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Chief Guest
LT. GEN. GURMIT SINGH
PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, VSM (Retd.)
Hon'ble Governor Uttarakhand
His Excellency Lieutenant General Sh. Gurmit Singh Ji, Hon’ble Governor of Uttarakhand is a
distinguished figure with a rich background in the Indian Army. Born on February 1, 1956, in
Jalal Usman, Amritsar, Punjab, he received his primary education at the prestigious Sainik
School Kapurthala, Punjab. His career in the military is marked by a remarkable journey,
culminating in the position of Governor of Uttarakhand.
Lt. Gen. Gurmit Singh's character is an embodiment of valor, compassion, simplicity, and
integrity. Known for his ability to make tough decisions in his military career, he possesses a
broad-minded, gentle spirit, and holds compassion, love, and affection for all. His vision
extends beyond caste, religion, or class, seeing the soul and divinity in every individual.
He is deeply influenced by Sikhism's core values of kindness, simplicity, and honesty, which
resonate in his personal life. This unique blend of military acumen and a warm personality
has endeared him to many. As the Governor of Uttarakhand, his dedication to patriotism
and his commitment to the state are evident in his initial messages.
Lt. Gen. Gurmit Singh's legacy is a testament to his dedication and conscientiousness. He
carries forward the philosophy, values, and lifestyle inspired by Guru Nanak Dev Ji and Guru
Gobind Singh Ji's teachings.
His educational background is complemented by his patriotic roots, hailing from Amritsar, a
sacred city in Sikhism. He is the former Deputy Chief of Army Staff, representing the Indian
Army on several national and international platforms, including diplomatic talks on border
issues with China and Pakistan.
He has been awarded Four Presidential Awards and two commendations by the Chief of
Army Staff during his nearly 40-year military career, including the Param Vishisht Seva
Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, and Vishisht Seva Medal.
With his enduring connection to soldiers, warriors, and martyrs, he has served as the Chief
Executive Patron of the Rashtriya Sainik Sanstha. Lt. Gen. Gurmit Singh is also a prominent
defense expert, contributing to television media discussions with a focus on "Nation First."
His multifaceted career showcases his dedication to the service of the nation, and his tenure
in Banbasa, Uttarakhand, holds a special place in his extensive service record. Lt. Gen.
Gurmit Singh's life and work reflect an unwavering commitment to the betterment of his
country and fellow citizens.
Guest of Honour
PROF. CHANDRA SHAKHER
Emeritus Professor, IIT Delhi
Chandra Shakher received Master of Technology in Applied Optics from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi in 1976 and Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1980. He worked as Scientist at Central Scientific Instruments Organization, Chandigarh from Nov 1979 to May 1983. In May 1983 he joined Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Hyderabad, an industry dedicated for the manufacturing of power generating equipments, as Deputy Manager.
In March1989, he joined Instrument Design Development Centre (IDDC) of the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi) as Chief Design Engineer and subsequently in 1995 he was elevated to the position of Professor.
For two academic sessions (2002-2004) he was on lien from IIT Delhi and joined as the Director of National Institute of Technology Hamirpur (Himanchal Pradesh), India. He has handled many research projects and industrial consultancies.
He has been an invited fellow of AIST, Japan and JSPS, Japan. He was an academic visitor at Imperial College, London, UK. His research interests include scientific and industrial applications of holographic interferometry, laser speckles, digital holography, fiber optic sensors, optical coherence tomography and laser-based instrumentation.
He has published 120 research papers in international reviewed journals and 75 papers in the proceedings of international conferences. He holds four patents. He is a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, International Society of Optics and Photonics (SPIE) and Fellow of OSI. He received Institute Outstanding Faculty Award for 1994-1995, for significant research and development work in holographic techniques and laser-based systems and NRDC Independence Day Award 1993 for development of laser-based alignment system for electrical power machinery and prestigious Galileo Galilei Award in 2014, and Lifetime achievement award in 2018, by Instrument Society of India, for outstanding contributions to the field of holographic and speckle metrology.
He was Emeritus Professor from 1st 2015 to Dec 1st. 2019. Currently he is Honorary Professor at SeNSE (formerly IDDC), IIT Delhi, Chairperson of the Board of Governors of National Institute of Technology Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, Member of Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) Govt. of India, and Chairman, Expert Advisory Group (EAG) for Analytical, Industrial & Sensor Allied Instrumentation Now Device Development Programme (DDP) of Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.
Director & Chairman, BoG
PROF. LALIT KUMAR AWASTHI
NIT Uttarakhand
Prof. Lalit Kumar Awasthi, is presently Professor and Director at National Institute of Technology, Uttarakhand since 9th February 2022. Earlier he served five-year term as Director of NIT Jalandhar and had additional charge of NIT Delhi (for about 4 months) and NIT Hamirpur from 14th August 2020 to 9th October 2021. Thereafter he was officiating Director at NIT Hamirpur till 3rd February 2022. Prof. Awasthi has an iconic track record of quality teaching, research and academic administration and institution building.
Prof. Lalit Kumar Awasthi, completed his Ph.D. from IIT Roorkee (2003) and M.Tech. from IIT Delhi(1993) both in Computer Science and Engineering. His academic career spans for more than three decades in which he is involved in teaching-learning, laboratory development, infrastructure development, research, establishing new institution and
Being founder faculty, he is the main architect of the CSE Department, NIT Hamirpur. He has distinguished achievement of establishing the first computing facility at NIT Hamirpur. He also contributed for having new departmental building and establishing various basic and research laboratories. Under his headship, for the first time, Department started M. Tech. programme in Computer Science and Engineering and also in Mobile Computing. He also designed M Tech programme in Cloud Computing. Prof Awasthi while working as Head of Computer Centre, NITH established Voice and Data integrated network at NIT Hamirpur in 2002-03. Prof. Awasthi served as Dean (Students and Alumni) at NITH and strengthened Alumni base of NITH in India and abroad.
Prof. Awasthi served as Director in Himachal from July 2012 to September 2016. He was appointed founder Director-cum-Principal of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Govt. Institute of Engineering and Technology, Pragtinagar, India, to establish new institute with grant-in-aid of Rs. 15 Crores from SJVNL, Shimla, India. Professor Awasthi finalized master plan of the campus and established the institution with laboratories and other facilities. While at Pragtinagar he was having charge of Director of J N Govt. Engineering College, Sundernagar (HP) for almost two years. For a small period, he also served as Founder Director of MG Govt. Engineering College, Jeori, Shimla, Himachal.
Professor Lalit K Awasthi as Dean (Academics) at HP Technical University Hamirpur finalized new curriculum of BTech and MTech courses. and process of finalization ordinances of the university.