IIEST confers D.Litt on former President Pranab Mukherjee

Former President Pranab Mukherjee was today conferred the D.Litt by the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST).
Mukherjee was conferred the honorary D.Litt (Honoris Causa) at the 4th annual convocation of the IIEST here in Howrah district.
"I am accepting this honour with humility and gratitude." Mukherjee said.
He recalled his visit to the IIEST during its the third Convocation last year when he was the country's President.
"Director of IIEST Prof Ajoy Ray had earlier requested me to receive this honour but I did not agree then due to constitutional reasons. After I left the Rashtrapati Bhavan, I thought now I can accept the honour," Mukherjee said.

Ray said Mukherjee was chosen for the honour for his contributions in the fields of social, economics and arts.

"We feel honoured to confer D.Litt on a statesman like Pranab Mukherjee in this convocation," he told reporters later.
IIEST also conferred Honorary D.Sc. degrees on eminent scientist Lazar Mathew and nuclear scientist Sekhar Basu.
Medals were given to 30 candidates for getting highest marks in different disciplines. Among them, President of India Gold Medal was given to Ashmita Chakraborty, a student of Metallurgy and Materials, IIEST.