My IIT Reminiscences - End of Year Event In December 2014, over 15 IITAV members met at IIT alumnus Sunny Chandra's restaurant, Juliana's cafe, to share their IIT memories, as part of IITAV's informal networking event programme. Surrounded by delicious snacks and with copious servings of masala chai, members rekindled fond college memories with nostalgia. The passage of time remained unnoticed as the participants started to share their stories as diverse            as a near-death experience, motivational experiences, ragging experiences, and what evolved into a quasi-contest of worst professor/student experience.            It was felt that informal get togethers of this sort would foster stronger bonds and encourage participation in other IITAV programs.         Thanks to Sunny Chandra, Nikhil Kumar and Raj Rajakumar for their efforts in organizing this event. Reminiscences were sweet !!!

Our visit to Vibrant Gujarat Summit  - Rachana Kaudinya, IITAV Treasurer In November 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a select gathering of business leaders and technocrats at the Governor’s house of Victoria.  My husband Jai and I attended the presentations.  In his speech Mr. Modi made it clear that trade and investment between India and Australia will be an important part of his foreign policy.  One key goal would be to improve India’s economic growth and to raise India’s ranking in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index.  Impressed by his simplicity and his pro-business announcements, we decided to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Summit held in Gandhi Nagar between 11-13 Jan 2015 to explore business opportunities in India.  Vibrant Gujarat, a brain child of Prime Minister Modi, is a biennial event and has evolved over the past decade into an international event.  It is perhaps the biggest gathering in the world where budding entrepreneurs have an opportunity to see the president of the World Bank and also get a chance to listen to the views of the UN Secretary General on issues such as food security, all on the one platform. We reached Ahmedabad on the 10th of January, 2015, as part of a delegation of 450 members led by the Australian Minister for Trade and Investment, Mr Andrew Robb. The delegation, having participants from the Victoria Trade Mission and the Australia India Business Council, is said to be the largest ever delegation from Australia to India. New South Wales Premier Mr Mike Baird was also present. Following the inauguration by Mr Modi, the first day involved presentations from high level dignitaries from all over the world. Among them were the US Secretary of State Mr John Kerry, UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Dr Jim Yong Kim.  Industry leaders such as Reliance, Adani, Birla groups and Rio Tinto Australia announced ambitious investment commitments citing Gujarat as a secure place for investment.  All dignitaries appreciated the vision of Prime Minister Modi for India and his initiative and enthusiasm that he evoked in the general public.  The Prime Minister of Bhutan Mr Tshering Tobgay stole the show by expressing his views on corporate social responsibility. He impressed the audience by stressing the role of a spiritual mind in a productive business and a conducive environment; after all, it is Bhutan that introduced the notion of Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH) and its significance over Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Happiness cannot be achieved without being spiritual.  The inaugural session was attended by over 25,000 delegates from 110 countries.  As many as 21,000 investment intentions and 1,225 strategic partnerships were signed with a staggering value of US$400 billion - appropriately, the theme was entitled “Empowering India”.  “Inclusive Growth” and “Last Mile Delivery” were Gujarat’s mantra for development. The following day, we attended B2B meetings with local businesses, in which we discussed the potential business opportunities in the areas of energy and defence.  We also took the opportunity to visit Vibrant Gujarat Global Trade show which exhibited a diverse range of innovations, products and new technologies across a range of sectors including energy, power, agriculture and manufacturing.  That afternoon, we were invited to visit GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), a new city planned 15km from Gandhi Nagar.  GIFT is going to be a replica of Hong Kong, with sky scrapers accommodating new diamond trade centres, a stock exchange and many high-tech industries in the areas of artificial intelligence, electronics and mechatronics, among others. On the last day, our relatively small Australian delegation got an opportunity to have a meeting with Gujarat’s Chief Minister, Ms Anandiben Patel, and her senior staff.  The Chief Minister expressed interest in the activities we were conducting in Australia.  She noted the progress among women entrepreneurs and welcomed Australian knowledge and partnership.  Jai took the opportunity to congratulate the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister on their concerted global efforts to project India as a fast emerging economy in which western companies must find new opportunities of investment.  We especially thanked the Chief Minister and the Prime Minister for their enthusiasm and vision for lifting the image of India and its participation in the global economy and world order.  They invited us to participate in the Make in India initiative of the Prime Minister.  No trip to Gandhi Nagar would be complete without a visit to Gandhi Ashram, also called Sabarmati Ashram, located at the bank of the river Sabarmati.  Exhausted after tightly packed schedule of business meetings and appointments, we took some time out to visit Akshardham and Sabarmati Ashram, the karmabhoomi of Mahatma Gandhi where he lived with Kasturba Gandhi and where he started the Satyagraha Movement.  Memories of history lessons from our childhoods consumed our thoughts.  The ashram embodies the spirit and ethos of Gandhiji’s philosophy, as was evident when a Muslim priest was running classes for underprivileged children where Hindu women were busy producing khadi products.  The Sabarmati river front development project along the river bank is a very unique project and has become a popular tourist attraction.  The ashram has a spiritual connection too; according to ancient Hindu mythology, the ashram is located where revered sage Maharishi Dadhichi gave up his life so that Devatas could make weapons from his bones and defeat Asuras, recapture Heaven and release all the world's water for all living beings.  We were blessed to visit this beautiful place which gave us insight on how history, spirituality, business and humanity blend so magnificently. The summit gave us the chance to explore opportunities for future partnerships with businesses in India.  We got first hand opportunities to see how Gujarat has undergone rapid development in its landscape, buildings, highways and industrial estates. Evidence of this was visible around market places, business offices, and new emerging areas like GIFT and SMART City.  Respect for Mr Modi and Ms Anandiben Patel was found widespread among the society irrespective of caste or religion.  We hope all states of India will join hands together to realise PM's agenda of Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas, as also endorsed by Mr John Kerry. Australia, being one of the 8 partner countries at the summit, is looking at increasing and broadening trade with India; the two countries are concluding negotiations toward a bilateral Free Trade Agreement and the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).  Once executed, it will boost manufacturing, grow bilateral trade and benefit businesses in both countries. Organisations like AIBC & IITs can play a vital role as a facilitator to interface the Australian and Indian select market.  The time is not too distant when India could prove to be our new markets for growth and prosperity.  The country we left behind years ago is calling us again and we should hear the call.

Low power uninterrupted DC technology, brain child of IIT Madras, is soon to be trialled at more than 100,000 homes. This low cost technology is aimed at drastically improving the electricity supply hours to homes across India (More). Indian Goverenment has given its approval in 2014-15 Union Budget to setup a new IIT in Karnataka. Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, will also be upgraded to become an IIT. Pan-IIT and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has signed an MoU to collaborate on research and development in Energy sector.(More)

We welcome our new member Harvinder Giddey. Please renew your membership for 2015 if you haven't done so. More information on membership renewal can be found here. We also  take this opportunity to thank all Members for their continued participation in IITAV activities.

Raj Rajakumar(President)   Ravi Singh (Vice-President)   Dilip Desai (Secretary)   Rachana Kaudinya(Treasurer)   Nikhil Kumar   Abaran Deep   Kapil Talwar   Rakesh Saraf   Sridhar Karuppasami More information on the Committee Members can be found here

We take this opportunity to thank everyone for their contributions. Special thanks to our Committee Members Rachana Kaudinya, Dilip Desai, Kapil Talwar, and Raj Rajakumar for their efforts in producing this newsletter. To help us improve the newsletter, please send your feedback and contributions (news, views and memories) for the next issue to mail@iitav.org.au or Contact Sridhar (Mob: 0423 587 163, kprsridhar@yahoo.com). Previous editions of the newsletter are available here . Members are also requested to update their profiles at our website. Thank you. Sridhar  Karuppasami (On behalf of the IITAV Committee)