<p>* The Silver Jubilee batch of 1995 pledged Rs. 20.3 crores towards the Legacy project</p><p>*The Center for Policy Studies, IIT Bombay receives Rs.15 crores from IIT Bombay Alumnus Mr. Ashank Desai</p><p>Indian Institute of Technology Bombay celebrated its Alumni Day on Sunday, December 27, 2020, in a virtual reality mode in view of the ongoing pandemic. In a first-of-its-kind alumni day celebrations this year, the virtual reality programme had personalized avatars of the Distinguished Service Awardees and Chapter Service Awardees receiving awards from the personalized avatar of Director Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri.&nbsp;</p><p>The Silver Jubilee Batch (class of 1995) has pledged a sum of Rs 20.3 crores towards the legacy project. A Legacy Project is a project adopted by the batch celebrating its Silver Jubilee anniversary, for the betterment of the Institute and of the people associated with it, as a way of giving back to the alma mater and to leave behind a lasting legacy and remembrance of their silver jubilee reunion. The event was also an occasion of E-Reunion for Ruby (Class of ‘80) and Pearl (Class of ‘90) Jubilee alumni.&nbsp;</p><p>The event witnessed exchange of MoU with Mr. Ashank Desai, an IIT Bombay alumnus (Class of 1974) and Founder, Vice-Chairman and MD of Mastek/ Majesco for a substantive financial contribution of&nbsp; Rs. 15 crores&nbsp; towards the Center for Policy Studies in IIT Bombay.&nbsp; Speaking on the occasion he said, “I feel fulfilled to contribute towards IIT Bombay’s journey of making Centre for Policy Studies a premier policy institution. This Centre will contribute towards&nbsp; &nbsp;India’s need for talent, research and advisory to achieve holistic approach to policy making, particularly with emphasis on&nbsp; technology”.&nbsp;</p><p>The online event started with a warm welcome by Prof. Suhas Joshi, Dean (Alumni &amp; Corporate Relations), IIT Bombay while Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay gave the visiting alumni an overview of the Institute and its growth over the years.&nbsp;</p><p>In his address, Prof. Chaudhuri informed how the Institute is growing from strength to strength. “The value of an academic institution depends on the collective quality, achievements and leadership roles that its alumni play. Alumni assembled today for the reunion testify the contributions of IIT Bombay in nation building.” he said.&nbsp;</p><p>As a part of the function, Distinguished Service Awards were bestowed on two alumni members this year, who besides being achievers in their own chosen domains, have contributed in a notable and sustained manner to the progress of the Institute. This year, the award was conferred on Mr. Krishnamurthy Raghunandan (batch of 1972) and Mr. Sachin Galgalikar (batch of 1986) by the Director.&nbsp;</p><p>The Chapter Service Awards, instituted during the Diamond Jubilee year celebrations were conferred on Mr. Bhalchandra Gopal Deokule (batch of 1977), Dr. Shankar Moni (batch of 1984), Mr. K. Sharat Chandra (batch of 2001), Dr. Chandan Mozumder (batch of 2005), Mr. Gaurav Porwal (batch of 2005), and Mr. Mudit Jain (batch of 2011). The award is conferred on select alumni who have contributed in a very notable and sustained manner to the progress of the Chapter and also to the progress of the Institute.</p><p>A large number of alumni members and their family members participated virtually in one-of-its-kind Alumni Day celebrations this year.&nbsp;</p>