Presidency alumni association to honour Abhijit Banerjee

The alumni association of the Presidency University on Monday said it would felicitate Nobel laureate and alumnus Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee with the prestigious 'Atul Chandra Gupta Memorial Award' when he next visits the city.

Bivas Chaudhuri, the secretary of Presidency Alumni Association, said the felicitation programme would be organised "any time after January 28 during Banerjee's stay in Kolkata".

"We had previously conferred the award on luminaries like Amartya Sen and Bimal Jalan, who made the Presidency proud. This year, we are bestowing it on Banerjee.

"We are grateful that he has agreed to receive the award," Chaudhury said on the sidelines of the institute's 202nd Foundation Day celebrations here.

The association secretary also said that all alumni publications, some dating back to the early 19th century, has been archived on the National Digital Library of India (NDLI).

NDLI is a single-window platform that collects and collates metadata from premier learning institutions in India and abroad, as well as other relevant sources.

"All editions of alumni publications -- from 1900 to this date -- have been scanned, digitised and uploaded on the NDLI website.

"We hope it will be of great help to those interested about the university's rich academic past," Chaudhury said.