Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' said that he was impressed that IIT Tirupati's logo symbolises the "guru-shishya parampara practiced in Gurukuls of the of yore". Starting off his speech in a high, the minister said, "I have come from the land of the Ganges to deliver blessings to you in the land of Tirupati."
He was addressing the first convocation of the institute where 104 students —103 BTech, one MS — were awarded their degrees.
Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' inaugurated Indian Institute of Technology's Tirupati Stage 1A (Transit) Campus on August 13 and also presided over the convocation ceremony of the first batch of students. IIT Tirupati is mentored by IIT Madras and is, reportedly, the first IIT to move into its permanent campus within four years of establishment.
Talking about implementation of the fast advancing technologies, the minister said that we should not forget that a large part of the country is rural and should strive to make their life easy with our innovation, "I am sure that you will agree that the booming technologies in the areas of energy and materials will be meaningful only if we use it to improve the social and economic condition of ordinary citizen," he added. Dr Audimulapu Suresh, the Education Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Higher Education Secretary R Subrahmanyam, was also present along with the Director of the campus Dr KN Satyanarayana at the convocation.
He also stressed on being vigilant about the environment, "I am delighted to know that IIT Tirupati is causing minimum damage to the natural surroundings." The transit campus of the institute has secured two renowned sustainability awards like GRIHA and HUDCO awards for an eco-friendly campus.
Congratulating IITans for being the forerunners whenever it comes to entrepreneurship, the minister said, "The visionary initiatives of our Prime Minister, such as Make in India and Startup India would require the efforts of such young talents. These young innovative minds fostered in such institutes help build the economy."
IIT Tirupati has ranked on top among the third Gen IITs that were established together. He reiterated Modi's Jai Anusandhan slogan and said that India is developing in the field of research at a speed never seen before and said IIT will soon come within the best 100 institutes of the world.
The minister had earlier said that the permanent campus of IIT Tirupati (phase-A) would be completed by March 2020. Replying to Vijayasai Reddy during Question Hour of the Parliament, Pokhriyal had said that IIT Tirupati was allocated Rs 1,074 crore, of which Rs 525 crore was sanctioned and Rs 478.36 crore was released.
