- The US Congress resolution states, “IIT graduates are highly committed and dedicated to research, innovation and promotion of trade and international cooperation between India and the United States.”
The US Congress passed a resolution recognising the “valuable and significant contributions” of Indian Americans, especially the graduates of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in the USA society last week. The resolution passed in the 118th Congress in the House of Representatives on January 10 said that the Indian-American community and the graduates of the IITs have made important contributions across professions and disciplines on the US soil. It was introduced in the US Congress by Subramanian Raja Krishnamoorthi, the US representative for Illinois’s eighth congressional district. The resolution further stated that the presence of Indian-Americans “deeply enriches” the country.
Referring to the US Congress resolution while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the second edition of IInvenTiv-2024 at IIT Hyderabad, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that India emerged as a significant player in innovation in India and abroad. “The US Congress recently passed a resolution extolling the contribution of IITians in the development of the US. This is our brand value and strength,” he said. The recognition comes at a time when major US multi-million-dollar companies are being headed by IIT-ians. Google’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sundar Pichai is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and former CEO of Twitter, Parag Agrawal is an alumnus of IIT Bombay.
Over 25 percent of the total one million international students studying in the United States are Indian, according to the latest Open Doors Report (ODR). The number of Indian students studying abroad in the US climbed by 35 percent in 2022–2023 and reached an all-time high of 2,68,923 students. In comparison to the previous year, the number of Indian graduate students surged by 63 percent to 1, 65,936 students, or about 64,000 more than before.