IIT Delhi holds 68th Foundation Day; 100+ alumni in top 2% global list

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi hosted its 68th foundation day today, January 27. IIT Delhi’s alumni report states that 100+ alumni are in the top 2% lists globally. The report quantifies the institute's contribution through the work of more than 65,000 alumni over 60 years.

In terms of startups, IIT Delhi has identified more than 2 thousand startup founders. 736 alumni have contributed to India’s national security workforce. The estimated workforce impact is 150+ million employees.

As per the IIT Delhi report, the number of PhDs is growing, indicating becoming one of the research intensive institute. A large number of students have supported the fellowship and scholarship programmes as well.

IIT Delhi produced 5,765 PhDs between 2000 and 2025, compared to a total of 2,281 PhDs during the earlier period from 1966 to 1999.

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Notably, Rs 477 crore has been pledged by the institute alumni. IIT Delhi confirmed that Binny Bansal was recognised as the largest consistent funder, after which the institute decided to name the hall after him.

“The report cannot quantify the work that alumni have done. We are tracking the achievements from the last 60 years. The contribution made by IIT Delhi across sectors, including job creation, policies, governance, politics, and startups,” said an IIT Delhi faculty member.

IIT Delhi alumni awards

During the press conference, dean faculty Siddharth Pandey said that the institute has started the faculty awards in 2019, which are divided into four categories, including:

• Sulochana & Colonel A. Krishnaswami VSM Lifetime Research Award,
• PCP Bhatt Basic Research Award
• KL Chopra Applied Research Award
• Veena Arora Early Career Award.

Since last year, IIT Delhi has started a special drive for PhD students. “We had a very good response. We have overfilled in the ST category, and some numbers are left in SC, but overall a good response,’ said an IIT Delhi official.

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Re-imagining IIT Delhi campus

According to an IIT Delhi official, their students have the capability to modify the situation. "In terms of AI and job shifting, people are flexible, where they can change with the requirements of the situation."

Many alumni come back for recruitment and participate in teaching, and Venture Studios is an example of this, the IIT Delhi official added.

IIT Delhi will establish 2 hostels for men and women with 8-10 floors, which can accommodate around 4,000 students. For the residential hostel, the building height will be doubled in 3 years.

Additionally, IIT Delhi’s Sonipat campus will have one of the most powerful computer as part of the national computing mission.

There is a new campaign towards outreach of alumni for the building of the campus, said the IIT Delhi Endowment Fund CEO Mona Singh. Many alumni also interact with students related to mental health and engage with them on campus, she adds.

“We have done an extensive review of our academic units. We are working on these reviews. We are working on 10 year vision where we will be rebuilding IIT Delhi. As an educational institution, we have a main role in transforming the lives of students. These students come from all parts of the country, and many of them are first-generation learners,” an IIT Delhi official said.