The IITs are highly renowned educational institutions in India and are highly sought after for a BTech degree. Due to the saturation of the BTech sector with numerous aspirants, gaining admission into an IIT can be extremely challenging and only a few succeed. With a congregation of bright minds, it is no surprise that most IIT graduates excel in various fields. Nevertheless, not all graduates emerge as leaders, as most become employees. In this regard, we present to you 15 prominent IIT alumni who opted to lead rather than follow.

1. Sundar Pichai

Sundar Pichai, hailing from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, is undeniably one of India's most accomplished businessmen. Currently serving as the CEO of Alphabet Inc, he oversees the operations of Google, the world's most frequently visited website. Pichai's educational journey began in India where he acquired a BTech degree in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur, followed by an M.S in materials science from Stanford University, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Throughout his 17-year tenure at Google, Pichai has played a pivotal role in the development of various key products, including Chrome, Chrome OS, Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Maps.

2. NR Narayana Murthy

NR Narayana Murthy, an Indian billionaire and the founder of Infosys, was born in Sidlaghatta, Kingdom of Mysore (present-day Karnataka). His estimated net worth as of October 2021 is 4.3 billion dollars. Murthy obtained his BTech degree from the National Institute of Engineering, University of Mysore, and his MTech degree from IIT Kanpur. Time Magazine bestowed upon him the title of "Father of the Indian IT sector". He has been recognized with Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan awards.

3. Raghuram Rajan

Raghuram Govinda Rajan, an Indian economist and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, was born in Bhopal. Prior to this, he worked as the Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund. Rajan's educational background includes a BTech in electrical engineering from IIT Delhi, an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, and enrollment in the doctoral program at MIT's Sloan School of Management.

4. Chetan Bhagat

Chetan Bhagat, a renowned Indian author and columnist, was born and raised in Delhi. He is widely recognized for his best-selling novels, including Five Point Someone, Three Mistakes of My Life, and 2 States. Bhagat obtained his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Delhi, followed by an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. Many of his books have been adapted into films, most notably 3 Idiots, which is based on Five Point Someone, and 2 States, which is inspired by the novel of the same name.

5. Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal, an Indian politician and former bureaucrat who is presently the chief minister of Delhi, hails from Siwani, Haryana. He played a significant role in the anti-corruption movement in India during the early 2010s. After obtaining his BTech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur, he briefly worked with Tata Steel and later joined the Indian Revenue Service. In 2012, Kejriwal established the Aam Aadmi Party.

6. Manohar Parrikar

Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Parrikar, an Indian politician and member of BJP, was born in Mapusa, Goa. He held the position of Chief Minister of Goa for the third time from March 2017 until his death. Prior to that, he served as the Minister of Defence from 2014 to 2017. Notably, he was the first IIT alumnus to become a Chief Minister in India, having earned a BTech degree in Metallurgical Engineering from IIT Bombay.

7. Vinod Khosla

Vinod Khosla, an Indian American billionaire, was born in Delhi. He is a renowned venture capitalist and the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, as well as the founder of Khosla Ventures. In 2020, he was listed among the wealthiest 400 individuals in the US. Khosla obtained his BTech degree from IIT Delhi, followed by a master's from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from Stanford University.

8. Deepinder Goyal

Hailing from Muktsar, Punjab, Deepinder Goyal is renowned as the co-founder of Zomato, a prominent food-delivery platform in India. His academic background includes a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and Computing from IIT Delhi. Prior to embarking on his entrepreneurial journey with Zomato, he gained professional experience at Bain & Company.

9. Jitendra Kumar

Jitendra Kumar, an Indian actor, hailing from Alwar, Rajasthan, is widely recognized for his contributions to a range of web series and his recurring appearances as "Jeetu" in various productions by The Viral Fever. His most noteworthy performances include his roles in Kota Factory by TVF, Panchayat on Prime Video, and the Bollywood film, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020). He holds a degree in Civil Engineering from IIT Kharagpur.

10. Bhavish Aggarwal

Bhavish Aggarwal, who hails from Afghanistan but was raised in Ludhiana, is a co-founder of Ola Cabs, an Indian ride-hailing service operated through a mobile application. Aggarwal is an alumnus of IIT Bombay where he earned his BTech in Computer Science, and after his stint with Microsoft, he established his venture. Time Magazine acknowledged Aggarwal's contribution to the field by listing him among the 100 Most Influential People in 2018.

11. Rohit Bansal

Rohit Bansal, an Indian entrepreneur, who co-established Snapdeal, an e-commerce company, with Kunal Bahl, hails from Malout, Punjab. He obtained his BTech degree from IIT Delhi.

12. Biswa Kalyan Rath

Biswa Kalyan Rath, a native of Bhubaneswar, Odisha, is a multi-talented individual with expertise in stand-up comedy, writing, and YouTube content creation. He is most well-known for co-hosting the series Pretentious Movie Reviews with fellow comedian Kanan Gill, as well as featuring in various comedy specials and shows such as Prime Video's Comicstaan. In 2017, he produced Laakhon Mein Ek, a web series on Prime Video that focused on the difficulties faced by an IIT hopeful. Biswa holds a BTech in Biotechnology from IIT Kharagpur, but chose to leave his job at Oracle in 2014 to pursue a career in comedy.

13. Nandan Nilekani

Nandan Nilekani, an Indian entrepreneur and Infosys co-founder, was born in Bangalore. He holds the position of non-executive chairman at Infosys and previously served as the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Nilekani played a crucial role in the development of the Aadhar system.

14. Sachin Bansal 

Sachin Bansal, an Indian entrepreneur and co-founder of one of the biggest e-commerce sites in India, Flipkart, was born in Chandigarh. He completed his BTech in Computer Engineering from IIT Delhi and worked briefly for Amazon before founding Flipkart. Initially starting out as an online bookstore, Flipkart gained significant success and in 2018, Walmart acquired a majority stake in the company. Bansal also sold his stake to Walmart, which led to his net worth being valued at slightly over $1 billion.

15. Varun Grover

Varun Grover, an Indian writer, poet, lyricist, and stand-up comedian, was born in Sundernagar, Himachal Pradesh. He is widely recognized for his work as a lyricist in films such as Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Udta Punjab, Fan, and Gangs of Wasseypur, as well as for writing the acclaimed movie Masaan, which has achieved cult status. Grover obtained a BTech degree in civil engineering from IIT (BHU) located in Varanasi.