Kotak Mahindra Bank Associates with IIT Kanpur to Establish India’s First Fully Integrated School of Sustainability

Bengaluru,16 December 2023: The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) and the Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (“KMBL”/ “Kotak”) at this time introduced the launch of Kotak School of Sustainability – India’s first totally built-in faculty of sustainability at IIT Kanpur. The launch occasion was graced by Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India because the chief visitor; Dr. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and Shri. Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Steel, as friends of honour; Prof. S. Ganesh, Director, IIT Kanpur; Mr. Prakash Apte, Chairman Kotak Mahindra Bank, Shanti Ekambaram, Whole-time Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank, C S Rajan, Independent Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Himanshu Nivsarkar, Senior EVP and Head CSR, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Mr. Kapil Kaul, Chief Executive Officer, IIT Kanpur Development Foundation.

Global warming poses a critical risk to our existence, manifesting in premature pure calamities, air pollution, and biodiversity loss. Research signifies irreversible ‘Tipping Points’ with fast, dangerous climatic modifications. Realising that is an imminent existential disaster and that anthropogenic actions want to be environmentally sustainable; world leaders have been discussing in COP (Conference of Parties) conferences to come up with insurance policies and actions that may lead to a sustainable future. The United Nations (UN’s) seventeen sustainable improvement targets tackle this problem, essential in densely populated nations like India. Urgent local weather actions are wanted to mitigate, adapt, and construct resilience.

Despite the problem, collaboration amongst policymakers, academia, companies, and society gives alternatives for the mitigation, adaptation and resilience to local weather change. In addressing the climate-driven sustainability problem, instructional establishments play a significant function. The UN emphasizes schooling’s function in selling local weather motion, empowering folks to perceive and tackle local weather impacts. Sustainability schooling and analysis require educational establishments to mix environmental science and clear technology-based approaches with social, financial and ecological facets of sustainability. Institutions, by way of Education, Empowerment, and Engagement (3E), can lead local weather motion, empowering communities and conserving the pure ecosystem.

To tackle this problem, IIT Kanpur and KMBL have come collectively to set up India’s first built-in School of Sustainability. KMBL is funding IITK by way of its CSR program to set up Kotak School of Sustainability with a imaginative and prescient to promote pedigree schooling, analysis, and outreach. Kotak and IITK consider that this School is poised to supply thought management options in direction of sustainability actions and put together future generations to lead the trigger of sustainable improvement. The School will convey collectively departments and centres of excellence at IITK with an intention to present an enabling setting for collaborative analysis throughout a number of sides of sustainability. Kotak School of Sustainability may have devoted centres of excellence overlaying totally different facets of sustainability resembling clear power, setting, ecology, round financial system, local weather finance, sustainable societies and coverage.

The Kotak School of Sustainability can be led by tenured professors and main business consultants from throughout the globe. The School is positioned to run each undergraduate and postgraduate educational and skill-building applications in numerous themes of sustainability. The School can be housed in a inexperienced constructing in IITK’s principal campus that can be platinum-rated with web zero practices on power, water, and waste.

Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, mentioned “The National Research Foundation was arrange to enhance analysis and innovation by way of funding from business and authorities. I thank Kotak Mahindra Bank for taking the fitting step and accepting the duty by contributing in direction of establishing the School of Sustainability. The Kotak School of Sustainability will give international management within the discipline in line with the historical past of IIT Kanpur and its alumni who’re leaders in organizations the world over. The faculty won’t solely be about know-how and economics, however will cowl the A to Z of sustainability. This can be instrumental in serving to India meet the formidable goal of web zero by 2070, as introduced by our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji.”

Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, mentioned, “Kotak School of Sustainability highlights IIT Kanpur’s dedication to supply a holistic strategy to tackle sustainability challenges due to local weather change. School’s mission are in sync with India’s National Missions associated to sustainability. The faculty will assist in growing a powerful basis for sustainable improvement to obtain a local weather resilient financial system and society and can assist nation’s local weather motion plans and nationwide goal to attain web zero by 2070.”

Shri. Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Steel, mentioned “Opening of a School of sustainability serves an necessary want of the Indian financial system. The aim of Sustainability requires inter-disciplinary strategy which this faculty gives whereas the options have to be contextual. The faculty would find a way to draw college, researchers, college students, policymakers, and various stakeholders to try options to advanced and seemingly intractable issues. I’m trying ahead to this establishment considerably contributing in direction of the progress of the society and financial system, benign to Mother Earth.”

Mr. Prakash Apte, Chairman, Kotak Mahindra Bank mentioned, “We are delighted to announce the institution of the Kotak School of Sustainability in affiliation with IIT Kanpur. This affiliation in line with our CSR imaginative and prescient to improve the standard of life for communities by way of constructive impacts on financial, social, and environmental parameters, aligns with India’s social improvement targets and UN’s SDGs. We consider the creation of this School gives each Kotak and IIT Kanpur with a well timed alternative to create a legacy and work in direction of sustainability, a very powerful survival problem we face at this time.”

Prof. S. Ganesh, Director, IIT Kanpur, mentioned, “Sustainability has emerged as one of the foremost international challenges of our instances which requires varied stakeholders to work collectively and the function of instructional institutes like ours is extraordinarily essential on this mission. Adding to many of IIT Kanpur’s path-breaking initiatives and with the beneficiant CSR funding assist from Kotak Mahindra Bank, Institute is establishing ‘Kotak School of Sustainability’ with the general imaginative and prescient of offering thought management, growing concrete options towards sustainability actions, and making ready future generations to lead the trigger of sustainable improvement.”

Ms. Shanti Ekambaram, Whole time Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank mentioned, “As India continues on its development path with aspirations to attain excessive middle-income standing, our capacity to exist and develop with out depleting all of the pure sources can be a problem that wants to be addressed. The Kotak School of Sustainability marks our dedication to contribute to rising India’s expert workforce in direction of reaching the aim of long-term sustainable improvement together with its net-zero goal by 2070. The Bank’s CSR Project being applied in affiliation with IIT Kanpur will give attention to enhancing home-grown capabilities to tackle sustainable improvement.”

Prof. Ashish Garg, Professor-in-Charge of the School, mentioned, “The Kotak School of Sustainability goals to excel in sustainability schooling, analysis and innovation, know-how improvement, entrepreneurship, and outreach. The key to the event of holistic end-to-end know-how options for sustainable improvement can be faculty’s emphasis on synergistic integration of totally different facets of sustainability for larger instructional, scientific, technological, environmental and social influence.”