This batch of alumni to donate five electric buses to IIT- Madras, sets a record in quantum of contribution

Class of 1981 alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras have announced that they will donate a fleet of five electric buses and six golf carts to their alma mater. 

    

The fleet of electric buses will replace the existing diesel fleet on the campus. The buses will be donated in the coming months.

    

During the 40th year reunion on the campus on Wednesday, the alumni handed over a cheque for Rs 10 crore to IIT-Madras director V Kamakoti.

    

The Class of 1981 consists of around 600 people who did B Tech, M Tech and PhD at IIT-M, graduated in 1981 and are living in different parts of the world now.

    

"This will be a very good start towards our goal of zero carbon campus by 2050," said the IIT-Madras director. 

   

An additional bus exclusively for research and development was also given to the department of engineering design, which offers an interdisciplinary dual degree (IDDD) programme on electric vehicles.

   

“The Class of 1981 has set a record by exceeding the quantum of funds contributed by any single class. This gift to kick start our transition to a greener, more sustainable and carbon-neutral campus is both timely and crucial," Mahesh Panchagnula, dean (alumni and corporate relations), IIT-Madras.

   

"This electrification of the public transport fleet will complement the institute’s two existing centers of excellence: CoE for Electric Mobility and CoE for Zero Emission Trucking. Several components of electric vehicles are imported and expensive," said Krish Bhargavan, alumnus from 1981 batch.

   

During the three-day reunion, the batch will explore the campus to learn about the vast changes over the last four decades since they graduated.