From:Neil Dwivedi Pundit. PhD. 1961 TC
President. BITSAA of North America
1354 Plumosa Way
Weston. FL 33327
H: 505-821-3295
 
Dear BOD. ADVBD. and other alumni friends.
 
We had a teleconference meeting of the BITSAA BOD & ADV BD on March 25. 2014. starting at 9:30pm ET with the pre-sent Agenda. Present were:
Neil. Prahlad. Alka. Ramesh. Divy. Naresh. Uttara. Anil. and Yogi. Raj Dubey had expressed his inability to attend to Neil earlier. The phone connection was considerably poor at times impeding deliberations. The minutes follow the published Agenda.
 
CONSENT: BOD Approved the Corporate Resolution to add Arunima Thakur on the Association’s account with Fidelity. This is in addition to Neil Pundit and Divy Raj.
 
1. DIRECTORS Reports – Neil reported on the Ranchi visit by Honorable MLA Bidhu Shekhar Jha (1962 ME) on Feb 28 and March 1. At the request of Ranjit Sinha and I. Bidhu was persuaded to extend his official visit to India as the head of Manitoba Technical Delegation. He spent a couple of days in Ranchi and met with: the Honorable Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Chief Secretary Dr R S Sharma. Additional Chief Secretary (IAS in-charge for Sindri) Dr A K Pandey. Sindri Director Dr S K Singh. and a few others. The MOU with the U of Manitoba now needs approval by the Vinoba Bhave University (to which BIT is affiliated for degree purposes). He impressed on Soren and Pandey to effect progress at BIT Sindri to which he got assurances. 
 
2. ANNUAL ALUMNI MEETING 2014 – Treasurer Divy has been researching restaurants with a few local alumni such as Amar Mishra and Sudhaker Raj. Selected is Royal Albert’s Palace at 1050 King Georges Post Rd. Edison. NJ 08837 Phone:(732) 661-1070 as the meeting place for the 2014 Annual Meeting on July 26. Saturday. The contract is for a minimum of 70 attendees @$23 per head. starting at 10am and ending at 3:30pm. (A 30 minute extension is allowable.) The BOD agreed to ensure attendance by charging as follows:
 
Early Registration by June 11 with payment of only $20 per adult;
Regular Registration between June 12 and July 11 with payment of $25 per adult; and
Late (or at the door) Registration starting July 12 of $30 per adult.
[The Association encourages children by waiving any cost.] Registration covers refreshments and lunch. and is not tax deductible. 
 
Divy will address activities for children.
 
The BOD appointed Dr Anil Singh as the Moderator. based on his superb performance as the Moderator at the 2013 Annual Meeting.
The BOD appointed VIP alum Dr Krishna Pal Singh. a keynote speaker in 2013. as the LOCAL CHAIR. By popular demand he is asked to provide an update on the ultra-safe reactor his company (Holtec International) produces.
 
3. CY2013 Fiscal Summary: Neil and Divy will answer any questions on the report already distributed – as the telephone connection left much to be desired.
 
4. DISCUSSION – Director Annual Travel Award – I (Neil) have sent out an email proposing a discussion on establishing an Annual Director Travel Award to send one Director to the Annual Alumni Meeting at Sindri. The Award amount is US$3.000. [The awardee is free to decline the money or donate it back to the Association any part or all of the award sum.]
This item was tabled. and assigned to Ramesh for consideration and report at the next meeting. based on his superb work on the Travel Award.
 
5. Special Projects’ Reports:
 
a. Getting to 1000 by 2015 – Arunima and Uttara – a brochure prepared by Arunima is to be distributed to the BOD and the ADV BD. It addresses superbly why any alum should join our Alumni Association.
b. Website Update – Naresh reported inability to make progress but will connect with Neil to update the website.
c. Travel Award – Ramesh reported and had active discussion on his draft. to be continued at the next meeting.
d. LinkedIn Consolidations – Alka and Naresh reported getting started on it but not much tangible progress worth reporting yet.
e. Director candidates for Houston/Dallas area – Dilip’s replacement – Neil said that he would have a candidate by the next meeting.
f. Wi fi access at Sindri – estimate is still awaited (from Prof Girijesh Kumar. along with viable vendors)
g. Progress on Distinguished Alumni matter – Anil reported on his draft. had a meaningful discussion mainly on the process. and he will circulate a modified draft soon.
 
6. Open Air Theater at Sindri – Dr Chadda has sent an email to a few of us asking for financial support. This matter came up at the Annual Alumni Meet in Sindri in Nov 2013. The background is that with the current increased enrolment. the Deshpande Auditorium can not accommodate the population. 
A good idea but we need to prioritize where we spend our Alumni funds.
Dr Chadda had to leave early. and this item will be taken up at the next meeting. However. in an earlier phone conversation to Neil. he said that we should try to raise around $2K for the purpose.
 
7. No New Business. and we Adjourned at about 11:20pm.
 
Regards.
Neil Pundit