All IITs Registrars’ conclave has begun in IIT Mandi
In a consequential move towards reimagining academic
governance in nation’s premium engineering institutions, IIT Mandi hosts a three day
Annual Registrars’ Conclave, which brought together 18 registrars and 3 Directors from
IITs across the country. The event marks one of the largest gatherings of senior academic
administrators from the IIT system in recent years. The conclave aims to encourage the
discussion on strengthening academic administration, streamlining processes through
automation, and enhancing the role of administration in research, both in the Indian and
global contexts.
The conclave was inaugurated in the presence of Prof. Laxmidhar Behera, Director, IIT
Mandi, and Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar along with the registrars from 18
IITs. While the event was virtually addressed by Prof. Manoj Singh Gaur, Director, IIT
Jammu.
Stressing the importance of value-based leadership, Prof. Laxmidhar Behera, Director,
IIT Mandi, called upon institutions to adopt values-based leadership principles grounded
in the teachings of the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. He stated, “There is no problem in life or in
governance that has no solution in the Gita.” Prof Behera also urged registrars to create
systems that are transparent, efficient, and student-oriented.
Prof. Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar, said, “Registrars are the institutional memory, and also
the backbone of continuity. Their administrative base is the key to keep the IIT brand alive in the
world.” Bringing his three decades of academic administration experience in Sweden, he reflected
upon The Role of Administration in research: Indian & European perspectives.
Prof. Manoj Singh Gaur, Director, IIT Jammu, being an accomplished computer engineer and
having first hand experience with institute automation system, shared his thoughts on Automation
of institutions of National Importance. He addressed the conclave remotely, and said, “It is important
that our institutions are at the forefront of automation, not just in the laboratories, but also in
administration. Registrars’ have to be the torchbearers of this change.”
Dr. Kumar Sambhav Pandey, Registrar, IIT Mandi, stated, “This conclave is an initiative towards
nation’s commitment to strengthen the administrative backbone of India’s finest institutions. Our
vision is to work together to drive a new vision for responsive, technology-enabled, and mission-
based governance.”
The event witnessed the participation of senior administrators from 18 IITs across the
country. The distinguished attendees included Dr. Jayesh Chandra S Pai (Retd) from IIT
Bhilai; Bamadev Acharya, IIT Bhubaneswar; Ganesh K. Bhorkade, IIT Bombay; Atul Vyas,
IIT Delhi; Dr. Kalyan Kumar Bhattacharjee, IIT Dharwad; Prem Kumar Chopra, IIT
Gandhinagar; Dr. K. V. Reghuthaman, IIT Goa; Krishan Kumar Tiwari, IIT Guwahati; Venkat
Rao Voleti, IIT Hyderabad; and Siba Prasad Hota, IIT Indore. Also present were Col.
Virinder Singh Jeji (Retd), IIT Jodhpur; Dr. Ankur Gupta, IIT Kanpur; Vishwa Ranjan, IIT
Kharagpur; Capt. Amit Jain (Retd), IIT Mandi; Dr. B.V. Ramesh, IIT Palakkad; Prashant Garg,
IIT Roorkee, and Dr. Dinesh K. S, IIT Ropar. Their collective insights and expertise enriched
the discussions and reinforced the importance of administrative collaboration across
India’s premier technical institutions
The conclave also offers a special platform for exchanging mutual concerns and building a common
vision of administration for India’s IITs. Sessions covered enhancing coordination between
academic and administrative wings, timely implementation of academic processes, and institution-
level strategies for enhancing research and innovation support.
Since India aspires to become a world knowledge economy, events like the Registrars’ Conclave are
important to future-proof the higher education ecosystem. This conclave’s deliberations and
decisions will undoubtedly set the administration agenda for the IITs and other Institutions of
National Importance for the upcoming years.
