These successful IIT Madras alumni interacted with students during the ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in IIT Madras,’ an event organized by the Office of Alumni and Corporate Relations (ACR), IIT Madras 28 October 2024.

It saw entrepreneurs, CEOs and heads of big business ventures share their experiences and insights into how the institute shaped their paths toward building successful ventures.

Panelists

The panellists included:

Ø Mr. D. Chandrasekar (1970 – B.Tech – Metallurgical and Material Engineering), Entrepreneur and President, Madras Dyslexia Association.

He began as a first-generation entrepreneur with zero capital in the small-scale sector way back in 1974 and made a success of many companies in different areas of engineering: machine-building, aluminium foundry, electro-less nickel coating, light chemicals.

Ø Mr. Venkat Vishwanathan (1992 – B.Tech – Civil Engineering), Chairperson, LatentView: LatentView is now one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing digital analytics firms.

It provides a 360-degree view of the digital consumer, enabling companies to predict new revenue streams, anticipate product trends and popularity, improve customer retention rates and optimize investment decisions.

Ø Mr. Pradeep Gulipalli, Co-founder, Tiger Analytics (2003 – B Tech – Civil Engineering): Tiger Analytics works with 100+ clients worldwide, building cutting-edge solutions using AI and Advanced analytics, enabling them to transition into a new world where human ingenuity is augmented by artificial intelligence.

Ø Mr. Kedar Kulkarni, Co-founder & CEO, HyperVerge (2012 – B Tech – Metallurgical & Material Engineering): HyperVerge is a B2B SaaS company providing AI-based identity verification (KYC) & business verification (KYB) solutions for companies in Fintech, BFSI, Insurance, Lending, Gaming, Logistics, EdTech across 195+ countries.

Ø Mr. Rajiv C. Lochan (1993 – BT-CE) MD & CEO, Sundaram Finance Limited: He is active in the social sector‎ in the areas of financial inclusion, public health and education.

Before his current position, he was the Managing Director and CEO of Kasturi and Sons Ltd., publishers of The Hindu and Group publications.

Director of IIT Madras

Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras welcomed the alumni to their alma mater.

Bharat must be a Start-up nation to achieve supremacy. Very heartening to note that several of our alumni are successful entrepreneurs and I have no doubt that we will have many more of them in future, said IIT Madras director.

IIT Madras has a proud legacy of its alumni who have had remarkable success as entrepreneurs and have also gone on to be guiding lights for the next generation of students, he said.

Not only have they been beacons of business success, they have also played a crucial role in inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs at the Institute, said Prof Ashwin of IIT Madras.

Through their success stories and staunch support to the institute, each generation of alumni has passed on the entrepreneurial torch to the next, thereby fostering a vibrant culture of innovation, he said.

Chat

Following the panel, a fireside chat with Mr. V. Shankar, Founder, CAMS, delved deep into his remarkable journey in founding and scaling CAMS into a leading player in the financial infrastructure space.

Speaking about the role of IIT Madras had played in his entrepreneurial journey, he said IIT Madras provided him with more than just technical expertise.

It instilled the resilience, curiosity, and analytical mindset essential for entrepreneurship, he said.

The ecosystem of innovation, collaboration, and relentless pursuit of solutions I experienced there laid a foundation that has been invaluable on my journey as a founder, he said.

The re-launch by Prof. V Kamakoti also introduced the book’s audio podcast and the video podcast series.

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The National Education Policy (NEP 2020) has identified research as a corequisite for outstanding education and development in our country. The establishment of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation by the Government of India was a step in this direction, said the Cabinet while making an announcement. A total of nearly Rs 6,000 crore has been sanctioned for the initiative for 3 calendar years, 2025, 2026, and 2027 as a new central sector scheme.”.

This initiative will benefit nearly 1.8 crore students, faculty, researchers and scientists of all disciplines. The top quality journals will also be accessible to tier 2 and tier 3 cities with an objective to encourage core as well as interdisciplinary research in the country.

As many as 30 international journal publishers have been included in One Nation One Subscription. Now, each of the nearly 13,000 e-journals will be accessible to more than 6,300 government Higher Education Institutions and central government R&D institutions, it said.

The journals will be made available through a national subscription coordinated by the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET), an autonomous inter-university centre of the of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in an entirely digital process, it informed.

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The education ministry and other ministries having higher education institutions (HEIs) and research and research and development (R&D) institutions will be conducting Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaigns regarding the initiative and the methods to access the ONOS.

Further, the state government will be directed to carry out campaigns at their level for maximizing usage of the facility by students, faculty and researchers of all government institutions.

Conclusion

One of the most significant initiatives made to transform the landscape of research and education in India is the One Nation One Subscription initiative, which will provide access to over 13,000 e-journals across 6,300 institutions to empower researchers, faculty, and students to engage in high-quality, interdisciplinary research. Built on a strong foundation of the National Education Policy and with a deep investment of Rs 6,000 crore, this effort promises to elevate India’s global academic and research standing into the remotest tier-2 and tier-3 cities.