Latest news with #IIT-Kharagpur
Time of India
a day ago
- Science
- Time of India
IIT-Kharagpur team wins national ideathon under ‘save water' category
Kharagpur: Out of 21 innovative solutions chosen from 1,384 entries received from across India, a sustainable waste management solution proposed by a IIT-Kharagpur team has bagged the first prize at a national ideathon, 'Ideas4LiFE', under the 'save water' category. The IIT-Kharagpur team proposed the concept of reducing water footprint using moisture from raw sewage during treatment of waste and converting the same into bio-carbon materials used for various purposes. The bio-carbon materials are used for energy storage, environmental remediation and industrial processes. 'Ideas4LiFE' is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) in collaboration with UNICEF YuWaah, launched under the framework of Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment). The team comprises Rajarshi Bhar, Joydeepa Taran, and Anil. The teammates were guided by Civil Engineering Department professor Brajesh Kumar Dubey. The idea has been titled as "Reducing Water Footprint Using Raw Sewage during Hydrothermal Carbonization." The project proposes an innovative solution to use raw municipal sewage as a moisture source during the production of lignocellulosic hydrochar, effectively reducing the dependence on freshwater. This approach not only advances water conservation efforts but also integrates waste management with renewable energy production, making it a scalable and sustainable intervention, the team claimed. The 'Ideas4LiFE' platform was launched on July 29, 2024, at IIT competition followed a rigorous three-phase selection process, including evaluation by experts from the Department of Higher Education and a national jury.
India Today
26-05-2025
- Business
- India Today
DRDO chief Dr Samir Kamat's tenure extended again by 1 year
The tenure of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chairman, Dr Samir V Kamat, has been extended by another year, a government order said on Monday. Dr Kamat's tenure has been extended till May 31, is the second extension for Dr Kamat after he earlier got a one-year extension as the chief of the indigenous defence manufacturer till May 31, Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Monday approved the extension in service of Dr Samir V Kamat, Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D) and Chairman, Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) for a further period of one year from June 1, 2025 till May 31, 2026, or until further orders or whichever is earlier, the order said. He was first appointed to the highest post in the DRDO in August 2022 and was slated to retire on May 31, incumbent DRDO chief is seen as a reformer in his organisation and would be in charge of carrying out the reforms planned by the government to make the organisation more result-oriented and focusing on core science and technology Kamat completed his (Hons) in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT-Kharagpur in 1985 and PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University, USA in 1988 and joined DRDO in Kamat is credited with providing leadership and direction to several critical material programmes in the DRDO, such as the development of high-strength steels for naval ship hulls, development of high temperature titanium alloys and nickel-based, superalloy-based components for aero engines, development of tungsten heavy alloys for kinetic energy penetrators, development of fused silica radomes for missile seekers, development of armour solutions for personnel as well as combat vehicles and stealth materials for airborne and naval have found use in various systems being developed by DRDO addition, Dr Samir V Kamat has spearheaded the development of naval systems such as advanced light-weight torpedo, anti-torpedo decoy systems, autonomous underwater vehicles, advanced hull-mounted and towed array sonars for ships and fuel cells based air-independent propulsion systems for Kamat is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and the Institution of Engineers India (IEI).He is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT-Kharagpur, Metallurgist of the Year Award from the Ministry of Steel and Scientist of the Year Award from Samir V Kamat has published more than 180 papers in international peer-reviewed Watch
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Former ISRO chairman to be chief guest at IIT-Kharagpur convocation
Kolkata: Former ISRO chief will be the chief guest at the IIT-Kharagpur convocation, scheduled to be held on July 15. Under his leadership, India became the first country to reach Mars its maiden attempt. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The name of the chief guest was confirmed by IIT-Kharagpur acting director, Amit Patra. "We have decided to conduct the convocation in July to help students attend the programme. Besides, several other people would also be able to join the programme around this time. Previously, this used to be the usual time for hosting the . The date got shifted during the pandemic," Patra added. "At the senate meeting in Dec last year, the members agreed to hold the event in July as the new graduates would not have joined their jobs by this time of the year. So, they can easily attend the ceremony. Many students find it difficult to attend the convocation in Dec as it is difficult to seek leave from work." TOI on May 4 reported that IIT-Kharagpur decided to shift its convocation to July on students' requests.
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
IIT-Kharagpur forms expert panel to assess mental health challenges on campus
Kolkata: A 10-member external independent committee comprising psychiatrists, educationists, counsellors, alumni, legal experts, and police professionals will assess the factors affecting the mental health and well-being of IIT-Kharagpur students, faculty, and staff. It will also identify challenges such as inadequate resources, administrative shortfalls, the academic environment, and other areas that hinder the resolution of mental health issues on campus. The committee will suggest measures to improve the mental health ecosystem of the reported on April 29 that the mother and brother of Aniket Walkar wrote to acting director Amit Patra, seeking an independent probe into the circumstances leading to Aniket's death. They urged authorities to find out the reasons behind the large number of suicides on the IIT-Kgp campus. Following this, the authorities decided to form an expert independent committee, which will submit its report within three of student affairs Bhargab Maitra said: "An associate dean of students welfare will be the convenor of the committee. At first, we thought of keeping representatives from all stakeholders, like faculty members and students, in the committee, but the committee was becoming too large to work effectively. Therefore, we kept the external members in the committee who will interact with all the stakeholders of the Institute and take their inputs and views in specific areas."In a press statement issued on Saturday, the institute said, "The committee will assess the factors (primary, secondary, or tertiary) that are affecting the mental health and well-being of students, faculty, and staff of the institute. The committee will also identify the key challenges (such as inadequate resources, administrative shortfalls, academic environment, but not limited to) that hinder the resolution of mental health issues on campus. The committee will take stock of initiatives that are in place to address such issues and recommend further measures that can bolster the mental health ecosystem of students, staff, and faculty in the IIT Kharagpur campus," read the Director Amit Patra earlier said that the committee will be formed on the lines of IIT-Delhi. "At the level of the institution, we are taking steps to contain the situation. But there could be shortcomings in our institutional mechanism. So we want the 10-member committee to give its report containing the suggestions that we can work on to prevent the loss of lives," Patra said on witnessed two back-to-back deaths in a fortnight. Fourth-year ocean engineering and naval architecture student Aniket Walkar was found hanging in his room at J C Bose Hostel on April 20, and another third-year civil engineering student, Mohammad Asif Qamar, was found hanging in his room in the Madan Mohan Malaviya Hall on May 4. Qamar's death is also the third death in a semester, the fourth death in less than a year, and the ninth death in five years that the premier institute decision to form an independent experts' panel gains significance following the Supreme Court's March 24 directive to set up a National Task Force to examine the rising number of suicides at education institutes. Founder of Global IIT Alumni Support Group Dheeraj Singh, an alumnus of the Kanpur campus, said, "We welcome the Committee constitution, though sadly there is no mention of recent suicides and terms are vaguely defined. A committee is only as strong as its willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. IIT Kharagpur's move is long overdue, but without student voices, transparent processes, and urgent interim measures, this risks becoming another bureaucratic exercise. Key findings must be transparently shared as a public good."
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Time of India
Rohtas polytechnic student found hanging at hostel room
Sasaram: A second-year student of a govt polytechnic died allegedly by suicide during a video call with her boyfriend at her hostel room in Indarpuri under the same police station of Rohtas district late on Thursday night, days after an IIT-Kharagpur student from Bihar was found dead under similar to initial investigation reports, Salvi Kumari, a resident of Nadi Khurd village under Karpi police station in Arwal district, was alone in her hostel room at the time of the said that the tragedy came to light when hostel staff and fellow students found Salvi hanging from a ceiling fan. A friend of the deceased, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said she got a call from Salvi's boyfriend, a resident of Masaurhi in Patna, in the night, expressing concern that she might be in distress. The friend rushed to Salvi's room, but after receiving no response to repeated knocks, she alerted the hostel warden and another student. On opening the door forcibly, they discovered Salvi hanging from the ceiling fan, with the video call still active on her then informed her family members as well as police, which arrived at the scene and seized the cellphone for forensic analysis. Salvi's body was taken down in the presence of her family members and sent for postmortem at Sadar Hospital in Sasaram. The body was later handed over to her have initiated an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding her death. A senior police officer said that all angles, including psychological distress, the condition of hostel facilities and her last known communication, are being is worth noting that just last week, the students of the college had filed a formal complaint with the principal regarding the poor quality of food being served in the A second-year student of a govt polytechnic died allegedly by suicide during a video call with her boyfriend at her hostel room in Indarpuri under the same police station of Rohtas district late on Thursday night, days after an IIT-Kharagpur student from Bihar was found dead under similar to initial investigation reports, Salvi Kumari, a resident of Nadi Khurd village under Karpi police station in Arwal district, was alone in her hostel room at the time of the said that the tragedy came to light when hostel staff and fellow students found Salvi hanging from a ceiling fan. A friend of the deceased, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said she got a call from Salvi's boyfriend, a resident of Masaurhi in Patna, in the night, expressing concern that she might be in distress. The friend rushed to Salvi's room, but after receiving no response to repeated knocks, she alerted the hostel warden and another student. On opening the door forcibly, they discovered Salvi hanging from the ceiling fan, with the video call still active on her then informed her family members as well as police, which arrived at the scene and seized the cellphone for forensic analysis. Salvi's body was taken down in the presence of her family members and sent for postmortem at Sadar Hospital in Sasaram. The body was later handed over to her have initiated an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding her death. A senior police officer said that all angles, including psychological distress, the condition of hostel facilities and her last known communication, are being is worth noting that just last week, the students of the college had filed a formal complaint with the principal regarding the poor quality of food being served in the hostel.
