Kumaraguru Institutions initiated the birth centenary celebrations of its Founder Arutchelvar Dr.N.Mahalingam with a series of events and projects slated from 17 to 27 March 2022 to inspire students, staff, visitors and the general public to emulate his ideals and values.

Dr. N. Mahalingam’s 100th birth anniversary, the Founder’s Day event commenced with devotional songs by school students, shortly after which, Dr. M. Manickam, Vice Chairman presented the welcome address. He welcomed the students back to the campus addressing the 2 years of online classes. He then welcomed the chief guests.

On the occasion of the KCT Founder’s Day Centenary Celebrations on 21 March 2022, Arutchelvar Dr.N.Mahalingam Award 2022 had been conferred to Dr. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company for his unparalleled contribution to Industry, R&D and Social Development. Shankar Vanavarayar, Joint Correspondent, KCT, K. Ramasamy,- Chairman, Roots Group of Companies, Bala Subramaniam – Correspondent, KCT, Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, Chairman, KCT, Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company, M.Manikkam, Vice Chairman, KCT, Sri Vijay Mohan, Founder, Pricol Ltd offered their felicitations.

Presidential address by KCT Chairman Shri krishnaraj vanavarayar began by appreciating the choir group of Barath Vidya Bhavan as the NO.1 in Coimbatore. He considers the song Shriman Narayanan as an praise to the chief guest Dr.Venu Srinivasan. Moreover the song Ragupati Ragava was a dedication to Arutchelvar. He welcomed the dignitaries of the event Dr.Venu srinivasan who is the chairman of TVS and arutchelvar centenary award of the year 2022. He is glad and grateful to have chief guests like these. He then welcomed his beloved friends Shri.vijai mohan and shri.Ramasamy and the rest of the gathering. Today March 21 is a significant day as it marks the commencement of the birth celebration of our industrial founder. “A legend and a multi talented personality who had made distinct accomplishments as an industrialist, educationalist, philanthropist, social activist and many more.” says Shri Krishnaraj Vanavarayar. Arutchelvar was presented with many opportunities and challenges to transform them into achievements. His 92 years of exemplary life is filled with achievements and impactful contributions that have made him stand apart as an extraordinary human. He was greatly inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and he lived the life of a true gandhian. He was also a devotee of Ramalinga Adigalar. He represented the pollachi constituency for three terms from 1952 to 1967. He had also served as the tamilnadu state planning commission for two terms. He transformed the agricultural activities of Parambikulam. During his lifetime Arutchelvar had established 35 educational institutions and all of them are unique for 40,000 students and all those institutes are leaders in their respective domain. Kct engineering College ranks among the top 100 engineering colleges in India. In recognition of his contributions to the society and industry he was conferred the padma bhushan award in 2007 by Abdul Kalam. Shri.Krishnaraj vanavarayar recognised the first awardee of Arutchelvar Dr.N.Mahalingam Award. Moreover he mentioned the relationship between the tvs groups and shakthi groups. Later he went on to mention the achievements of The TVS groups. “If had been alive today Dr.Arutchelvar would be the happiest person to confer this award to Dr.Venu Srinivasan” says the chairman. He mentioned all the achievements of the Srinivasa service Trust which has been serving 16 lakh people. In the end he thanked Dr.Venu Srinivasan for making time amongst his busy schedule. Before he concluded he made the big announcement of launching a research initiative known as KRIA- Kumaraguru Research And Innovation Alliance that works for economic and social impact.

Dr. V. Srinivasan Acceptance Speech Dr. Venu Srinivasan, the chairperson of TVS motors expressed his gratitude for the award. Then, he sarcastically expressed that COVID has done something good by making him receive this esteemed award on his 100th birth anniversary. There is light even in the darkest of times. Arutchelvar was his mentor to whom he’s grateful for guiding him.

The award distribution will be followed by the launch of Kumaraguru Research and Innovation Alliance (KRIA) with a seed fund of INR 10 crores that aims to create an innovation alliance among institutions, enterprises, government, international partners, NGOs, researchers and students to work towards creating an impact on the society and innovation in Environment, Livelihood, Social Sciences and Engineering & Technology with outcomes cutting across Sustainability, Inclusivity, Digitalization, Commercialization, Automation and Innovation.

KRIA Launch Dr.Joseph V Thanikal , the director of the Kumaraguru institution spoke about the launch of KRIA , Kumaraguru Research and Innovation Alliance . This alliance for research and innovation is to create economic and social impact. The purpose of KRIA is to create a research and development ecosystem for the society which he believes to be a milestone in the history of Kumraguru Institutions. It will be a socially responsible research centre for the betterment of the society. Environment, livelihood, social science, engineering and technology will be the field of focus. An amount of 10 crores has been invested for this. He mentioned that, at the end of 3 years KRIA aims to establish a public private partnership and ideas to grow to excellence. He concluded by saying that Dr.Venu Srinivasan is the most apt person to launch KRIA .

Annexure – Other events

The Tamil Nadu State under 18 Open & Girls FIDE Rated Chess Championship

Dr. N. Mahalingam Chess Academy along with International Chess Federation, All India Chess Federation, Tamil Nadu State Chess Association and Coimbatore District Chess Association jointly organized The Tamil Nadu State Under 18 Open & Girls FIDE Rated Chess Championship from 17 to 20 March 2022.

2-Day National Seminar on Research Approach in Tamilology and Indian Traditional Philosophies

Arutchelvar Ayya was a patron of Tamil language and literature, and as a mark of tribute to the Founder, a 2-Day National Seminar on Research Approach in Tamilology and Indian Traditional Philosophies focusing on Archaeology, Anthropology, Science, Technology and Siddha Medicine has been jointly organized by the Dr.N. Mahalingam Tamil research Centre (NMTRC) and Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts and Science on 21 and 22 March 2022.

Mahatma Gandhi Merit Scholarship and Achiever Awards

On 27 March 2022, 1300 students from Kumaraguru learning fraternity will receive the annual Mahatma Gandhi Merit Scholarship and Achievers Awards worth 1.3 crores for their outstanding performance in academics, sports, research and innovation. Dr. R. Velraj, Vice Chancellor, Anna University will present the scholarships and awards to deserving students during the award ceremony.