Groundbreaking Passion Quotient for Alma Mater by BITS Pilani 75-80 Batch Alumni

Alumni of BITS Pilani firmly believe that when a mission is taken up with passion, there are no dreams too large, no innovation unimaginable and no frontiers beyond reach. BITSians have always been known for their passion in whatever they do and the noble gesture by the BITS Alumni of 1975-80 batch goes to reiterate the same. This batch had their silver jubilee at Pilani in October 2005 and set a new record for the number of alumni who turned up for the same.

This batch like the other batches have indeed enhanced the reputation and raised the profile of BITS Pilani both nationally and internationally through their successes, contributions and support which has ensured that BITS Pilani will continue to remain as one of the top ranking universities not only in India today but also India tomorrow.

The alumni of this batch include a stellar constellation of Chairmen, Managing Directors, COOs, CEOs, CIOs, Scientists, Presidents and Vice Presidents, Techies, Entrepreneurs, Media Moghuls, Realtors as well as Consultants. Each one of them undoubtedly has been a leader in applying technology to improve lives across society.

Irrespective of whatever degree they did at Pilani, wherever they came from and whatever their life journey had taken them to, there was one thing they all shared in common and that was passion for the alma mater. Each one of them agreed that their stay at Pilani had left an indelible mark on their lives.

Barun Baruah, one of the alums of this batch from Guwahati was to join others for the silver jubilee celebration in October 2005 but fate had some other design. Barun met with a road accident just before leaving for the silver jubilee reunion and succumbed to his injuries on October 7, 2005. His batch mates were shocked by the incident and pledged to do something which would keep alive the memory of their beloved batchmate. They formed a trust called the BITSAA Alumni Trust which among other activities, would try to address the needs of the Mess Workers of BITS Pilani and their families. To start with they decided to launch a group insurance scheme for the mess workers at BITS Pilani. This mess workers group insurance was launched on Sunday, 20th August 2006 at BITS, Pilani. 20th August was chosen as it happens to be the birthday for their beloved classmate Barun Baruah.

This alumni batch decided to further their desire of giving shape to the programme “Giving Back to BITS”, by promoting Local Area community Development and bringing about a social transformation with special emphasis on the lesser privileged members of the society in and around the town of Pilani Rajasthan.

On May 12, 2008 two alumni from this batch Sunil Nanda and Gautam Mazumdar came to Pilani and carried out extensive discussions with various officers of the Institute and drafted a Memorandum of Understanding between the Alumni Trust and BITS Staff Housing Kalyan Samiti, Pilani, Rajasthan. As per this MoU, the Alumni Trust has proposed to construct an appropriate facility to be used as a centre for LOCAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT on a tract of land offered for this purpose by the BITS Staff Housing Kalyan Samiti, Pilani. The Centre shall be constructed in such a manner that allows for future expansion and/or modification.

A coordination committee headed by the President of the BITS Staff Housing Kalyan Samiti (Director, BITS) as the Chairman and consisting of two Members nominated each from the BITS Staff Housing Kalyan Samiti and the Trust was also constituted to plan, coordinate and monitor the activities of the LOCAL AREA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CENTRE within the framework of the objectives and rules of both the parties.

The same day the MoU was signed by Sunil Nanda on behalf of the Alumni trust and Prof M K Kashiramka who is the Convener for the BITS Staff Kalyan Samiti.

Sunil Nanda, Gautam Mazumdar, Chandan Sengupta and Shivas who are the key four in the forefront of this mission from 75-80 batch camped at BITS Pilani from 26 Feb itself to take the community centre project forward. The groundbreaking ceremony for starting the construction work for the community centre took place on Sunday February 28, 2010 at 1 PM at Gyan Vihar opposite to the ISKON Temple.

Prof LK Maheshwari Vice Chancellor BITS Pilani was the chief guest for the same. Apart from senior officers of BITS Pilani, Proud to be BITSian Dr Chandra Shekhar Director CEERI Pilani also graced the occasion. Sri Jayesh Kharbanda, Sri Rakesh Kapoor and Sri Anil Narayan from 75-80 batch also made it to Pilani for attending the event. The huge turnout of BITS students volunteers from NIRMAAN reiterates the passion quotient for the project.

It is indeed a matter of pride that PRATHAM, which is a pan-India NGO and a winner of CNN-India Person of the Year 2009, have shown interest in participating in this mission with passion.

Alumni of BITS Pilani spread across the globe who would like to particiapte in this project may contact Proud to be BITSian Sunil Nanda Email sunil_nanda_blr(at)yahoo.com Mobile 91-9845067434

About BITS Pilani: The Birla Institute of Technology and Science - BITS Pilani is a Deemed to be University established vide Sec.3 of the UGC Act, 1956 under notification No. F.12-23/63.U-2 of June 18, 1964. NAAC - National Assessment and Accreditation Council reaccredited BITS with 3.71 CGPA out of 4 and awarded "A" grade "Very Good" status. It is indeed a matter of pride that for the year 2009, BITS Pilani has been ranked among the top ranking universities along with IITs in various Magazine surveys such as India Today, Outlook, LiveMint DataQuest etc. BITS offers degrees in various disciplines presently at Pilani, Dubai, Goa and Hyderabad campuses. BITS Pilani has done pioneering work in industry university collaborations in terms of Practice School and Work Integrated Learning Programmes. Alumni of the Institute who are Proud to be BITSians and ambassadors for Brand BITS Pilani are spread across all continents from Australia to America.

Dr BR Natarajan
Professor & Vice President BITS Alumni Association - BITSAA
BITS Pilani Rjasthan 33303 India
Phone 91-1596-242210
Fax 91-1596-244183
Email brnt(at)bits-pilani.ac.in
Website www.bits-pilani.ac.in

This release was published on openPR.