IIT Tirupati grads get designer convocation capes from NIFT with Ikat, Pochampalli work  

At a time when educational institutions are going desi at their convocations, IIT Tirupati went chic. The students and delegates wore a cape-cum-stole designed by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bengaluru.

The designs are inspired from local art forms like Kalamkari, Pocahmpalli, Ikat, Cherial Masks and more. But clothes are not the only thing this third-gen IIT has gone designer in. Their logo, that signifies the relation between a student and his guru, is designed by National Institute of Design, Bengaluru. 

Most recently, the graduates of IIT Bombay were seen sporting kurtas and pyjamas instead of the traditional graduation gown and cap — an attire that is increasingly seen as way too western — especially after the UGC diktat that universities ought to consider using traditional Indian attire at formal occasions like graduation ceremonies.

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.

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.