'Most interesting intellectual cluster in India': Sanjeev Sanyal praises IIT Madras, Prof Kamakoti

Economist and Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM) member Sanjeev Sanyal on Wednesday praised IIT Madras and its Director Prof V Kamakoti, calling the institute "the most interesting intellectual cluster in India".

The remarks came a day after Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi mocked Kamakoti in the Lok Sabha over his past comments on the purported medicinal properties of cow urine. She criticised the government's newly constituted task force to reform the National Testing Agency (NTA). Kamakoti is one of the five members of the task force.

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In a post on X, Sanyal said he was heading home after three "amazing days" at IIT Madras. "The place is the most interesting intellectual cluster in India right now…Just amazing things are happening there."

He went on to highlight several projects underway at the institute, including its brain-mapping programme, Agnikul Cosmos's space rockets, ePlane's drone taxis and efforts to build an indigenous marine engine.

"The brain mapping project just blew my mind. Then there were Agnikul's space rockets, ePlane's drone taxis, and the first attempt to build an indigenous marine engine. Well done Prof Kamakoti @iitmadras - you now need to tell us the recipe so it can be replicated in other parts of the country," Sanyal said.

BRAIN MAPPING PROJECT

Among the projects Sanyal mentioned was IIT Madras' brain-mapping project.

In June this year, IIT Madras unveiled ANCHOR (Atlas of Neurochemical Characterization of the Human Brainstem with 3D Reconstruction). The institute described it as the world's most detailed 3D atlas of the human brainstem.

Developed by the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre (SGBC), the platform converts whole human brains into cell-resolution 3D atlases spanning prenatal, childhood and adult stages. The institute said the project is aimed at helping researchers better understand brain disorders and neurological diseases.

Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Ajay Kumar Sood, described the atlas as "a significant accomplishment in the field of neurobiology", saying it integrates MRI, histology and detailed chemo-architecture into a publicly accessible digital framework that could aid future clinical applications.

Kamakoti had said the work placed IIT Madras "at the frontiers of the most complex creation that this world has witnessed - the human brain." This centre, he added, was also studying brains affected by different diseases like rabies, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

"We now have a way by which we can say what happens to the basic structure of the brain due to diseases. This is a very important first step in understanding what happens in the human brain."

AGNIKUL'S SPACE ROCKET

Sanyal also highlighted Agnikul Cosmos, the IIT Madras-incubated space-tech startup developing small satellite launch vehicles.

In May 2024, Agnikul scripted history by launching the world's first rocket powered by a single-piece 3D-printed semi-cryogenic engine, developed entirely in India. The startup's Agnibaan rocket also became India's first launch from a private launchpad at Sriharikota.

Following the mission, Agnikul had said all flight objectives were met and thanked ISRO, IN-SPACe and IIT Madras for supporting the development of indigenous space technology.

PRIYANKA GANDHI'S REMARK

Sanyal's praise for Kamakoti comes amid a political controversy triggered by Priyanka Gandhi's remarks in Parliament.

While criticising the government's new task force on examination reforms, Gandhi referred to Kamakoti as a "gaumutra visheshgya" (cow urine expert) and questioned what such people knew about the education sector.

The remark referred to a viral video from January 2025 in which Kamakoti, while speaking at a Maatu Pongal event in Chennai, narrated an anecdote about a sanyasi whose fever, he claimed, subsided after drinking cow urine. He made the remarks while speaking about indigenous cattle and organic farming.