Om Birla Urges IITians to Drive Reforms, Share Ideas With Parliament Panels

Ziraat Times Team Report

New Delhi, June 20: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Saturday called upon IIT alumni to suggest reforms across various sectors and contribute solutions to problems faced by ordinary citizens, saying parliamentary standing committees should benefit from the experience and expertise of IITians.

Addressing the launch of the PanIIT Book Club and the book “IIT – The Story of India’s Most Prestigious Educational Ecosystem” at the Lecture Hall Complex of IIT Delhi, Birla said Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisages reforms in every sector aimed at improving the lives of citizens.

“All of you, with your vast experience, can contribute significantly to overcoming the challenges faced by ordinary people,” Birla said, adding that as Lok Sabha Speaker he would forward valuable suggestions from IITians to the relevant Parliamentary Standing Committees for consideration.

“Our Parliament Standing Committees should benefit from your experience, especially regarding what needs to be reformed and in which sectors. Your contribution to the country is essential,” he said while addressing an audience comprising more than 400 distinguished IIT alumni, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academicians, students and industry leaders.

Highlighting the role of IITs in nation-building, Birla said that whenever the country encounters a challenge, it looks towards IITs for solutions.

“Whether it is COVID, infrastructure, environment, science, space, the digital world, artificial intelligence or robotics, solutions to these challenges emerge from India’s IITs,” he said, urging alumni to inspire the younger generation and help address everyday challenges faced by common citizens and small farmers.

The event marked the launch of the PanIIT Book Club and the unveiling of its inaugural publication, “IIT: The Story of India’s Most Prestigious Educational Ecosystem”, authored by Pan IIT Alumni India Chairman and Indian Revenue Service officer Prabhat Kumar.

Pan IIT Alumni India, which represents more than five lakh alumni from all 23 IITs worldwide, organised the programme as part of celebrations marking 75 years of the IIT ecosystem.

Speaking on the occasion, Prabhat Kumar described the IIT journey as synonymous with India’s growth story.

“The IIT story is India’s story. This book is both a celebration of our extraordinary legacy and a call to action for the next generation. It is time for IITians to move from Silicon Valley to the Indus Valley and build here, scale here, and create for the world,” he said.

In his special address, Secretary, Department of Border Management, Ministry of Home Affairs, Rajendra Kumar, stressed the importance of technological self-reliance, saying India needs to strengthen its capabilities in emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence to achieve the vision of a developed India by 2047.

The programme also featured keynote addresses by several eminent personalities, including Gautam Kumra, Chairman of McKinsey Asia Pacific; Devesh Srivastava, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), Delhi; and other leaders from academia, industry and government.

A panel discussion titled “Celebrating the IIT Legacy: Shaping the Future of Viksit Bharat” brought together entrepreneurs and innovators including Ravi Shankar, founder of Decision Point; Madhur Singhal, founder of Praxis; Neeraj Kumar, founder of PeakMind.in; and Kapil Makhija, founder of Unicommerce. The session was moderated by Tanya Singhal, India Head of the Global Energy Alliance.

The evening also witnessed ceremonial lighting of the lamp, networking sessions, a fireside chat between Prabhat Kumar and India Today Managing Editor Marya Shakil, and book-signing interactions with participants.