PRESS RELEASE
*IIT Kharagpur Honours 108 Outstanding Students with Director’s Platinum Jubilee Fellowships, Turning Academic Excellence into a Pathway for Research, Innovation and Nation-Building*
Kharagpur, 11 September 2026: As part of its historic Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur felicitated 108 outstanding students and research scholars with the prestigious Director’s Platinum Jubilee Fellowships, recognising exceptional performance in JEE (Advanced), JAM and GATE and creating pathways for their future journey in research, innovation, entrepreneurship and societal impact.
The Director’s Platinum Jubilee Excellence Fellowship Award Ceremony was held at the Ben Gupta Auditorium, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, IIT Kharagpur, in the presence of Prof. Suman Chakraborty, Director, IIT Kharagpur, along with the Deans of the Institute. The ceremony was attended by faculty members, staff, students, and the fellowship awardees, marking a significant occasion in the Institute’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Under the initiative, 55 Ph.D. scholars who secured positions among the Top 50 ranks in GATE were awarded the Director’s Platinum Jubilee Excellence Ph.D. Fellowship, while 06 M.Sc. students who secured positions among the Top 50 ranks in JAM received the Director’s Platinum Jubilee Excellence Fellowship. In the undergraduate category, 03 students who secured Top 300 ranks in JEE (Advanced) 2026 were awarded the Director’s Platinum Jubilee Changemaker Fellowship (Gold), while 44 students who secured Top 600 ranks in JEE (Advanced) 2026 received the Director’s Platinum Jubilee Changemaker Fellowship (Silver). Together, the four categories recognised 108 awardees.
Addressing the gathering, Prof. Suman Chakraborty, Director, IIT Kharagpur, underlined that the fellowships represent much more than recognition of examination performance. He said that an examination rank reflects what a student has already achieved, whereas a fellowship should be an investment in what the student has not yet imagined. He urged the young scholars to transform themselves “from job seekers to opportunity creators; from consumers of knowledge to creators of knowledge; from users of technology to inventors of technology; and from beneficiaries of India’s growth to architects of India’s future.”
The fellowship architecture provides substantial support across different stages of academic development. For outstanding JAM performers joining IIT Kharagpur for M.Sc., the Director’s Platinum Jubilee Excellence Fellowship provides ₹5,000 per month for two years, together with a summer internship fellowship of ₹30,000 per month for two months — a total summer research support of ₹60,000. For eligible selected GATE Fellows pursuing Ph.D., the fellowship provides ₹80,000 per month for the first two years and ₹90,000 per month for the subsequent three years, amounting to more than ₹50 lakh in fellowship support over a five-year doctoral journey.
For outstanding JEE (Advanced) performers, the Director’s Platinum Jubilee Changemaker Fellowship has been envisioned as an ecosystem of opportunity rather than merely another scholarship. The framework envisages Director’s Research Support of ₹5 lakh, an Innovation Grant of ₹10 lakh, Startup Accelerator Support of ₹25 lakh, and pathways towards venture matching and external funding of up to ₹60 lakh. For a sufficiently powerful idea progressing through these stages, the potential innovation ecosystem support can exceed ₹1 crore. The initiative also envisages mentorship through faculty, distinguished alumni and industry or innovation leaders, alongside opportunities for research, entrepreneurship and global exposure.
Prof. Chakraborty further emphasised that IIT Kharagpur’s recognition of excellence does not end with performance in entrance examinations. The Institute seeks to create multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate excellence during their academic journey and to encourage them to tackle ambitious problems in areas ranging from affordable healthcare and artificial intelligence to quantum technologies, semiconductors, sustainable energy, climate resilience, advanced manufacturing, water security, future mobility, education, space technologies and national security.
Calling upon the awardees to move “from success to significance,” the Director urged them to be curious enough to cross boundaries, courageous enough to create, and compassionate enough to ensure that what they create matters. The Institute, he stressed, seeks not merely to attract exceptional young minds, but to provide an environment in which they can evolve into researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, changemakers and nation-builders.
The Director’s Platinum Jubilee Fellowships reflect IIT Kharagpur’s larger vision during its 75th year: to celebrate merit not as an end in itself, but as the beginning of a journey towards discovery, innovation, leadership and service to the nation. The initiative reinforces the Institute’s commitment to empowering exceptional young minds with the resources, mentorship and opportunities required to translate academic excellence into meaningful impact.
