The Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) conferred the honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) degree on Indian American executives Sundar Pichai, and Ajit Jain.
Pichai is the CEO of Alphabet Inc. the parent company of Google while Jain is the vice chairman, Insurance Operations at Berkshire Hathaway, USA. Two other distinguished individuals were also honored with the degree by the institute alongside them.
Jain graduated from IIT Kharagpur with a B.Tech in mechanical engineering in 1972 and moved to the U.S. in 1978. IIT Kharagpur had honored Jain with the Distinguished Alumnus Awards in 2016 for his significant contributions to the professional world and society.
In 2017, he donated stocks of Berkshire Hathaway to the IITKGP US Foundation for IIKGP. The IITKGP Foundation USA is a registered body in the U.S. to connect the institute’s alumni in the U.S. and Canada, which numbered above 10,000 in 2017, with their alma mater. Jain made another donation worth US $10,000 in form of 34 Berkshire B shares to IITKGP in May 2023.
Sundar Pichai graduated from IIT Kharagpur in metallurgical engineering in 1993. The CEO was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award conferred to him in 2015, which he received in person in 2017 during a visit which came almost 24 years after he graduated from the institute.
He had announced the Digital Unlocked Program for SMEs in India during this visit. The program was a new initiative by Google to help businesses in India go virtual.
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