President of India Appoints Shiv Nadar as Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Kharagpur

Shiv Nadar, Founder, HCL and Chairman, HCL Technologies was appointed the Chairman, Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, one of India's most prestigious and globally acclaimed technology institute, by the Honorable President of India and “Visitor” to the institute, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

IIT Kharagpur is not only consistently ranked first among Indian technical institutions; it also is the only engineering school from India listed among top 500 universities worldwide in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Academic Ranking of World Universities. The IITs are known for having positioned Indian engineering and technology prowess across the globe.

On this occasion Shiv Nadar said, “IIT Kharagpur is the first of the four IITs established for post war industrial development in India. I admire the vision of the committee that recommended in the early years of Indian independence, the need to create higher technical institutions on the lines of the world's best, aiming to produce not only world class graduates but also produce research and technical teachers for the country. It is an honor to be entrusted the responsibility to further advance the global stature this great institution has built already.”

Well known for his contribution to the technology industry in India and globally, Shiv is also highly regarded as a philanthropist and educationist for his belief in transformational education for social change. The charge for IIT Kharagpur adds to his philanthropic responsibilities at the Shiv Nadar Foundation, ISB, Hyderabad and the Public Health Foundation of India.

Shiv Nadar was also conferred the Honoris Causa Doctorate of Science by IIT Kharagpur recently, for his outstanding contribution to computer hardware, software domain and entrepreneurship in the country. Shiv now increasingly spends his time on the philanthropic initiatives of the not for profit Shiv Nadar Foundation, to map its vision for social transformation through education - to India's higher education needs.

Shiv takes over this charge from Mr. B Muthuraman, Vice Chairman, Tata Steel. Former chairs of IIT Kharagpur include luminaries like Dr. B. C. Roy, former Chief Minister of West Bengal; Sir Biren Mookerjee, Founder, IISCO steel plant; Mr. A.N Haksar, former Chairman, ITC; Mr. Russi Mody, former Chairman and Managing Director of Tata Steel; Mr. L. M. Thapar, Chairman, Emeritus, Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT) and Mr. R. P. Goenka, Chairman Emeritus of the RPG Group.