The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur on Saturday inaugurated the two-day Impact RISE 2026 conclave at the IIT KGP Research Park in Newtown, Kolkata.
The event, themed “Forging Futures: Engineering Social Change – Converging Capital, Innovation, and Action,” brought together ministers, government officials, PSU leaders, scientists, academics, impact investors, and NGOs to advance India’s sustainable development agenda.
The conclave featured high-level plenary sessions, thematic deep dives, impact leadership talks, policy discussions, and multiple significant launches, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals and national missions.
The key focus areas include sustainable rural development, health and sanitation, education and skills, clean energy, climate resilience, ecology, tribal affairs, mobility, CSR 2.0, local governance, and global sustainability frameworks.
The highlights of the event included the release of the IIT KGP Impact Portfolio, launch of the Impact RISE Impact Venture Fund, Paani Bawni initiative, and signing of MoUs with Texmaco Rail & Engineering Limited and Indian Chamber of Commerce.
The event also featured the launch of Sus10 initiatives, comprising 10 new startups, 10 certification programs in sustainability, and 10 campus development projects aimed at achieving a net-zero campus. The “Catch Them Young” Youth Entrepreneurship Development Program was introduced, offering annual internships to 500 undergraduates.
“The conclave establishes an annual nexus for outcome-driven, technology-enabled impact partnerships, translating science and technology into national solutions for India’s most pressing challenges,” said Prof. Suman Chakraborty, Director, IIT Kharagpur.
ISRO chairman Dr V Narayanan who attended the event emphasised on PM Modi’s vision for space sector growth, citing plans to increase satellite assets and send humans to space. “Our current space assets, including satellites, number around 56. However, over the next few years, we aim to expand this capacity threefold, significantly enhancing our space capabilities. Next year we have to send humans to space and bring them back safely. We also have the Chandrayaan 4 and Chandrayaan 5 missions. We should also not forget the basic applications like navigation, communication and television broadcasting, we have to work on these. The space sector reform has also been announced by the PM and a lot of private start up companies are interested in coming into space activities.”
Sunil Kumar Gupta, IAS (Retd.), chief – strategy, execution & operations at IIT Kharagpur Research Park, said “Our philosophy is simple yet powerful: Build in our labs, pilot on our campus, and extend solutions to the world – at scale, with accountability, and with purpose.”