ROURKELA: President Ram Nath Kovind will grace the 18th convocation ceremony of National Institute of Technology-Rourkela (NIT-R) and also dedicate the 200-bed new Super Speciality Hospital (SSH) of RSP-run Ispat General Hospital (IGH) to the nation on March 21.
NIT-R, in a statement, informed the President of India would deliver the convocation address as chief guest in the presence of Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, Union Minister of Steel and Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan and State Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das.
It added that honorary DSc degrees will be conferred on three eminent persons of the country and a total of 1,470 degrees including 753 under-graduate, 599 post-graduate and 118 PhD degrees awarded to students at the convocation.
This apart, the students of the institute will be awarded six gold and 70 silver medals along with five endowment gold medals and as many endowment awards at the function.
As many as eight alumni of the institute will also be conferred the distinguished alumnus award on the occasion.
Pradhan in a letter to Sundargarh MP and Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence chairman Jual Oram on March 10 had stated that the President would dedicate the super speciality hospital to the nation. Rourkela Steel Plant has set up the hospital with financial support from Union Steel Ministry.