IIT-Ropar gets a leg up from Punjab bureaucrats

The officers and ex-IITians have not only helped cut through the red tape in setting up of the institute but have also taken it upon themselves to promote it

In a tribute to their alma mater,a host of IAS officers from the Punjab cadre have come together to help the fledgling IIT-Ropar tide over its teething troubles. Punjab Chief Secretary SC Agrawal,Rakesh Verma,MD Punjab Infotech,Vivek Pratap Singh,Chairman Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA),N S Kalsi,former Secretary IT,Anurag Agarwal,MD Trasco,Bhavna Garg,Special Secretary Revenue,Ajoy Sharma,Special Secretary Finance UT,and Alok Shekhar,former Special Secretary Irrigation,have all been students of various IITs prior to joining the civil service.

The officers have not only helped cut through the red tape but are also helping promote the institute. As a starter,a curtain raiser of this years PAN IIT (the annual get together of IIT alumni from all over the world) is being organised in Chandigarh this Saturday.

The actual PAN IIT Conclave (scheduled this year at Noida from 29-31 October),which shall have speakers such as Kapil Sibal and Narayan Murthy,will have a special session on integrated socio-economic development of Punjab with IIT-Ropar in focus. A report has also been prepared by Ernst and Young to plan a knowledge hub for Ropar. It envisions the sort of development which Chennai witnessed after the Madras Research Park came up close to IIT-Madras. It is great thing that this new IIT has come to the region. By next year,the first batch would be graduating. It is important to form the right industry linkages to ensure that the region benefits from the institute, says Rakesh Verma,who did his B TEch in Computer Sciences from IIT-Delhi.

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Quick clearances from the government and that essential help is also coming the institutes way. As one official commented,Let us take the example of the new building. Now basically,CPWD has been commissioned to make this new campus. But a mere concrete edifice doesnt befit a technology institutes status. It is in matters such as these that we are pitching with providing expert assistance.

Prominent regional industrialists such as Sachit Jain of Vardhaman group (former alumnus of IIT-Delhi) have also been roped in. The ex-IIT government officials have decided that one of them would be visiting the campus every week. The institute itself is aware of the tremendous advantage accruing to it.

Yes,several of the people whom we taught are today in pre-eminent positions in the government. The Chief Secretary himself is a former alumnus. It is heartening that these people are sensitive to our concerns, said B D Gupta,a former Professor of Chemistry at Kanpur,now teaching at Ropar.