Rename IIT-M IIT Chennai: Union minister

Chennai: In the wake of the Union cabinet approving a proposal to change the name of the Madras high court, Union coal minister Piyush Goyal has suggested that IIT-M too should be rechristened IIT Chennai.

"I have to still call it IIT Madras? You should quickly move a proposal to change it to IIT Chennai," he said, while addressing a gathering after inaugurating innovative solar-DC products inverterless and appliances developed by IIT-M and its incubated renewable energy companies here on Friday. He also inaugurated the green building cooling system along with the insulated thermal storage tank at the IIT research park and laid the foundation stone for the centre for battery engineering and electric vehicles.

Stressing that the Centre would provide 24x7 affordable electricity to all households in the country in the next three years, he said, "We would ensure that no child in India will study without electricity after three years and no home will remain without round-the-clock power."

Later, Goyal said the Centre had added 46.000MW conventional generating capacity in the last two years, which is 23% more than what has been added during the last 66 years.

He also lauded the efforts of IIT towards creating cooling systems free from hydro-fluorocarbon (HFC), he said, the initiative would help in making HFC free air conditioners that can be marketed at reasonable price.