The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is set to receive a fleet of electric buses, its largest-ever legacy gift by its alumni. The fleet of electric buses is being donated by the class of 1981. Today is the 40th reunion of the class of 81.

Class of 81 consists of around 600 students in various BTech, MTech and PhD courses. The class is now widely dispersed across the globe.

The class of 81 joined IIT Madras in 1976, as it used to be a five year course back then. IIT Madras Director, Professor V Kamakoti said that this is a special gift and will replace the existing fleet of diesel buses and golf carts and help the institute to reach its goal of a zero carbon campus by 2050.

During the three-day reunion, the batch will explore the campus to learn about the vast changes over almost half a century since they graduated. They would also be discussing the projects that the batch had initiated during their 25th reunion in 2006 with professor Kamakoti and other faculty members.

IIT Madras was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an ‘Institute of National Importance.’ There are 16 academic departments in the institute and several advanced interdisciplinary research academic centres.