V. Kamakoti Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About V. Kamakoti

• V. Kamakoti was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in a family of people excel in academics. His father was a renowned Sanskrit Professor at the University of Madras.

• Instead of growing up in Chennai, Kamakoti spent much of his early childhood with his grandparents in the villages of Mudikondan and Vishnupuram in Tamil Nadu because his father wanted him to experience the rural life and Indian culture.

• In the mid-1970s, he moved back to Chennai and started his further schooling there. In an interview, he shared that during his early school years he was a shy and introverted child and was not considered a top performing student.

• As a kid he loved playing cricket and was the opening batsman of his school cricket team. However, once he was hit on the face by a cricket ball during a match and after that his father asked him to stop playing cricket.

• In an interview, he shared that after giving up cricket, Kamakoti started learning the violin.

• Later, he developed a deep interest in Carnatic music. Legendary singer M.S. Subbulakshmi, who was close to his family encouraged his interest in music and personally taught him musical phrases on some occasions. He added that since then music remains an inseparable part of his life and cannot imagine his life without violin and Carnatic music.
  

  V. Kamakoti while playing violin in a music concert

• In an interview, V. Kamakoti shared that when he was studying in class 10, his grandfather, who was an astrologer predicted that he would do very well in academics. He added that his grandfather’s prediction inspired him to take his studies more seriously.

• When he was in his higher secondary, he scored 100 marks in Mathematics in his final examination and also became one of the top 2 % scorers in Mathematics in the CBSE Class 12 examination in 1985.

• After 12th he appeared for Joint Entrance Examination; however, he did not clear the exam and joined the Sri Venkateshwara College of Engineering instead.

• In 1989, he completed his Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Engineering and in 1995 completed his Master of Science (by Research) Computer Science and Engineering.
  

  A younger age picture of V. Kamakoti

• After that from 1992 to 1995, Prof. V. Kamakoti carried out post-doctoral research at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and the Institute of Mathematical Science (IIMSc), Chennai.

• In 1998, he completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Madras, focusing on computer architecture and Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) systems.

• After that in 2001, he joined the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Madras as a faculty member.

• In an interview, Prof. Kamakoit shared that he had taken a vow not to leave India for work. He said,

During my college days, I had the privilege of being in the presence of my Guruji, the Acharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati. He advised me to stay in India and contribute to the country through my work. I took a solemn vow that I would not travel abroad, obtain a passport, nor leave India. I resolved to stay in India and dedicate myself to serving the nation.”

• In 2007, Professor Kamakoti received the Young Faculty Recognition Award from IIT Madras.

• In 2008, he began leading major government-funded programs on information security and indigenous processor development under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

• In 2009, he was appointed as one of the key leaders of the SHAKTI microprocessor project, India’s indigenous processor program based on the open-source RISC-V architecture.

• In 2010, Kamakoti was appointed as the chairman of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) at IIT Madras.

• In 2013, he was awarded with DRDO Academic Excellence Award for his contribution to research in computer engineering and strategic technologies.

• In 2016, he received the IBM Faculty Award for his research in computer architecture and computing systems.

• In 2017, the Government of India appointed him Chairman of the national Artificial Intelligence Task Force constituted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to prepare India’s AI roadmap.

• In the same year, he received the VASVIK Industrial Research Award for his contributions to electronics and computer science research.

• In 2018, he received the IESA Techno Visionary Award for promoting India’s semiconductor and processor ecosystem.

• In 2020, Kamakoti received the prestigious Abdul Kalam Technology Innovation National Fellowship for his outstanding work in technology innovation.
  

  V. Kamakoti while meeting with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

• In 2021, before becoming Director, V. Kamakoti served as Associate Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research) at IIT Madras and strengthened collaboration between industry and academia.

• In an interview, Kamakoti mentioned that

• On 17 January 2022, he became the Director of IIT Madras.

• In the same year, he was appointed as a member of the National Security Advisory Board, while leading several national research programs at IIT Madras.

• In January 2025, he came into news after speaking at a Go Samrakshana Sala (Cow Protection) event in Chennai. In the event he shared the medicinal use of gomutra (cow urine) by narrating a story of sanyasi (monk) who recovered from fever after drinking cow urine.

• His remark triggered a nationwide debate with some people appreciating his views, while other criticised him and accused him of spreading “pseudoscience.”

Peddling pseudoscience by @iitmadras Director is most unbecoming @IMAIndiaOrg https://t.co/ukB0jwBh8G

— Karti P Chidambaram (@KartiPC) January 18, 2025

• After the controversy, he clarified that he was referring to existing studies and India’s traditional medical practices and not making a personal or unverified medical claim on medicianl use of cow urine.

The anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory properties of cow urine have been scientifically demonstrated. Top journals in the United States (US) have published scientific evidence. It is important to note that my comments were made in the context of advocating for organic farming and the protection of indigenous cattle breeds, which play a crucial role in agriculture and the overall economy.”

• To support his claim about cow urine, he also shared the press copies of papers published in international journals at that time, including the renowned scientific journal ‘Nature.’

• In January 2026, V. Kamakoti was honoured with the Padma Shri for his contribution to science, engineering, and indigenous microprocessor development.

• In July 2026, the Government of India appointed him as one of the six members of the high-level committee on examination reforms constituted after nationwide protest over examination irregularities and paper leaks. The committee is chaired by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani.

• On 28 July 2026, Prof. V, Kamakoit again came into news after Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra referred to him as a “Gaumutra Expert,” referring to his 2025 remarks about cow urine during a Lok Sabha debate on the Public Examinations (Preventions of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026. Her comment led to a political controversy inside and outside Parliament.