IIT-Kharagpur holds NSS Annual Day on 5th October, 2013

More than 50 villagers were handed over their SC/ST certificates during the Annual Day celebration ceremony on October 5, 2013, by Ms. Amita Sharma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development; Professor Uday Desai, Director, IIT Hyderabad, and Professor PP Chakrabarti, Director, IIT Kharagpur.

NSS IIT Kharagpur has been working on this over the last several months. Its involvement began with-
a. a survey for identifying the residents, not in possession of SC/ST certificates.

b. Followed by an awareness campaign, to sensitise the villagers about the usefulness of the document, and getting the necessary documentary evidence establishing the entitlement for the certificates assembled.

c. Organising camps to bring the villagers in direct contact with government officials to conclude the application process and complete the online application procedure, that was introduced recently.

SC/ST certificates and additional 100 villagers are ready for distribution - also resulting from the efforts of NSS IIT Kharagpur - will be handed over to the recipients shortly.

While addressing the gathering of villagers, Panchayat Members, NSS volunteers and IIT Kharagpur faculty members, Ms Sharma emphasised the need for contribution of students' community in serving social causes and urged NSS IIT Kharagpur to continue to participate in delivering e-governance programs. Professors Desai and Chakrabarti also addressed the gathering.

The NSS program at IIT Kharagpur involves more than 1050 bachelor's degree students and covering 20 villages and slums.

The activities of the program include teaching schools children, arranging financial support for deserving students from underprivileged households, organising vocational training for villagers, spreading computer literacy, distributing clothes, toys, medicine, house rebuilding aids, disseminating awareness on social issues, planting trees, undertaking sanitation projects and organising medical camps.

NSS IIT Kharagpur also plans to continue to act as a facilitator of e-governance programs, being rolled out over a wider geographical area that is going forward.