Convocations
The mission of Vel Tech is to breed excellence in everything we do and in everything we are. True to this mission the Institution awards honorary degree to exemplary stalwarts in recognition to their contribution to the society.
12th Convocation held on 05th & 06th November 2022
9th Convocation held on 13th August, 2019
8th Students CONVOCATION held on 19th August, 2018
6th Students CONVOCATION held on 04th June, 2016
5th Students CONVOCATION held on 20 th June, 2015
4th Students CONVOCATION held on 16 th June, 2014
2nd Students CONVOCATION held on 21st October, 2012
HonorisCausa held on 9thJuly, 2016
HonorisCausa on 8th JANUARY 2013
1stStudents CONVOCATION held on 22nd August, 2011
11th Convocation held on 06th & 07th November 2021
9th Convocation held on 13th August, 2019
8th Students CONVOCATION held on 19th August, 2018
6th Students CONVOCATION held on 04th June, 2016
5th Students CONVOCATION held on 20 th June, 2015
4th Students CONVOCATION held on 16 th June, 2014
2nd Students CONVOCATION held on 21st October, 2012
HonorisCausa held on 9thJuly, 2016
HonorisCausa on 8th JANUARY 2013
1stStudents CONVOCATION held on 22nd August, 2011
10th Convocation held on 23rd October, 2020
8th Students CONVOCATION held on 19th August, 2018
7th Students CONVOCATION held on 10th June, 2017
6th Students CONVOCATION held on 04th June, 2016
4th Students CONVOCATION held on 16 th June, 2014
3rd Students CONVOCATION held on 09th November,2013
2nd Students CONVOCATION held on 21st October, 2012
HonorisCausa held on 9thJuly, 2016
HonorisCausa held on 4thAug, 2015
HonorisCausa on 8th JANUARY 2013
Honoris Causa
Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr.Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology Conferred Honorary Doctorates to many Eminent Personalities.
SHRI. KISHORE KUMAR SANSI
Managing Director & CEO,Vijaya Bank.
Padma Bhusan Dr. M R Girinath
Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Apollo Hospital, Chennai
Padma Shri Dr. Sekhar Basu
Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission & Secretary Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
Padma Shri. Dr.A.S.Kiran Kumar
The Chairman, Space Commission, Secretary, Department of Space, Govt. of India & Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
Shri Avinash Chander
Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri, Director General, Defence Research & Development Organization & Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development.
Shri Yalamanchili Satyanarayana Chowdary
The Hon’ble Minister of State for Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences
G M Rao
A Mechanical Engineer, Founder Chairman of the GMR Group, The Bangalore based global infrastructure developer.
Dr. I. Sathyamurthy
Director Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai
Mr.N. R. Narayana Murthy
Chairman Emeritus, Infosys
Ms. Sudha Murty
Chairperson, Infosys Foundation
Padma Shri Dr.Vijay Kumar Saraswat
Distinguished Missile Scientist, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri, The Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, and Director General of Defence Research and Development Organization, Government of India.
Conferment of the Degree of Doctor of Literature,held on 9th July, 2016
Honoris Causa- A Citation
Shri. Kishore Kumar Sansi
Mr. Kishore Kumar Sansi is a technophile and a highly qualified and seasoned banker, who is currently holding charge as the Managing Director and CEO of Karnataka based Vijaya Bank.
Apart from being the whole time director of Vijaya Bank, Mr Sansi is also
⦁ Government Nominee Director on the Board of United India Insurance Company Ltd
⦁ Member of Management Committee, IBA, Mumbai
⦁ Chairman, IBA Standing Committee on Agriculture & Allied Activities
⦁ Director, Governing Council – Indian Institute of Banking and Finance
⦁ Member of Working Group on Technology, Digital & Financial Inclusiong – Gyan Sangam 2016.
⦁ Chairman of the Gyansangam 2016 sub group on – Drive Cross Sell through analytics to increase average products per customer (PPC).
A Postgraduate in Physics from the University of Delhi, he is also an M. Tech (IT-Information Systems) from I.E.T.E, Delhi and an M. Phil. (Electronics), from the University of Delhi. Taking his interest in technology to the next level, he is also qualified as a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) from ISACA, US.
He has attended various Training and Conference at India and Overseas institutions of Repute viz
⦁ Newyork, Boston, Vegas at US
⦁ Tokyo
⦁ UK, Amsterdam, Vienna, Singapore, Hongkong, Dubai etc.
He joined as a Probationary Officer on 3rd May 1980 in Oriental Bank of Commerce and by dint of sheer hard work was elevated to the post of General Manager. During banking career spanning over three decades, acquired command over Credit Operations, Risk Management, Management of NPAs, Information Technology, Foreign Exchange besides others. He was elevated to the post of Executive Director on 5th Aug 2013.
During the short but eventful tenure at Punjab and Sind Bank, he achieved new milestones in the area of Retail Credit, Human Resources, Planning & Development, NPA Management and substantially improved various financial and operational parameters.
He joined Vijaya Bank as Managing Director and CEO on 1st January 2015. Through his innovative ideas and strategies and out of the box thinking, he has brought in renewed focus of customer centricity through leveraging technology. Against a challenging banking environment, Shri Sansi has emphasized on a profitability led business model and shifted the emphasis from driving volumes to enhancing margins.
Some of the major initiatives took by Sri. Sansi in different business segment, during the year are given below
⦁ Innovative Welfare scheme for Visually impaired schemes viz providing aids like smart walking canes, talking software, Braille attachements etc besides career advancement.
⦁ One of the Bank’s unique feature of CSR activity is adopting a girl child belong to poor Socio-Economic back ground of the society. Bank has adopted 127 girl children during FY 16 and total adopted girl children so far is 196.
⦁ Bank has established 32 Rural Health Centres where patients are provided primary healthcare and medicines free of cost.
Bank was bestowed with various awards during his current tenure in the bank till now viz
⦁ Received Best Bank in Public Sector Bank Award from National Banking Financial Services & Insurance Awards 2016
⦁ IDRBT Banking Technology Excellence Award for the year 2015 – 16
⦁ Received “Best Asset Quality Management” in India’s Top Banks and Banking Awards 2015 by Dun & Bradstreet.
⦁ Received “InfoSec Maestro (top 100)” award for cyber security initiatives.
⦁ Received ‘SKOCH AWARD’ for new IT Initiative.
⦁ Received “Best Bank award for Cyber Security Risk Management” among mid-size Banks at IDRBT – Banking Technology Excellence Awards 2014-15.
⦁ DSCI Excellence Awards 2015 under Security in Banks Category.
⦁ Best HR & Talent Practices – 2015 Award
⦁ Received “Winner Trophy” under “Best Bank under MUDRA Yojana for Emerging Bank”
Shri Sansi showed exceptional leadership ability in articulating Short Term and Medium Term Vision for the Bank upto 2021 and actively initiated long-term programmes for creating world-class systems and frameworks for future growth of the Bank.
Conferment of the Degree of Doctor of Science 
Honoris Causa – A Citation
Dr. Sekhar Basu “Padma Shri Awardee”
Dr. Sekhar Basu, a renowned nuclear scientist, before taking over as Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, has been the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Earlier he worked as the Project Director of Nuclear Submarine Programme and later as the Chief Executive of the Nuclear Recycle Board in the same institute. Dr Basu is an engineer of exceptional ability who has played a lead role in multiple areas of nuclear science and engineering and is a major contributor in establishing India as a leader in nuclear field.
Dr. Basu, born on 20th September 1952, did his schooling from Ballygunge Government School, Kolkata and graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), University of Mumbai in 1974. After completion of one year of BARC Training School programme in nuclear science and engineering, he joined the Reactor Engineering Division of BARC in 1975. He started his career by designing fuel for Boiling Water Reactor, which showed excellent performance. Later he took up the responsibility of the development of nuclear submarine propulsion plant and built the land based prototype at Kalpakkam from scratch. He continues to guide the Indian nuclear propulsion programme for the sea going versions.
Since 2000, he was also responsible for the design, development, construction and operation of nuclear recycle plants at Tarapur and Kalpakkam, involving reprocessing and nuclear waste management. These plants are performing to international standards. He is pursuing the design of the Integrated Nuclear Recycle Plant, which will take this programme to a higher platform.
As the Chairman of Project Management Board he has been responsible for the development of Indian Neutrino Observatory at Tamil Nadu and as Principal Co-ordinator, he is pursuing the development of 1 Gev Superconducting Accelerators for the Accelerator Driven System Programme. Shri Basu has also been guiding the establishment of nuclear fuel cycle park involving research reactors, fuel fabrication and reprocessing facilities at the Vizag campus of BARC. Work on the design of Indian Pressurised Water Reactor has also been initiated by him.
As Director, BARC, Dr. Basu took special initiatives for major expansion of the societal programmes of DAE in the field of nuclear agriculture, food preservation and nuclear medicine. While pursuing the basic research in the field of nuclear science and engineering, he has also been working towards the expansion of enrichment and strategic programmes. He represented India in concluding ‘Arrangements and Procedures’ with the US Government for reprocessing of US hypothecated fuel and he has chaired the International Committee for the design review of three modules of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
He has several publications to his credit in national and international journals. Shri Basu has been conferred several awards and these include:
Indian Nuclear Society Award 2002, DAE Awards in 2006 and 2007. He is also a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineers (INAE) and Indian Society for Non Destructive Testing (ISNT). Jadavpur University awarded him with D.Lit. (Honoris Causa) degree in 2013. He was awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2014.
Respected Founder Chancellor and Chairman, it is my privilege to present to you Shri Dr. Sekhar Basu, for his outstanding contributions to the multifaceted development of Nuclear Science and Engineering, for the award of the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa.
Conferment of the Degree of Doctor of Science 
Honoris Causa – A Citation
Dr. MR GIRINATH “Padma Bhusan Awardee”
Dr. MR Girinath, One of the first Indian Surgeons to obtain the M. Ch. (Magister Chirurgiae) degree in Cardio Vascular Surgery in India (1969) had further training abroad and after return to India pioneered cardiac surgery in infants, coronary bypass surgery, multivalve replacement, cardiac transplantation and techniques such as profound hypothermia with total circulatory arrest, cardioplegia, intermittent aortic cross clamping for myocardial protection, minimal invasive cardiac surgery etc. Has trained over 30 surgeons who are together doing 10% of the cardiac surgery being done in the country. Has gone out of the way to help cardiac surgery units all over the country and abroad, such as the UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology, Ahmedabad, Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital and Post Graduate Medical Training Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka, National Institute of Cardiovascular disease, Dhaka etc. Has accelerated the development of cardiac surgery by doing as many as 2000 open heart operations a year in a single hospital thus setting the pace for other units in the county. Has been at the forefront in establishing coronary bypass surgery as a standardized and safe procedure in India thus reversing the trend of patients going abroad for surgery. Has encouraged and supported Cardiologists associated with him to use the latest available technology in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Has been a member of the technical expert groups of the Indian Standards Institute, monitoring committee member of the ICICI and IDBI for funding hospitals. Has been an examiner for the M. Ch (Cardiovascular & thoracic Surgery) to the All India Institute and Kerala University. Has presented work done in India at Auckland, Tokyo, Kobe, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Colombo, Dhaka and Beijing. Has encouraged and supported growth of Cardiovascular surgery units at Ahmedabad, Baroda, Nagpur, Colombo, Dhaka, Chennai, Cuttack and has freely given support to any unit that has approached him. Has been a pacesetter in Cardiovascular surgery in India for three decades and has contributed to the establishment of open heart surgery and especially coronary artery bypass surgery in India.
Awards and Achievements
- Dr. B C Roy National Award – 1997
- Padma Bhushan – 1998
- D.Sc. (Hon Causa) Dr M G R Medical University 2002
- LIFE TIME Achievement Award Indian Association Cardio Vasular Thoracic Surgeons Has headed the cardiac surgery unit of Apollo Hospitals, Chennai since 1984.
- The unit has done close to 40,000 heart operations of which 29,000 have been coronar bypass operations including 14,000 on a beating heart.
- Has pioneered congenital Heart Surgery and Heart Valve Surgery in India.
- Has trained nearly 30 Cardiac surgeons in India.
- Has helped Heart Surgery units in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Bangla Desh and several centres in India such as at Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Bhopal.
- Has 45 years of expierence standing in Cardiac Surgery Performed nearly 25, 000 open-heart operations in the last 16 years.
- One of the first surgeons to obtain the MCH degree in Cardio Vascular Surgery in India (1969)- a pioneer in cardiac surgery for infants, coronary bypass surgery, multivalve replacement and cardiac transplantation.
- Trained over 20 surgeons who, together, perform 20% of the cardiac surgeries done in the country today.
- Recipient of many national awards including the Padma Bhushan in 1998.
- Been at the forefront in establishing coronary bypass surgery as a standardized and safe procedure in India (thus reversing the trend of patients going abroad for this facility).
- Presented over 275 papers at national and international conferences and made around 20 orations including the Subroto Memorial Oration and the Sadasivan Oration.
- Participated in the first multi-organ transplant in India (Heart, Liver, Kidney and Cornea).
- First surgeon to repair a complex congenital heart defect in a child below one year.
- First to apply heart, lung machine-supported Coronary Angioplasty in India.
Work Experience
- 45 years – including 3 years in Auckland
- Working in Apollo Hospitals since last Assignment
Certifications & Professional Memberships
- FRACS – Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Melbourne.
- FLACS – Fellow of the Indian Association of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery – 1995.
Respected Founder Chancellor and Chairman, it is my privilege to present to you Shri Dr. MR Girinath , for his outstanding contributions in Cardio Vascular Surgery, for the award of the degree of Doctor of Science honoris causa.
SPECIAL CONVOCATION
held on 4 th Aug, 2015
at Vel Tech Dr.RR & Dr.SR Convocation Hall, Vel Tech Campus
Padma Shri. Dr.A.S.Kiran Kumar is the Chairman, Space Commission, Secretary, Department of Space, Govt. of India & Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar received his Physics (Honours) Degree from National College, Bangalore University in 1971. He obtained his Masters Degree in Electronics from Bangalore University in 1973 and thereafter M.Tech Degree in Physical Engineering from Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) in 1975.
Shri Kiran Kumar joined Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1975 and has contributed to electro optical imaging payload development activities at the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, of progressively increasing complexity starting from a moderate one kilometer resolution BHASKARA TV payload (1979) to ONE meter high resolution TES payload (2001).
He has made significant contributions to the design and development of electro-optical imaging instruments
>> Ocean Color Monitor payload of Oceansat-1 and -2.
>> Very High Resolution Radiometers (VHRR) payloads for geostationary satellites.
>> Imaging payloads for Resource sat series, Cartosat series and Indian Mini Satellite series.
Shri Kiran Kumar has played a key role in design and development of the Terrain Mapping Camera and Hyper spectral Imager payloads of Chandrayaan-1 – India’s first mission to Moon. As Deputy Director of Sensors Development Area at Space Applications Centre, he has steered the design and development of imaging payloads for INSAT–3D mission, Resourcesat, Cartosat and Micro Satellite missions.
He is a highly accomplished space scientist and engineer with a distinguished career spanning over four decades in ISRO in the satellite payload and applications domains. He assumed the office of the Secretary, Department of Space, Chairman, Space Commission and Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from January 14, 2015.
He is also
>> Fellow of National Academy of Engineers
>> Member of International Academy of Astronautics
>> Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering,
>> Fellow of Indian Society of Remote Sensing,
>> Fellow of Institution of Electronics & Telecommunication Engineer, and
>> Fellow of Indian Meteorological Society.
Shri Kiran Kumar is recipient of many laurels/awards like – >> Indian Society of Remote Sensing Award for the year 1994.
>> VASVIK Award (Electronic sciences and technology) for the year 1998.
>> Astronautical Society of India Award (Space sciences and Applications) for the year 2001.
>> ISRO Individual Service Award 2006.
>> Bhaskara Award conferred by Indian Society of Remote Sensing for the year 2007.
>> Laurels for Team Achievement Award 2008 of International Academy of Astronautics
>> ISRO Performance Excellence Award 2008.
He has represented ISRO in international forums like World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and Indo-US Joint Working Group on Civil Space Cooperation.
held on 20 th June, 2015 at 10.00 a.m
at Vel Tech Dr.RR & Dr.SR Convocation Hall, Vel Tech Campus
Shri Yalamanchili Satyanarayana Chowdary is the Hon’ble Minister of State for Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences. 
Shri Yalamanchili Satyanarayana Chowdary is the Hon’ble Minister of State for Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences. He has completed his M.E. (Machine Tool) from P.S.G. College of Technology, Coimbatore. and B.E. (Mechanical) from Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT), Hyderabad. His Experience in business development & employment generation includes distinguished himself as a technocrat entrepreneur and played a major role in establishing the Sujana Group of Companies, a 27 year old group, along with his friends and associates, providing direct and indirect employment to over 10,000 persons.
He has been a constant driving force in motivating his associates and in fostering high growth rates by all the group companies. During the last four years, he had come out of executive responsibilities in the management of the Group, by relinquishing them in favour of his associates. His present involvement with the Group is in non-executive role.
Mr. Chowdary has a very good understanding of the issues hindering rapid growth of Indian manufacturing industry and actively works with Government agencies and industrial bodies in developing implementable solutions for these issues.Mr. Chowdary has also been associated with the development of Medical education.
Mr Chowdary is a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh, since June, 2010.
Mr Chowdary’s Dedicated Parliamentarian gets feather in the cap as he is Highly disciplined and dedicated Telugu Desam Party’s, Member of Parliament has been given a very important responsibility by appointing him to the coveted post of the Leader of the TDP in Parliament. He is the incharge of the performance of the party which consist total 22 Members in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. He has been given this responsibility as he is sincere party worker and Parliamentarian. Party leader is confident that he can take care of the interest of the state and party in the Parliament.
Mr Chowdary is a very active Member of Rajya Sabha who participates in all the important issues raised in the house as well as well aware of his responsibilities towards the people and the government.According to the PRS report his track record of Parliament is taken as excellent.
Mr Chowdary was elected to Rajya Sabha on June 22, 2010. According to the data corresponds to the period June 2009 to Feb 2014 his attendance in the house comes to 79% whereas the national average is 77%. He has participated in 37 debates of various serious state and national issues. The National Average of participation in debates by Rajya Sabha Member comes to 29.8. He has asked 343 Questions in the house from various ministries whereas the National Average of Questions asked comes to 213.
He has participated in Rajya Sabha proceedings by raising Special Mention on many important national and state issues, Motion of thanks on the President’s address on behalf of his party, Party’s reaction on the General Budget And the most important asking Questions in the Rajya Sabha on various subjects like Agriculture, Finance, Water Resources, Railways, Social Justice and Empowerment, Labour and Employment etc.
His Social and Cultural Activities, Literary, Artistic and Scientific Accomplishments and other Special Interests includes Promoting social welfare activities through ‘Sujana Foundation’, especially for the service of the under privileged in the areas of education and healthcare has been a priority for Mr. Chowdary. He takes active participation in relief works undertaken for those affected due to natural calamities. With the firm belief that nurturing entrepreneurial spirit in present generation of youth is essential for the rapid economic growth of the Country, Mr.Chowday has been lending support and organising motivational camps and entrepreneurial development workshops for the youth in various parts of the State.
He has participated in many International Parliamentary Programmes. To highlight one of them is his Participation as a representative of the Parliament of India in the 7th India – Yale Parliamentary Leadership Program, 2013 presented by Yale University, and Center for Policy Research – New Delhi, Governance and Public Policy Initiative held in June, 2013 in Connecticut, USA.
In this programme, the parliamentarians discussed significant issues related to:
• Gender Equality & Women Empowerment
• Global Healthcare & the MDG
• Global Education Issues
• Campaign Finance & Accountability
• Impact of Social Media on Election Campaigns
• Cyber Security & Internet Governance
The program provides the parliamentarians with opportunities to critically think about the challenges of leadership and to explore freely, away from the legislative arena, the issues facing India.
He is an active member of Young Presidents Organization (YPO), a powerful network of young chief executives world over.
Young Presidents Organization (YPO), founded in 1950 in New York City, which unites approximately 20,000 business leaders in more than 120 countries around with a shared mission of “BETTER LEADERS THROUGH EDUCATION AND IDEA EXCHANGE”.
Mr. Chowdary hails from a well educated bureaucrat family. His maternal grandfather was a graduate even in those days and was a rich farmer. His paternal grandfather, an IPS officer, retired as DGP and received an award for his services from the then Prime Minister Sri Lal Bahadur Sashtry. Mr. Chowdary’s father, who served the State Govt. and retired as Chief Engineer also received several awards for honest services.
Mr. Chowdary is happily married; his wife Mrs. Padmaja is a housewife. They have a Son and a Daughter. Son, Karthik is studying Economics and Entrepreneurship at University Of Massachusetts, Boston, USA and daughter, Naga Chandini is studying BBM in Hyderabad.
Mr. Chowdary is a Fellow of Institution of Engineers.
Respected founder president and chancellor,
May I request you to be so kind as to confer the honorary degree of doctor of science on our honourable Minister Shri Y.S.Chowdary
3rd CONVOCATION
held on 09th November, 2013 at 10.00 a.m
at Vel Tech Dr.RR & Dr.SR Convocation Hall,
Vel Tech Campus
Dr. I. Sathyamurthy, Director Cardiologist, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai.
Dr. Sathyamurthy completed MBBS from Government Medical College, Aurangabad, Maharashtra in 1971, passed MD in General Medicine in 1975 from the same college. His quest for further knowledge made him pursue DM in Cardiology from G.B.Pant Hospital, New Delhi and Delhi University awarded DM (Cardiology) in 1980. Dr. Sathyamurthy underwent post-doctoral training in Interventional Cardiology in St.Francis Hospital, Illinois, USA in 1988, Abott’s Northwest Hospital, Minneapolis, USA in 1991 and also from University of Rouen, France in 1997.
After completion of his higher studies in Medicine, Dr. Sathyamurthy joined CMC Hospital, Vellore, Tamil Nadu as a Senior Lecturer and was promoted to a position of Reader in Cardiology in quick succession. In 1984, Dr. Murthy moved on to join Apollo Hospitals, Chennai as a Consultant Cardiologist and presently is the Director, Department of Cardiology at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai.
In his vast academic experience, Dr. Murthy has put in a total of about 32 years of teaching experience at G.B.Pant Hospital, New Delhi, CMC Hospital, Vellore and in Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. Presently, he has been involved in teaching Dip. National Board in Cardiology at Apollo Hospitals. During this period of academic excellence, Dr. Murthy along with other colleagues published a hoping 218 publications and contributed 22 times to scientific newspaper columns. He participated in several national and international conferences; presented 52 papers and chaired sessions and symposia. Dr. Murthy has also contributed a chapter in the API Text book of Medicine.
In his illustrious career, Dr.Murthy has taken up number of professional assignments at national and international level. He has been a fellow of American College of Cardiology (FACC) in March 2002, FRCP (Edinburgh) and FRCP (Glasgow) in 2007. Dr. Murthy was a Member – Guidant Corporation International, Member – Abbott Vascular International, Member – Elsevier Clinical Advisory Board (India), Examiner – D.N.B (Cardiology), National Board of Examinations, Ministry of Health, New Delhi, Honorary Consultant – Armed forces Medical Services, Adjunct Professor of Cardiology, Dr. M.G.R Medical University, Chennai, Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Australia, Consultant Cardiologist, ONGC, Indian Airlines, Independent non-Executive Director, Aurobindo Pharma, Hyderabad. Dr. Murthy has been the life member and fellow of many of the Foreign and Indian societies in the field of Cardiology and served in the capacity of Member, Associate Editor of several journals of repute in Cardiology. He has been a Member of Editorial Board of Indian Heart Journal of API, Cardiology Today, The Heart and Asian Edition of Journal of American College of Cardiology and was honorary Cardiologist to the former President of India H.E. Shri K.R.Narayanan. The Indian Congress Association appointed him as an expert of the selection committee member for selecting the recipients of C.V.Raman Birth Centenary Award, Dr. S.S.Bhatnagar memorial award, D.S.Kothari memorial award and G.P.Chatterjee memorial award.
Dr. Murthy also takes interest in various social activities. He has been Trustee, Balavidyalaya Trust for young deaf children, Honorary Vice Chairman, Bharat Cultural Integration Committee, Editorial Advisor, AIMS Education, Honorary Cardiologist “Idhaayam Kaappom” scheme – free coronary bypass surgery scheme under the auspices of Dr.M.G.R Trust. For his efforts in social service, Dr.Murthy received “For the sake of Honour” award in 2002, “ Vocational Excellence” award in 2003, “Honorary Paul Harris Fellow” in 2004 followed by “ Life Time Achievement“ by Rotary Club in 2013.
In recognition of his pioneering efforts in Cardiology, Dr.Murthy earned several orations, awards and gold medallions. Dr. Murthy was conferred with PADMA SHRI by the President of India in January 2000. He was awarded with prestigious Dr. B.C.Roy national award for the year 2001 for development of specialty of cardiology. Dr. MGR University awarded D.Sc (Honaris Causa) in September 2008 followed by best doctor award in September 2011. Tamil Nadu State Council for Science & Technology selected Dr. Murthy for State Scientist Award in Medicine in 2010.
3rd CONVOCATION 
held on 09th November, 2013 at 10.00 a.m
at Vel Tech Dr.RR & Dr.SR Convocation Hall ,Vel Tech Campus
G M Rao, a Mechanical Engineer, is the Founder Chairman of the GMR Group, the Bangalore based global infrastructure developer.
ENTREPRENEUR
He entered 28 businesses as a serial entrepreneur and exited most of them with the opportunities thrown up by the opening up of the Indian economy in the early 1990s. As a part of the post-liberalization generation of entrepreneurs, his moves became entirely strategy driven and long term. Eventually, his single-minded focus on the core infrastructure sector resulted in the Group exiting some of the highly attractive businesses of banking, insurance, software, breweries, jute and sugar.
BUSINESS BUILDING
Over the last 35 years he has successfully established GMR Group, as one of the most recognized brands in the country, creating national infrastructure assets of global scale and world-class quality, creating new benchmarks. The Group is now a well diversified and professionally managed infrastructure developer with focus on Airports, Energy, Highways and Urban Infrastructure including SEZs.Few of the landmark projects of the Group are India’s first Greenfield Airport in Hyderabad, India’s first barge mounted power plant of 220MW, Delhi International Airport among many others.
INSTITUTION BUILDING
While business grew rapidly, G M Rao laid special emphasis on long term sustainability by focussing on institution building for perpetuity as well. TheGMR Group Vision states “GMR Group will be an institution in perpetuity that will build entrepreneurial organizations making a difference to society through creation of value”. A set of seven core Values & Beliefs was arrived at, to define the GMR Group’s distinct organisation culture. This was further strengthened by a Code of Conduct for all employees, emphasizing on ethical and professional behaviour.
FAMILY GOVERNANCE
Rao believes that “Family must be run like Business and Business must be run like Family”. So he made the pioneering effort in formulating a Family Constitution taking expert opinion from world renowned consultants. This is now formalized into a legal document, with all immediate family members including spouses as signatories.
He says “Strong family governance ensures strong corporate governance”. He believes that this will ensure a smooth transition of business from generation to generation, and at the same time, enable professionals to discharge their rightful roles in the growth and development of the Group.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
G M Rao’s vision in 3 dimensions of business building, institution building and family governance has a 4th dimension built into it, that of giving back to society. This, he started very early on, in his career. Eventually, he set up an independent, professionally run, company, GMR Varalakshmi Foundation,to channelize ever increasing flow of funds, for social causes, for the benefit of the under-served in society. Today, the Foundation is active in 22 locations in India and Nepal and its 4 areas of activity are education, healthcare, livelihood and community development and it has received wide national recognition for its impact in the sections of society it serves.
To ensure that his legacy lives on beyond his lifetime, he made an endowment of the entire portion of his personal wealth to the GMR Varalakshmi Foundation in March 2011.
HONOURS BESTOWED
He was conferred with the honorary Doctor of Laws by York University, Toronto, Canada in 2011, the honorary Doctor of Letters by the Andhra University, India in 2010and honorary Doctor of Letters by the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, India in 2005. He received the award for the ‘First Generation Entrepreneur of the Year’ from CNBC TV18 in 2009. In the same year, he received the Infrastructure Person of the Year award at the Infrastructure Journal Award Ceremony held in London. He was also chosen as the ‘Entrepreneur of the year’ at the Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence 2006 – 07, apart from numerous other awards and public recognition throughout his career.He was nominated on the very prestigious Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in September 2011.
For his considerable achievements, he insists “All the credit goes to my GMR colleagues and my family for their understanding, shared vision, hard work and dedication”.
4th CONVOCATION 
held on 16 th June, 2014 at 10.00 a.m
at Vel Tech Dr.RR & Dr.SR Convocation Hall, Vel Tech Campus
Shri Avinash Chander, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri, Director General, Defence Research & Development Organization & Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development .
Shri Avinash Chander joined DRDO in 1972 after completing graduation in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. He obtained MS in Spatial Information Technology from Jawharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), Hyderabad.
Shri Avinash Chander is the chief architect of Agni series of ballistic missile systems. Development of Agni range of missiles in highly restrictive international control regimes was possible only out of his technology forecast, perspective planning and relentless efforts. He created the infrastructure, industry base, production lines, and integration facilities to produce different classes of Agni missiles. Today, Agni 1, 2, and 3 missiles occupy the pride of place in the inventories of the Indian Armed Forces.
His pioneering research in inertial navigation and guidance systems has enabled utilisation of solid propulsion, the main thrust and the backbone of long-range missile system. Under his leadership, DRDO carried out extensive research and indigenously developed the critical technologies like Composite Rocket Motors, Re-entry Carbon Composite Heat Shield, Advanced High Accuracy Navigation Systems, Flex Nozzle Control System, High-end Real-time Computing Techniques, Advanced Navigation Systems, Onboard Computers, and Servo Valves and Seekers. He also laid the technology roadmap for Missile Complex Laboratories. 3
As Chief Controller R&D (MSS), he lead challenging state-of-the-art system development in both Strategic and Tactical Missiles and associated technologies. He took over as Secretary, Dept. of Defence R & D & SA to RM on 01-June -2013.
In recognition of his immense contributions towards strengthening the national Defence, Government of India recently honoured him with Padma Shri. The distinguished scientist has also received numerous other awards and honours including.
–> Rocketry and Related Technologies Award (1997) by the Astronautical Society of India;
–> DRDO Scientist of the Year Award (1989) by DRDO;
–> Agni Award for Excellence in Self-Reliance (1999);
–> Dr Biren Roy Space Science and Design Award (2000);
–> Path Breaking Research and Outstanding Technology Development (2007) by DRDO;
–> Outstanding Technologist Award (2008) by Punjab Technical University;
–> Technology Leadership Award (2008);
–> Distinguished Alumnus Award(2011) by IIT, Delhi.
He is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineers, Systems Society of India, Andhra Pradesh Academy of Sciences, and Vice-President of Astronautical Society of India.
As a professional recognition, he has been awarded Doctor of Science (Honorius Causa) in Science & Technology by ‘Sastra University’, Tanjore, Tamilnadu, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad and recently by SRM University, Chennai.
SPECIAL CONVOCATION
held on 08th January, 2013 at 10.00 a.m
at Vel Murugan Auditorium, Vel Tech Campus
Mr.N. R. Narayana Murthy ,Chairman Emeritus, Infosys
N. R. Narayana Murthy is the Founder of Infosys Limited, a global software consulting company headquartered in Bangalore, India. He founded Infosys in 1981, served as the CEO during 1981-2002, and as the Chairman and Chief Mentor during 1981-2011. Under his leadership, Infosys was listed on NASDAQ in 1999. He is currently the Chairman Emeritus of Infosys.
Mr. Murthy articulated, designed and implemented the Global Delivery Model which has become the foundation for the huge success in IT services outsourcing from India. He has led key corporate governance initiatives in India. He is an IT advisor to several Asian countries.
He serves on the boards of HSBC, Ford Foundation, Rhodes Trust, the Indian School of Business and the UN Foundation. He served as a member of the Unilever board between 2007 and 2010, the Chairman of the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore between 2002 and 2012 and the Chairman of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad between 2002 and 2007. He has also served on the boards of Cornell University, Singapore Management University, INSEAD (Paris), Wharton School and the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.
Mr. Murthy was listed as one among the “12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time” by the Fortune magazine in 2012. The Economist ranked him among the ten most-admired global business leaders in 2005. He has been awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India, the Legion d’honneur by the Government of France, and the CBE by the British government. He is the first Indian winner of Ernst and Young’s World Entrepreneur of the year award and the Max Schmidheiny Liberty prize. He has appeared in the rankings of businessmen and innovators published by BusinessWeek, Time, CNN, Fortune, India Today, Business Standard, Forbes and Financial Times. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and a foreign member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. He was awarded the 2012 Hoover Medal and the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award 2012 by The Tech Museum, California. He received the 2007 Ernst Weber Medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., USA (IEEE). He has about 25 honorary doctorates from universities in India and abroad.
SPECIAL CONVOCATION 
held on 08th January, 2013 at 10.00 a.m
at Vel Murugan Auditorium, Vel Tech Campus
Ms. Sudha Murty ,Chairperson, Infosys Foundation
Sudha Murty, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation, born on August 19, 1950 at Shiggaon in the Haveri District of North Karnataka, Dr. Sudha Murty is a well-known social worker and a prolific writer.
After topping her state in the SSLC board examinations from the Girls’ English School, Hubli in 1966, Sudha Murty joined the BVB College of Engineering and Technology, Hubli. Studying engineering at a time when there were hardly any women students in the stream or women engineers in the industry was a challenge in itself. Not only did she take up the challenge, but she also secured the first rank among all the universities of engineering in Karnataka in 1972, and received many awards, including a gold medal from the Institute of Engineers and a silver medal from the then Chief Minister of Karnataka, Devaraj Urs.
Getting entry into an all-male industry proved to be yet another challenge. However, Sudha Murty passed this test with flying colors, and went on to work as the first woman engineer for the automobile operations of the Tatas (Telco, now Tata Motors) in Pune, Mumbai and Jamshedpur. JRD Tata himself arranged for a special interview for her after she wrote to him directly complaining of the gender bias in his company (Telco then had a men-only policy). Sudha Murty has also worked for the Walchand Group of Industries in Pune as a Senior Systems Analyst.
Even though she started her professional life as an engineer, she later took up teaching as a career, while devoting a significant chunk of her time to social work. She has been the head of the department of Computer Science at the Bangalore University College, and a Visiting Professor at the Post Graduate Center of a reputed college of Bangalore University. Her passion for social causes translated into the creation of the Infosys Foundation in 1996. Ever since its inception, Sudha Murty has headed the Infosys Foundation with her characteristic commitment and zeal.
The wide range of Sudha Murty’s social work covers the sectors of healthcare, education, empowerment of women, public hygiene, art and culture, and poverty alleviation at the grassroots level. Over the years, she has designed and
anchored several programs for the construction of school buildings, public toilets, healthcare facilities and homes for orphan and destitute children. Under her guidance, the Foundation has disbursed scholarships to needy meritorious students; donated books to educational institutions and public libraries, trained teachers; conducted disaster relief operations; imparted technical education to the youth; set up self-employment centers for women; helped war widows and artistes fallen in hard times; and revived some of our most traditional yet endangered arts and crafts.
Some of the notable projects taken up by the Infosys Foundation under Sudha Murty’s active leadership are the leprosy rehabilitation camp at Gulbarga, air-conditioning of the entire burns ward at Victoria Hospital in Bangalore, relief work in the flood-hit districts of north Karnataka and drought-hit areas of Andhra Pradesh, and the building of veterinary hospitals in the rural and backward areas of Karnataka. She is building 10,000 public toilets in the rural areas of Karnataka and has already built several hundred toilets in the city of Bangalore. Her vision of a library for each school has resulted in the setting up of 50,000 libraries so far. Sudha Murty has facilitated the donation of over several thousand computers to rural schools in Karnataka as she firmly believes that computers are the tools for the future. Through Foundation she has built 2,300 houses in the flood affected areas. She has handled national natural disasters like tsunami in Tamil Nadu and Andaman, earthquake in Kutch – Gujarat, hurricane and floods in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and drought in Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Sudha Murty is also a bestselling author, who writes in English and Kannada. Her published works include eight novels, five collections of short stories, four technical books, three travelogues, three children’s books and a book on self- experiences. Some of her most popular works include, “How I Taught My Grandmother to Read”, “Dollar Bahu”, “Mahashweta”, “Wise & Otherwise”, “Old Man and His God”, “Grandma’s Bag of Stories” and “Magic Drum & Other Favourite Stories”. Her most recent book has been, “The Day I Stopped Drinking Milk”, which is a collation of extraordinary stories about ordinary people’s lives. Her books have been translated into 16 Indian languages. Sudha Murty’s books have sold over a million copies overall and 5,00,000 in the English language alone. Her books have been accepted by young and older audiences alike and has a huge fan following.
Sudha Murty’s philanthropy and literary achievements have won her recognition at the state, national and international levels. She has been honored with the Padma Shri by the government of India in 2006, the Rajyaprashasti award by the Karnataka government in 2000, and seven honorary doctorates from the SNDT Women’s University, Bombay and the universities of Karnataka, Gulbarga, Chennai, Tirupati, Tumkur, and Kolhapur. The University of California, Berkeley gave her the International and Area Studies Global Leaders Award, while the Book Sellers & Publishers Association of South India, Chennai, recognized her contribution to literature with the R.K. Narayan Award. The Government of Karnataka awarded her the highest literary award the ‘Attimabbe Award’ –for her literary work for the year 2011-12. She was awarded the Doctorate of Literature from Tumkur University in 2012 for her thesis on “Functional Strategies and Best Practices of Infosys Foundation”.
1st CONVOCATION
held on 22 nd August, 2011 at 11.00 a.m
at Vel Murugan Auditorium, Vel Tech Campus
Padma Shri Dr.Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Distinguished Missile Scientist, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri , the Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, and Director General of Defence Research and Development Organization, Government of India.
Born in 1949, Dr.Saraswat a post graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, obtained his doctorate in Propulsion Engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad.
Since 1972, his long and distinguished career in Defence Research and Development Organization is credited with numerous outstanding contributions towards missile development programs. He pioneered the design and development of Liquid Propulsion Rocket Engines (LPE) culminating in production of 3 ton LPE for Prithvi and other versions of Agni missiles.
Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat, at the age of 40, was the youngest to be appointed as a Project Director in DRDO. His innovative measures resulted in successful development, testing and induction of to develop the PRITHVI missile system into armed forces in a record time, at a small fraction of cost of those developed by developed nations, earned him the title ‘The Missile Man of India’.
Taking advantages of globalization, Dr.Saraswat entered into collaboration with Israel for development of Long Range Surface to Air missile for Indian Navy and Medium Range Surface to Air missile for India Air Force.
His approach enabled Indian Aerospace Industries to acquire Missile Technology Control Regions at no additional cost and to participate in joint development of system with international agencies.
In 2009, Dr.Vijay Kumar Saraswat was elevated as Secretary to Department of Defence R&D, Director General of DRDO & Aeronautical development Agency and Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri, Government of India.
His academic and research eminence is reflected in more than one hundred plenary, keynote and invited lectures in major events spread all over the world. Hard work, perseverance and ability to lead are the hallmark of his character. He initiated the personality development program for the young scientist to develop skills and groom them into future technological leaders.
In addition to the Defence R&D, he also contributed immensely to the society for up gradation of technology in select areas through professional bodies. Dr.VK Saraswat as Chairman Aeronautical Society of India (Hyderabad Branch) provided a platform to practitioners, academic and researchers through seminars on critical Technology areas under Aerospace Luminary series. The new international airport and Aerospace SEZ at Hyderabad are a testimony of his initiatives and able guidance through AeSI since 2002.
As Chairman of Combustion Institute (Indian Section), Dr. VK Saraswat organized workshops on important areas like current trends in IC Engine development and CFD in Combustion to disseminate knowledge on latest technologies. Dr. Saraswat’s rigorous efforts led to establishment of Advanced Combustion research Centers at IISc and IIT(M). His initiatives on research in Fuel Cell technologies are expected soon for commercial usage. Dr. Saraswat has played a pivotal role in establishment of Prof CR Rao Advanced Institute of Mathematics, Computer Sciences and Statistics at UOH, Hyderabad. The institute earned international recognition in short time with accreditation from many international bodies and universities.
International Academy of Engineering, Russia elected him as a Member of Academy and honored him as Academician in 2007, a rare distinction for an Indian Scientist. The Times Magazine of United States in its issue dated 17 Sep 2007 described Dr. Saraswat as an Innovator working on New Technologies.
During his illustrious career, Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat won many accolades and Awards. A few to mention here are, Padma Shri by Govt of India in 1998, ; DRDO’s Technology Leadership Award, Scientist of the Year Award, Path Breaking Research Award; National Aeronautical Prize by Aeronautical Society of India in 1993; Distinguished Alumni Award from Indian Institute of Science Alumni Association 2010; Dr. Y Nayudamma Memorial Award in 2010; Prof. Jai Krishna Memorial Award of Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) in 2009; Outstanding Scientist honour by Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar in 2006; Award for Vocational Excellence in leadership by Rotary International District 3140, Mumbai during its convention for Mankind in 2002; FICCI Annual Award for the year 2005 and Outstanding Indian Award from One India One people in 2006.
Sardar Vallabhbhai National Inst. of Technology, Dr. MGR University, Chennai, Andhra University and SASTRA University, Tanjavur had conferred honorary doctorates (Honoris Causa) in Science & Technology on Dr. Saraswat.
Dr.Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Distinguished Missile Scientist of India, the Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, Government of India is recommended by the Board of Management, Vice Chancellor and the Chancellor of VEL TECH RANGARAJAN & Dr. SAGUNTHALA R&D INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, to receive the Degree of Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) to which, Sir I pray, he be admitted.