Entrepreneur, philanthropist Prashanth Palakurthi conferred BITS Ratna award

US-based tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Prashanth Palakurthi was on Sunday conferred the maiden BITS Ratna award in recognition of his outstanding contribution and services to the institute, its stakeholders and society at large.Prashanth, who belongs to the 1984 batch of BITS Pilani, was honoured at the convocation ceremony for the 2022 batch, held at the Hyderabad campus.

US-based tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Prashanth Palakurthi was on Sunday conferred the maiden BITS Ratna award in recognition of his outstanding contribution and services to the institute, its stakeholders and society at large.

Prashanth, who belongs to the 1984 batch of BITS Pilani, was honoured at the convocation ceremony for the 2022 batch, held at the Hyderabad campus. The award is the highest recognition for a BITS Pilani alumnus and Palakurthi is its first recipient.

The award is the beginning of a new chapter in his association with BITS that spans over 44 years, Prashanth said. The relationship that began as a student later evolved and it was one that involved entrepreneur-employer dynamics, and as a well-wisher of the institute and its graduates, he said reacting to the award.

“Middle-class family values rate recognition from an educational institution much higher than others. So, it was deeply gratifying to receive the special honor. I may just have become my family’s most follow-worthy member today,” he told PTI. Born and brought up in Hyderabad, Prashanth said it is his desire that ace institutions like his alma mater be set up in Boston, US as well where he now lives.

Prashanth is the founder of Reflexis systems (2001), which was acquired by Zebra Technologies in 2020.

In 2018, he made a donation of USD 1 million to the institution, the largest individual pledge ever received by BITS Pilani, for setting up the Anuradha and Prashanth Palakurthi Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research (APPCAIR).

In the category of distinguished alumnus award figured Nandan Reddy, the co-founder of Swiggy, online food aggregator, while the distinguished service award is awarded to Captain K Ravi Shankar (Posthumous) in recognition of exceptional bravery and supreme sacrifice for the country.

Srivari Chandrasekhar, Secretary of Department of Science and Technology and the former Director of Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) graced the convocation.