Congratulations!

Your journey from a graduand to a graduate begins on November 2, 2026.

From November 2 to November 4, 2026, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology will bring together our graduands, their families, faculty and the wider Thapar community for Thapar Convocation 2026. The ceremony marks an important milestone as our students receive their degrees and celebrate the achievements and experiences that have shaped their journey at Thapar. As you step forward into what comes next, we celebrate not just the degrees you have earned, but the people you have become along the way.

Chief Guest
The Present Governor - Punjab

Shri Gulab Chand Kataria

Hon'ble Governor of Punjab & Administrator U.T., Chandigarh

Shri Gulab Chand Kataria is the 37th Governor of Punjab. Hon’ble Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mr. Sheel Nagu administered the oath of office to the new Governor on July 31, 2024.

Shri Gulab Chand Kataria was the 31st Governor of Assam for the period from 22.02.2023 to 30.07.2024. Shri Gulab Chand Kataria hails from Udaipur, Rajasthan.

He was the former Home Minister of Rajasthan and the leader of the opposition in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly prior to his appointment as the Governor of Assam.

Some of the notable achievements credited to him are he was the Home Minister in the Government of Rajasthan from 31st May 2004 to 8th December 2008 and again from 2015 to 2018. He was a senior leader of the BJP from Rajasthan and was also a member of the central working committee of the party. He hails from Udaipur and represented it in the 9th Lok Sabha, from 1989-1991. He was also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from 24th August 2002 to December 2003, again from 21st February 2013 to 10th December 2013, and from 17th January 2019 to 2023 till his appointment as the Governor of Assam.

Shri Gulab Chand Kataria served as the Education Minister of the State from 1993 to 1998. He also served as Minister, Public Works Department from 8th December 2003 to 30th May 2004. He was the Minister, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, Disaster Management and Relief Department from 2013 to 2015.

Shri Kataria was born to Late Hukmi Chand Kataria and Late Lahari Bai on 13th October 1944. He pursued his Masters in Geography from Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur. He also studied Law from Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur. He is married to Smt. Anita Kataria and has five daughters. He also received the Excellent Teacher Award by Jiwanmal Nahata Memorial Trust, New Delhi on 5th September 2006.

DISTINGUISHED
ALUMNUS AWARDEE

Mr. Vinod K. Luthra, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 1966, is a distinguished alumnus of Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and philanthropist based in Rochester, New York. After graduating from Thapar with honours, he pursued an M.S. in Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis and went on to build an accomplished career in industrial research, plastics and packaging technology, including leadership roles at Mobil Plastics.

A named inventor on multiple U.S. patents, his work spans polymer processing, foam technology and advanced food-packaging systems. In 1981, he founded Barrington Residential, which grew into a significant family-owned multifamily housing enterprise in Upstate New York.

Mr. Luthra has maintained a strong connection with his alma mater through merit-cum-means scholarships supporting students in Mechanical and Civil Engineering and was honoured with TIET’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2019. Together with his wife, Dr. Vinay Luthra, he has also supported education, healthcare and community initiatives in India and the United States, most recently making a $2 million commitment to establish the Vinod and Vinay Luthra Family Distinguished Professorship in Urology at the University of Rochester. His six-decade journey from Thapar to Rochester reflects an enduring commitment to engineering, enterprise, education and giving back.