Coordinates: 221910.97N 871835.

87E

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT

Kharagpur or IIT KGP; Bengali:

,
) is a public engineering institution
established by the government of India in 1951. It was
the first of the IITs to be established, and is recognized
as an Institute of National Importance by the
government of India.
As part of Nehru's dream for a free selfsufficient India,
the institute was established to train scientists and
engineers after India attained independence in 1947. It
shares its organisational structure and undergraduate
admission process with sister IITs. The students and
alumni of IIT Kharagpur are informally referred to as
KGPians. Among all IITs, IIT Kharagpur has the
largest campus (2,100acres),[4] the most departments,
and the highest student enrollment. IIT Kharagpur is
known for its festivals: Spring Fest (Social and Cultural
Festival) and Kshitij (Asia's largest Techno
Management Festival).

Contents
1
2
3
4

History
Administration
Motto
Campus
4.1 Academic buildings
4.2 Civic amenities
5 Academics
5.1 Undergraduate education
5.2 Postgraduate and doctoral education
5.3 Continuing education
5.4 Sponsored research
5.5 Academic Units
5.6 Rankings
6 Placements at IIT Kharagpur
7 Student life and culture
7.1 Halls of Residence
7.2 Festivals
7.3 Student organisations
7.3.1 Team KART (Kharagpur
Automobile Racing Team)
7.3.2 Jagriti Vidya Mandir
7.3.3 Entrepreneurship Cell
7.3.4 Awaaz, IIT Kharagpur
7.3.5 The Scholars' Avenue
7.3.6 Space Technology Student
Society
7.3.7 Technology Filmmaking and
Photography Society
8 Alumni
8.1 Notable alumni
8.2 Alumni initiatives
9 References
10 Further reading
11 External links

Indian Institute of Technology

Kharagpur

,

Motto

(yoga karmasu kaualam)

(Sanskrit)

Motto
inEnglish

Excellence in action is yoga.

Type

Public

Established

1951

Chairman

Srikumar Banerjee

Director

Partha Pratim
Chakraborty[1][2]

Academic staff

470

Administrative
staff

2403

Undergraduates 4500
Postgraduates

2500

Location

Kharagpur, West Bengal, India

Campus

2,100 acres (8.5km2)[3]

Website

www.iitkgp.ac.in
(http://www.iitkgp.ac.in/)

History

The Hijli Detention Camp

(photographed in 1951) served as IIT
Kharagpur's first academic building

With the help of Bidhan Chandra Roy (chief minister of West

Bengal), Indian educationalists Humayun Kabir and Jogendra
Singh formed a committee in 1946 to consider the creation of
higher technical institutions "for postwar industrial development
of India." This was followed by the creation of a 22member
committee headed by Nalini Ranjan Sarkar. In its interim report,
the Sarkar Committee recommended the establishment of higher
technical institutions in India, along the lines of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and consulting from the University of
Illinois at UrbanaChampaign along with affiliated secondary
institutions. The report urged that work should start with the
speedy establishment of major institutions in the fourquarters of

the country with the ones in the east and the west to be set up immediately.[5]
On the grounds that West Bengal had the highest concentration of
industries at the time, Roy persuaded Jawaharlal Nehru (India's first
prime minister) to establish the first institute in West Bengal. The
first Indian Institute of Technology was thus established in May 1950
as the Eastern Higher Technical Institute.[6] It was located in
Esplanade East, Calcutta, and in September 1950 shifted to its
permanent campus at Hijli, Kharagpur 120kilometres southwest of
Calcutta. Hijli had been used as a detention camp during the British
colonial rule in India, to keep Indian freedom fighters captive.[7]

The main building of the institute

during construction (1955)

IIT Kharagpur is the 3rd oldest technical institute in the state after
IIEST Shibpur (1856) and Jadavpur University (established as Bengal technical institute in 1906) When
the first session started in August 1951, there were 224 students and 42 teachers in the ten departments of
the institute. The classrooms, laboratories and the administrative office were housed in the historic
building of the Hijli Detention Camp (now known as Shaheed Bhawan), where political revolutionaries
were imprisoned during the British rule.[8] The office building had served as the headquarters of the
Bomber Command of the U.S. 20th Air Force during World War II. To honour Bidhan Chandra Roy, the
area in front of the main building is named Bidhan Chowk.
The name "Indian Institute of Technology" was adopted before the formal inauguration of the institute on
18 August 1951 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. On 15 September 1956, the Parliament of India passed the
Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) Act declaring it an Institute of National Importance. Prime
Minister Nehru, in the first convocation address of IIT Kharagpur in 1956, said:[9]
Here in the place of that Hijli Detention Camp stands the fine monument of India,
representing India's urges, India's future in the making. This picture seems to me symbolical
of the changes that are coming to India.
The Shaheed Bhawan was converted to a museum in 1990.[10] The Srinivasa Ramanujan Complex was
incorporated as another academic complex of the institute with Takshashila starting operation in 2002,
Vikramshila in 2003 and Nalanda in 2012.

Administration
IIT Kharagpur shares a common Visitor (a position held by the President of India) and the IIT Council
with other IITs. The rest of IIT Kharagpur's organisational structure is distinct from that of the other
IITs. The Board of Governors of IIT Kharagpur is under the IIT Council, and has 13 members that
include representatives of the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, in addition to other
members appointed by the IIT Council and the institute's senate. Under the Board of Governors is the
institute director, who serves as the chief academic and executive officer of the IIT. He is aided by the
deputy director.[11] Under the director and the deputy director are the deans, heads of departments,
registrar, president of the students' council, and chairman of the hall management committee. The

registrar is the chief administrative officer and oversees daytoday

operations. He is the custodian of records, funds, and other
properties of the institute.[11] Under the charge of the heads of
departments (HOD) are the faculty (fulltime professors as well as
those of associate and assistant status). The wardens of hostels are
placed under the chairman of the hall management committee in
the organisation.[12]
IIT Kharagpur receives comparatively more funding than other
engineering colleges in India.[13] While the total government
Organisational structure of the IITs
funding to most other engineering colleges is around Rs.100
200million (US$24.5million) per year, IIT Kharagpur gets nearly
Rs.1,300million ($30million) per year.[14] Other sources of funds include student fees and research
funding by industrysponsored projects. IIT Kharagpur subsidises undergraduate student fees by
approximately 80% and provide scholarships to all MTech students and research scholars to encourage
them to pursue higher studies. The cost borne by undergraduate students, including boarding and mess
expenses, is around Rs.1,54,000 ($2,346) per annum. 35% of undergraduate students are given additional
financial support based on personal need and economic background, with their annual expenses being
nearly Rs.64,000 ($975).[15]
The academic policies of IIT Kharagpur are decided by its senate.[16] It consists of all professors of the
institute, and administrative and student representatives. The senate controls and approves the
curriculum, courses, examinations and results, and appoints committees to look into specific academic
matters. The teaching, training and research activities of the institute are periodically reviewed by the
senate to maintain educational standards. The director of IIT Kharagpur is the ex officio chairman of the
senate.
IIT Kharagpur follows the creditbased system of performance evaluation, with proportional weighting of
courses based on their importance.[17] The total marks (usually out of 100) form the basis of grades, with
a grade value (out of 10) assigned to a range of marks. For each semester, the students are graded by
taking a weighted average from all the courses with their respective credit points. Each semester's
evaluation is done independently with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) reflecting the average
performance across semesters. The medium of instruction is English.

Motto
The motto of IIT Kharagpur is "Yoga Karmashu Kaushalam" ( z

in Sanskrit). The motto
literally translates to "Excellence in action is Yoga" essentially implying that doing your work well is
(true) yoga. It is sourced to Sri Krishna's discourse to Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita, chapter 2 verse 50. This
quote in its larger context of Gita urges man to acquire equanimity because such a soul endowed with the
mind of equanimity allows him to shed the effects of his good and evil deeds in this world itself.
Equanimity is the source of perfection in Karmic endeavors while leading to Salvation..

Campus
IIT Kharagpur is located 120 kilometres (75mi) west of Kolkata.
The campus is located five kilometres away from Kharagpur's
railway station. The layout of the present campus and the design of
the buildings were carried out by a group of engineers and
architects under the guidance of Werner M. Moser, a Swiss
architect.[18] The 8.5 square kilometres (2,100 acres) campus is
residence to about 22,000 inhabitants.[10] In 2015, IIT Kharagpur
had about 600 faculty members, 1,933 employees and
Institute Main Building, IIT
Kharagpur

approximately 10,000 students living on the campus.[19] The

campus has a total of 55 kilometres (34 miles) of roadways. The
Institute plans to go Green by 2020.[20]

The 22 student hostels are located on either side of Scholars Avenue, which extends from the institute
gate to the B. C. Roy Technology Hospital. The three earliest hallsPatel, Azad, and Nehrutogether
constitute the PAN loop or Old Campus, which is located just next to Scholar's Avenue. There are ten
hostels for undergraduate male students (MMM, LBS, RP, RK, MS, LLR, HJB, Patel, Azad and Nehru)
and two for undergraduate female students (SN/IG and MT). There are a few postgraduate students'
hostels including four for women(RLB, Gokhle, Nivedita and SAM) and hostels for research scholars
(BCR, VS, BRH and JCB) and a separate hostel for scholars from the armed forces.[18] The Jnan Ghosh
stadium and Tata Sports Complex host largescale sports competitions. The Tagore Open Air Theatre has a
capacity of 6,000 people, and is used to host cultural programs.[18] The Science and Technology
Entrepreneurs' Park (STEP) provides infrastructure facilities to alumni who want to become
entrepreneurs but lack infrastructure to start their own corporation.[21]
In addition to the main campus at Kharagpur, the institute has an extension centre at Kolkata to provide
venues for continuing education programmes, distance learning courses, and guesthouse accommodation.
The institute plans to expand the Kolkata extension centre at Rajarhat, and use it to offer fulltime
undergraduate and postgraduate courses from the 2008 session onwards.[22] The 10acre (40,000m2)
Rajarhat campus will house 2,500 students, and will eventually expand to 250 acres (1.0km2).[23] The
institute's plan for a similar branch campus of 200 acres (0.81km2) in Bhubaneswar was scrapped
following rejection by the Union Human Resource and Development ministry.[24]

Academic buildings
IIT Kharagpur has 19 academic departments, eight multi
disciplinary centres/schools, and 13 schools of excellence in
addition to more than 25 central research and development units.
Apart from the main building in the central academic complex, the
Srinivasa Ramanujan Complex also has common academic facilities.
In the S. R. Complex, the Takshashila building houses the G. S.
Sanyal School of Telecommunication, the School of Information
Technology and the Computer and Informatics Centre; and has
facilities for conducting lecture classes as well. Vikramshila is
another academic building in the S. R. Complex, having four lecture
halls, several seminar rooms, and Kalidas Auditorium, which has a
seating capacity of 850.[25] The School of Medical Science and
Technology is housed in the basement of the Vikramshila building.
The institute main building houses most of the administrative
offices, the lecture halls, and two auditoriums on either side. The
signage at the front displays the message," Dedicated to the service
of the nation." The tower of the main building has a steel tank with
10,000 imperial gallons of water capacity for emergency supply
needs. The Netaji Auditorium in the main building is used for
official functions and events, and doubles as a cinema theatre on
weekend nights, showing films to the IIT community at subsidised
rates.

Takshashila complex

Vikramshila complex in IIT

Kharagpur

IIT Kharagpur's first library was located in a small room of the

institute's Old Building (Shaheed Bhawan). At the time of its opening in 1951, the library had a collection
of 2,500 books. Now located in the main building of the institute, the Central Library is one of the largest
of its type. Its collection includes over 350,000 books and documents, and it subscribes to more than 1,600
printed and online journals and conference proceedings.
The library has six halls and a section exclusively for SC and ST students. The library's collection consists
of books, reports, conference proceedings, back volumes of periodicals, standards, theses, microforms,
DVDs, CDROMs, and audiovisual material. The library's transaction service is automated and online
searches are possible through an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). The Electronic Library section
has a collection of databases, video lectures and miscellaneous other resources.
The Nehru Museum of Science and Technology has over a hundred indoor exhibits that include technical
models collected from institutions across India. The park outside the museum contains 14 openair
demonstrations and outdoor exhibits, including a hunter plane and a steam engine. The museum has an

archive room, showing documents relating to the history of the institute and West Midnapore district.[26]
The Rural Museum, located in the Rural Development Centre of the institute, has a collection of exhibits
in local culture.

Civic amenities
The institute campus has six guest houses, a civic hospital, four
nationalised banks, four schools, a railway reservation counter and
a police station. The campus has a water pumping station, electrical
substation, telephone exchange, a market, six restaurants, and a
garbage disposal section for the daily needs of the residents.[10]
Construction is going on for another guest house and a convention
centre having a capacity of 2,000. The institute draws its supply of
water from wells near the Kosai river (located 112kilometres away
from institute) by harnessing subsurface water. Three deep wells
near the institute supplement the supply from the river. The water
is supplied by a 16inch (410mm) pipeline to 12 tanks in the
campus with a total capacity of 2,800,000litres (615,000 imperial
gallons). However students have recently shown dissatisfaction
with the current level of amenities, especially the civic hospital,
forcing the director to resign.[27]

The B.C. Roy Technology Hospital

is a civic hospital inside the IIT
campus

IIT Kharagpur is located just outside the town of Kharagpur, in the Hijli village. The civic amenities
provided to the campus of IIT Kharagpur make it nearly selfsufficient with regards to the basic needs of
the residents. As Kharagpur is a small town, there is limited direct interaction between the campus
community and the town. There is also little opportunity for the employment of family members of the
faculty. Unlike some other IITs (such as IIT Bombay), IIT Kharagpur does not restrict outsiders' entry
into the campus.[28] IIT Kharagpur provides much of its benefits to the local community through the
Rural Development Centre (RDC) located in the campus. Established in 1975, the RDC helps the local
community by developing customised technologies.[29] The RDC also coordinates the National Service
Scheme (NSS) programs in IIT Kharagpur, with the members of NSS taking part in weekly community
service activities such as sanitation, road construction, teaching and building educational models.
In 2005, IIT Kharagpur started construction of a boundary wall for the security of the campus, which is
now complete. Mild restrictions apply to entry of outside vehicles. The boundary wall was opposed by the
local community as it would hinder their access to amenities provided by the institute. Campus residents
have also been denied direct access to the adjoining Hijli railway station as a result of this wall. The local
community opposed the construction of a flyover from the railway station to the campus formerly, under
the pretext that it would lead to substantial losses of opportunity for the shops along the roads. After the
flyover construction had been completed and became operational, things ensued in a manner as the local
community had anticipated, but the flyover has resulted in more convenience for transport.[30] The
construction of the 1052.69m long flyover was approved by the Indian Railways and West Bengal state
government. It's called Hijli Road overbridge, and was constructed for estimated cost of Rs.237million
($5.3million).[31]

Academics
Admission to most undergraduate and postgraduate courses in IIT
Kharagpur is granted through written entrance examinations.
Admissions to M.S.(by Research) and PhD programmes are based
on written tests followed by personal interviews.
Admission to undergraduate programmes in all IITs is tied to the
Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT
JEE). Candidates who qualify for admission through IITJEE can
apply for admission in fouryear BTech (Bachelor of Technology),
fiveyear BArch degree, fiveyear Dual Degree (Integrated Bachelor
of Technology and Master of Technology) and fiveyear integrated
MSc (Master of Sciences) courses at IIT Kharagpur. The admissions

Entrance gate

to postgraduate programmes (MTech) are made primarily through the Graduate Aptitude Test in
Engineering (GATE). Other postgraduate entrance exams include Joint Admission to MSc (JAM) for
MSc, and Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by IIMs for management studies.
15% of the seats are reserved for students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) and 7.5% for Scheduled
Tribes (ST).[32] As of 2008, 27% separate reservation exists for the Other Backward Classes.
IIT Kharagpur is a member of LAOTSE, a network of universities in Europe and Asia exchanging
students and senior scholars.

Undergraduate education
IIT Kharagpur offers degrees as part of its undergraduate
programmes. They include Bachelor of Technology (BTech.Hons),
Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) and the 5year integrated Master
of Science. The BTech degree is the most common undergraduate
degree in IIT Kharagpur in terms of student enrolment. It is based
on a fouryear programme with eight semesters. The first year of
the BTech curriculum has common courses from various
departments. At the end of the first year, an option to change
departments is given to students on the basis of their performance
in the first two semesters.[17] Unlike other IITs which evaluate
their students on the basis of others' performance which does not
foster shared learning and communication,IIT Kharagpur uses
absolute scores.[33]

A lecture auditorium in the

Vikramshila complex

From the second year onwards, the students take courses offered by their departments that are known as
depth courses. In addition to these, the students take interdisciplinary courses known as breadth courses.
Separate courses from the humanities and social sciences (HSS) department, and management and
information technology are also required. At the end of the third year, the BTech and dual degree
students undertake industrial training for a minimum period of eight working weeks as part of the
undergraduate curriculum.[34] In the final year of their studies, most of the students are offered jobs in
industries and other organisations through the Training and Placement section of the institute.[35] Some
students opt out of this facility in favour of higher studies or by applying to recruiting organisations
directly. In addition to the major degree as part of the undergraduate education, students can take courses
from other departments, and by demonstrating knowledge of a discipline based on objectives set by the
department, earn a minor in that department.

Postgraduate and doctoral education

IIT Kharagpur offers postgraduate programmes including Master of Technology (MTech), Master of
Business Administration (MBA), and Master of Sciences (MSc). Some specialised post graduate
programmes offered by IIT Kharagpur include Master of Human Resource Management (MHRM),
Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology (PGDIT), Master in Medical Science and Technology
(MMST), Master of City Planning (MCP), LL.B in Intellectual Property Law (LL.B Honors in IP Law),
and Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Operation and Management (PGDMOM). The institute offers the
Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) as part of its doctoral education programme. The doctoral scholars
are given a topic by the professor, or work on the consultancy projects sponsored by industry. The
duration of the programme is usually unspecified and depends on the discipline. PhD scholars submit a
dissertation as well as conduct an oral defence of their thesis. Teaching assistantships (TA) and research
assistantships (RA) are provided based on the scholar's academic profile. IIT Kharagpur offers an M.S. (by
research) programme; the MTech and M.S. being similar to the US universities' nonthesis (coursebased)
and thesis (researchbased) master programmes respectively.
IIT Kharagpur (along with other IITs) offers Dual Degree programs that integrate undergraduate and
postgraduate studies in selected pairs of branches and specialisations. Most of the Dual Degree programs
involve specialisation in the major field of education of the student. For a dual degree involving an MBA
from Vinod Gupta School of Management, the selection is made on the basis of an aptitude test of students
across all engineering streams. The Dual Degree program spans five years as against six years in
conventional BTech (four years) followed by an MTech or MBA (two years).[36]

IIT Kharagpur has a management school (Vinod Gupta School of Management), an entrepreneurship
school (Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship) and a law school (Rajiv Gandhi School
of Intellectual Property Law) on its premises. The Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law has
been opened in collaboration with George Washington University.[37] The School of Medical Science and
Technology in IIT kharagpur is the first and also the "only" of its kind in the country where M.B.B.S.
graduates are trained in art and science of medical research with aim to provide a platform for
interdisciplinary teaching and research in the field of medical science and technology. IIT Kharagpur will
invest around Rs 2.30billion for its 400 bed super specialty hospital in the campus which will impart
undergraduate medical course to students.The institute is expected to start the course in 2017 which will
be recognised by Medical Council of India (MCI).[38]

Continuing education
The institute offers the Continuing Education Programme (CEP) for qualified engineers and scientists to
learn technologies and developments in their academic disciplines. As part of CEP, the institute offers
formal degree programmes (MTech and PhD) and an Early Faculty Induction Programme (EFIP)[39]
under the Quality Improvement Programme (QIP), shortterm courses supported by the All India Council
for Technical Education, selffinanced shortterm courses supported by course fees, and certificate courses
conducted as distance education. In addition to conducting educational courses, the CEP develops model
curricula for engineering education. As of 2006, the CEP has facilitated publication of 103 course
curriculum books. The CEP administers SIMAP (Small Industries Management Assistant Programme)
and STUP (SkillcumTechnology Upgradation Programme) on behalf of IIT Kharagpur; the institute
being a corpus institute of SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India).[40]

Sponsored research
The institute received 171 research revenue worth Rs.417million
($9.25million)and 130 consultancy projects in the 200506
session. The institute transferred 15 technologies to industry
during the same session. The institute has filed 125 patents and 25
of them have been granted. This does not include patents obtained
by individual professors or students. During the same session, the
value of the international projects was Rs.9.9million ($220,000),
and the revenue from transferred technologies was about
Rs.2.5million ($55,000). The institute earned Rs.520million
($11.5million) from research projects in the 200506 session.[23]
Kalpana Chawla Space Technology
Major sponsors for research include the Indian National Science
Cell
Academy, Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Defence
Research and Development Organisation, Microsoft Corporation,
Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
(India) and Indian Space Research Organisation.[41] IIT Kharagpur has had a cell known as the SRIC
(Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy) cell since 1982. It handles sponsored research projects
and industrial consultancy assignments, and has the infrastructure to simultaneously administer 600 R&D
projects.[42]

Academic Units
Departments
Aerospace Engineering
Agricultural & Food Engineering
Architecture & Regional Planning
Biotechnology
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
Civil Engineering
Computer Science & Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Electronics & Electrical Communication Engineering
ECE
Geology & Geophysics
Humanities & Social Sciences

Industrial & Systems Engineering

Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Metallurgical & Materials Engineering
Mining Engineering
Ocean Engineering & Naval Architecture
Physics
Centres
Rubber Technology
Reliability Engineering
Cryogenic Engineering
Materials Science
Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences
Rural Development Centre
Center for Educational Technology
Schools
G S Sanyal School of Telecommunications
Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering Entrepreneurship
Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law
Ranbir and Chitra Gupta School of Infrastructure Design and Management
Medical Science & Technology
School of Water Resources
Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur

Rankings
Internationally, IIT Kharagpur is ranked 286 in the QS
World University Rankings (Quacquarelli Symonds) of
2015[51][43] and 60 in the QS Asian University

University and college rankings

General international

Rankings of 2014.[52][53][44]

QS (World)[43]

286

IIT Kharagapur is ranked in the 351400 range by the

Times Higher Education World University Rankings of
201314.[54][55][56] Recently, it was declared the top
educational hub in India as per the Times Higher
Education, Asia Rankings. It was ranked 439 in the
University Ranking by Academic Performance
(URAP).[57] In India, among engineering colleges, it
ranked 3 by India Today in 2013,[58][59][47] 2 by
Outlook India in 2013[60][48] and 4 by Dataquest in

QS (Asian)[44]

60

Times[45]

351400

2011.[49] In India, among universities, it ranks 3 in

Careers 360 (Magazine) Top Universities in India
2015.[46] In the Mint Government Colleges survey of
2009 it ranked 4.[50] IIT, Kharagpur, has emerged as
the top engineering college in EDURAND ranking
2014 followed by IITs in Delhi and Kanpur.[61]

General India
Careers 360 (Magazine)[46]

Engineering India
India Today[47]

Outlook India[48]

Dataquest[49]

Government colleges:
4

Mint[50]
Medical India
Business India

Placements at IIT Kharagpur

The international placements began in 2006.[62] Two foreign companies, oil giants Schlumberger and
Royal Dutch Shell, visited IIT Kharagpur that year and offered annual salaries to the tune of $80,000.[63]
The reason for late international placements was that earlier the IIT Kharagpur was fully dedicated to the
service of the nation, as its motto says, but after the fee hike, it had to abandon its policy.[64] According to
IT magazine Dataquest's annual survey, IIT Kharagpur is the second best technology college in terms of
placement in India.[65][66][66]

The top domestic compensation in 2008 came in at Rs 1.8million per annum.[67] In 2011 batch, Goldman
Sachs recruited 10 students on a package of 2.6 million (US$39,000) per annum.[68]
Barclays Capital recruited 11 students with a package of 2 million (US$30,000) per annum in December
2009. The highest salary offered till now is 17 million (US$250,000) per annum by social networking
site Facebook in an offshore recruitment (of which Employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) were
offered valued at Rs 10million) in December 2010.[69][70][71] The 2010 batch of BTech students saw
94% placements while the remaining preferred IIMs or entrepreneurship.Deutsche Bank recruited 9
students on a package of 1.5 million (US$22,000) per annum.[72] For 2012 batch, Facebook has made
the highest offer US$150,000 to four students.[73][74][75][76][77] For 2013 batch, Three students have
bagged salaries of 8 million (US$120,000) a year while eight others have got offers of 7.5 million
(US$110,000) from Google, Facebook and Microsoft.[78] For 2014 batch, the highest package, offered to a
student stands at around 9 million (US$130,000) from Google.[79]

Student life and culture

Halls of Residence
IIT Kharagpur provides oncampus residential facilities to its
students, research scholars, faculty members and many of its
staff.[80] The students live in hostels (referred to as halls)
throughout their stay in the IIT.[81] Hostel rooms are wired for
internet, for which students pay a compulsory charge. Most of the
rooms in the older halls of residences are designed to accommodate
one student, but due to scarcity of sufficient student
accommodation, two students share the single seater room in first
two years. The new rooms of Lal Bahadur Shastri hall & new
blocks of few other hall of residence accommodate three students in
one room.

Madan Mohan Malviya Hall is one of

18 student halls

The halls of IIT Kharagpur are:

Ashutosh Mukherjee Hall
Azad Hall
Bidhan Chandra Roy Hall
B R Ambedkar Hall
Gokhale Hall
Homi Jehangir Bhabha Hall
J C Bose Hall
Lala Lajpat Rai Hall
Lal Bahadur Shashtri Hall
Madan Mohan Malviya Hall
Meghnad Saha Hall
Mother Teresa Hall
Nehru Hall
Patel Hall
Radha Krishnan Hall
Rajendra Prasad Hall
Rani Laxmibai Hall
Sarojini Naidu / Indira Gandhi Hall
Vikram Sarabhai Residential complex
Vidyasagar Hall
Zakir Hussain Hall
Sister Nivedita Hall of Residence
Undergraduate students choose between National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS)
and National Sports Organisation (NSO) for their first two years of study.[82] IIT Kharagpur has
common sports grounds for cricket, football, hockey,one court for volleyball, two for lawn tennis, four
indoor badminton court, tracks for athletics; and swimming pools for aquatic events. Most of the hostels
have their own sports grounds. The institute organises Shaurya, an annual intercollegiate sports and
games meet in October[83]

The students of IIT Kharagpur compete among themselves in various events held under the purview of
openIIT and interhall events, and the results of the latter contribute to the points that determine the
winner of General Championship. The four categories in which General Championships are decided are
Sports, Social and cultural activities, Technology, and Hall affairs. The women's hostel together
participate as a single team in all events with the exception of sports, where women's team do not
participate at interhall level. IIT Kharagpur participates in the Inter IIT Sports Meet, held annually in
one of the IITs by policy of rotation.[84]
The students choose their representatives by elections held under
the control of the Technology Students' Gymkhana. The highest
ranking student representative chosen by the elections is the Vice
President of the Gymkhana, and represents the students in the
senate. All halls nominate two representatives for the senate.Beside
VicePresident, General secretaries and Secretaries are also chosen
by the Gymkhana election. The Gymkhana publishes an annual
magazine called Alankar. A fortnightly newsletter called The
Scholar's Avenue, named after the avenue common to the student
halls, is also published by an independent student body. A Hindi
A common room in a hostel (RP
monthly newsletter Awaaz is also published by another
Hall) during a cricket match telecast
independent student body.[85] Individual halls organise "Hall day"
an annual event that involves lighting and decoration of the
organising hall, with a social gathering of students from all hallsduring March. The event is also used
by the halls to popularise their candidates for student body elections.
Students who violate the code of conduct of the institute have to defend themselves in front of the Hall
Disciplinary Committee (HDC), which investigates the case and prescribes punishment if necessary.
Students may appeal against the punishment to the AppellatecumLiaison Committee known as Inter
Hall Disciplinary Committee (IHDC). The IHDC submits its recommendations to the Senate, which
finalises the punishment. Extreme cases of indiscipline are referred directly to the IHDC. The IHDC is
empowered to give punishments to students for acts of indiscretion committed anywhere in India.[86] IIT
Kharagpur has strict provisions dealing with physical and mental harassment of junior students (ragging).
Students found harassing their juniors are suspended from the institute, without going through the
Disciplinary Committee.[87]

Festivals
IIT Kharagpur has festivals like Spring Fest, Kshitij. Spring Fest,
the annual sociocultural fest of IIT Kharagpur is the largest
student managed sociocultural fest of Asia. It is held in January.
Spring Fest includes cultural competitions in addition to stage
shows (known as Starnights) by singers and performers such as
Sunidhi Chauhan, Farhan Akhtar, SalimSulaiman, VishalShekhar,
K.K., Pritam, Kailash Kher, Shaan, Breathe, Led Zepplica,
Parikrama, Indian Ocean etc. The magnitude of Spring Fest is huge
and attracts participation from more than 150 colleges across

Bands performing at Spring Fest

2012, IIT Kharagpur.

India.[10] IIT Kharagpur organises a technomanagement festival

known as Kshitij. It is the biggest technomanagement festival of
Asia with a total budget of more than 15million and a total prize money worth Rs 5million. An annual
technomanagement festival organised in January or February, it receives participation from foreign
universities as well. Events include technical workshops, seminars, and competitions.
Robotix, the annual robotics competition held by IIT Kharagpur, is organised during Kshitij. IIT
Kharagpur organises an annual intercollegiate sports and games meet known as Shaurya. It is held in the
autumn semester in October. Events include cricket, hockey, volleyball, basketball, badminton, table
tennis, lawn tennis and aquatics. Workshops for archery, boxing and handball are held.
Illumination, known as Illu, is a festival unique to IIT Kharagpur. It is inspired from the day of Diwali (the
festival of lights) and is usually held on the day of Diwali itself. It is held as a competition among student
halls.[85] As part of the Illumination festival, all halls build vertical panels of bamboo (called Chatais) on
which thousands of lamps (diyas) are mounted forming outlines of people or things; illustrating an event,
or a place of importance. The chatais may reach a height of 6 metres (20ft), with nearly 20,000 lighted

lamps. The lamps on the chatais are lighted with all other light
sources switched off, to showcase the artpanels made by the
flickering lamps. On the same day as Illumination, the Rangoli
Competition is organised as an interhall event.[85] Rangolis of
exquisite detail and shadingmeasuring around 3.5 by 3.5 metres
(11 by 11ft) are constructed using coloured powders, crushed
bangles, and pebbles. Interplay of light and shadow and ambient
music are part of the display.

Multiple panels with illuminated

lamps on display

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering organises Bitwise IIT Kharagpur, an online
programing contest annually in February. Programing and algorithmic challenges are given in a span of
12 hours. In Bitwise 2011, 5000 teams participated from 80 countries. Bitwise 2012 was held on 12
February 2012.
In January the Entrepreneurship Cell organises a Global Entrepreneurship Summit, which consists of
guest lectures, workshops, a startup camp and other events relating to entrepreneurship and startingup.
In October end, Space Technology Students' Society at IIT Kharagpur organized the National Students'
Space Challenge, the first spacescience and engineering series of nationallevel competitions for students
in India.
The Department of Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture conducts its annual technical meet
Samudramanthan in the month of March every year providing a platform for all the Naval Architects
across the country to compete and share their knowledge in the field.
There are also other department festivals like Esperanza (organised by department of Electronics and
electrical communication engineering) Prithvi[88] (organised by department of geology)
A petroleum themed technical fest 'Petrofiesta' is organised in the month of November by the Society of
Petroleum Engineers IIT Kharagpur Chapter. This is a one of a kind fest which provides a platform for
students from all over the country to compete and share their ideas and knowledge in the field of
petroleum industry.[89]

Student organisations
Team KART (Kharagpur Automobile Racing Team)
Kharagpur Automobile Racing Team, better known as "Team KART" is a group of students who like to
explore the practical side of automotive engineering.The team designs and builds formula student
prototype racecars and represents IIT Kharagpur at Formula Student UK.[90] It was founded in 2008
and has made three cars sincethe KX1, the K1 & the K2. K2 secured a rank of 67th out of 120 teams
worldwide at Formula Student UK 2013. Several design oversights in K2 were fixed in K2.2 by a new
chassis and intakeexhaust system. The team participated in FDC 2015 and passed technical scrutiny and
took part in dynamic events securing the first runners up position in Business Presentation and Cost
Report, 2nd in Business Plan Presentation & 2nd in Cost and Manufacturing Report. Construction of K3
is ongoing.
Jagriti Vidya Mandir
Students started an English medium school in VillageTangasole, Salua outside the campus for local
children. Jagriti Vidya Mandir (JVM) run by Gopali Youth Welfare Society, managed by IIT Students, where
provide Free of Cost Education for the underprivileged children. Current school is from class Nursery to V, provide
School Uniform, Books & Stationary and transportation.[91]
Entrepreneurship Cell
Entrepreneurship Cell (ECell)[92] is a student's organisation, functioning under STEP (Science and
Technology Entrepreneurs' Park), from within the Institute, with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship
among students throughout India.[93] It provides mentoring and support to startup companies and helps
them with financing, through Venture Capitalists and incubation, through STEP and SRIC, IIT
Kharagpur.

It conducts two major events, the Global Entrepreneurship Summit(GES), which is a threeday event,
held in January at the institute, and the Entrepreneurship Awareness Drive (EAD), a 20day event,
consisting of guest lectures in 20 cities across India. Knowledge Camp is conducted annually for the
benefit of students within IITKgp, while the Innovation Platform and FundaKGPian programs
continue throughout the year, to recognise and support innovative ideas among students of IITKgp,
besides workshops and guest lectures throughout the year.
Professors Sunil Handa, Padma Shri Anil K. Gupta, Sanjeev Bhikchandani, Vinod Dham, Arjun Malhotra,
Rajat Sharma and Kiran MazumdarShaw are some of the speakers who have delivered lectures within and
outside IIT Kgp.
ECell has been instrumental in the establishment of Rajendra Mishra School of Engineering
Entrepreneurship. The ECell has played a key role in the Deferred Placement Programme (DPP),
whereby, a student can opt for placement a year after the completion of his/her course, in case they are
involved in a startup company. This is the first time such a programme is being offered at the
undergraduate level in India.
Awaaz, IIT Kharagpur
Awaaz is the monthly Hindi campus newsletter of IIT Kharagpur.
The Scholars' Avenue
The Scholars' Avenue is the independent studentrun campus newspaper of the Indian Institute of
Technology, Kharagpur. Now in its tenth year, copies of The Scholars Avenue are delivered to over 7000
students on campus and soft copies are mailed to all the faculty and over 10,000 odd alumni. The team is
drawn entirely from among the students of the institute, and its mission is to report and analyze events
that affect the campus, and to be the voice of the IIT Kharagpur student community. The Scholars'
Avenue is a nonprofit organization supported by sponsorships (and donations); independent of the
administration of IIT Kharagpur.
Space Technology Student Society
Space Technology Student Society (spAts) is a student initiative that functions as the student body of
Kalpana Chawla Space Technology Cell(KCSTC),the contact point of Indian Space Research
Organisation(ISRO) at IIT Kharagpur.It hosts an annual Spacefestival "National Students' Space
Challenge".[94] spAts has been constantly instrumental in organizing spacethemed talks, sky gazing
sessions, lectures and presentations within IIT Kharagpur. The group publishes a bi semester newsletter,
'The Moonwalk', on latest ventures in space technology and various astronomy related articles.[95]
Technology Filmmaking and Photography Society
Technology Filmmaking and Photography Society(TFPS) is another students' interest club of IIT
Kharagpur which aims to provide a platform to students interested in filmmaking and photography to
work together and pursue their interests.[96] Biswapati Sarkar is one of the founding members of
TFPS.[97]
Autonomous Ground Vehicle Research Group
Team AGV is a multidisciplinary research group aimed at building a fully operational selfdriving car.
The Teams best performance came in IGVC 2013, where the teams entry, Eklavya 2.0 was the 5th fastest
in the Basic Challenge and 9th in the Advanced Navigation Challenge.
Technology Transfer Group
Technology Transfer Group (TTG) is students' initiative under the auspices of Sponsored Research &
Industrial Consultancy, IIT Kharagpur, who believe in the potential of the Institute as a Premier Research
& Development centre. This group aims at working towards achieving the target of successfully
transferring technologies developed inhouse to the industryultimately taking its benefits to the common
man and hence bridging the research Institutes in the country with the Industry. Founded in 2007, this
group is a first of its kind in the IIT system or for that matter any other Research Centre in the Country.