducive ecosystem to catalyse India's rise as a global research and innovation hub.

He highlighted the ongoing efforts made by ANRF for ease of doing science, where they are working towards improving procurement models. He also sought innovative ideas from IIT Delhi researchers to create mission mode programmes and establish a PI-friendly research environment so that they can work more efficiently towards doing big things for the country and big things for the world and not get caught up in the administrative side of things.

Dr. Shivkumar visited the Central Research Facility (CRF) at IIT Delhi. He also engaged in a brainstorming session with IIT Delhi’s senior functionaries, discussing the roadmap for IIT Delhi to contribute to nation building. Dr. Shivkumar met the young faculty members of IIT Delhi in a special session for an engaging discussion with them, learning about their ideas and suggestions on how to improve the research ecosystem across Indian institutions, while keeping them abreast of the vision of ANRF and its modality.

While addressing the audience, Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi, said, "We are delighted to be able to hear from him (Dr. Shivkumar), and we look forward—for all of us as researchers and institutions and IIT Delhi to engage meaningfully with ANRF so that we can together make a difference through our research."

The day also marked the launch of a graphic book on the glorious 67 years of IIT Delhi, capturing the lives of students and faculty, along with trivia. The book was unveiled by Dr. Shivkumar and Prof. Rangan Banerjee.

Speaking about the book, Prof. Shilpi Sharma, Associate Dean, Academics (Outreach & New Initiatives), extended a quote by Stan Lee, saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words, but a comic is worth a million.”

She added, “The Office of Academic Outreach and New Initiatives proudly presents to you IIT Delhi’s story told through a vibrant, comic-style narrative that captures everything from the laying of our foundation stone to the latest milestones that we’ve achieved together. We have put our heart and soul into curating this, and we sincerely hope you’ll feel the same joy, nostalgia, and sense of connection as you flip through its pages.”

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