Kanpur: A bio-bubble has been created for students, faculty and staff members of IIT Kanpur to ward of COVID contamination during the convocation ceremony on December 28.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the event as the chief guest.

While all the attendees from IIT-K will undergo RT-PCR tests on Monday, all of them will also have to face another rapid antigen test (RAT) hours before entering the venue on Tuesday.

The convocation will be held in a hybrid mode with around 870 students expected to attend the event along with faculty and staff. Over 850 more will be present virtually.

The institute claimed that this will be the first time in India where a convocation will be conducted inside a bio-bubble.

Bio-bubble is a concept developed recently in the field of sports, especially in cricket, where a bio-secure environment is created to minimise contamination risks.

According to a IIT-K release: "It is probably for the first time that a higher educational institute has adopted such measures for its convocation. This is in line with IIT Kanpur's vision to ensure holistic well-being and safety for all."

Deputy Director at IIT Kanpur, S Ganesh, said on Monday, "As we are going to celebrate the 54th convocation in a hybrid mode in the presence of respected invited dignitaries, it is our duty to ensure everyone's safety. Hence, in view of the constantly changing scenario of the Covid pandemic, we are conducting additional precautionary drills inside the campus. Prior tests are to be conducted to check the health of everyone who will be attending the event physically. This is to ensure utmost safety to all the attendees so that the joy of the occasion is not hampered."

Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also attend the event.

IIT-K will confer honorary doctorate degree to Infosys co-founder Senapathy 'Kris' Gopalakrishnan, physicist Rohini M Godbole and classical vocalist Pt Ajoy Chakrabarty this year. As many as 1,723 outgoing students will be awarded degrees.