Sudhir Kumar Jain, whom the Narendra Modi government had given a rare third term as IIT Gandhinagar director, has been appointed vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University.

An education ministry order said President Ram Nath Kovind had as Visitor of the university appointed Jain for three years. BHU has not had a regular VC since Rakesh Bhatnagar completed his three-year tenure in March.

Jain, 62, was in the middle of his third term as IIT Gandhinagar director, a post to which he was appointed in June 2009 when the UPA government opened six new IITs. He was given two more five-year terms after Modi became Prime Minister in 2014.

No other academic got a third term as director of any IIT in the past three or four decades at least, a senior IIT Kanpur teacher said.

As a member of a minority community, Jain might be able to help bring down temperatures at a university where decisions by a series of dominant-caste VCs have sparked resentment and controversy, said Vishwanath Pandey, former officer on special duty, BHU. He added that Jain had been a non-controversial administrator.

“The university has witnessed caste-based turmoil over recruitment, promotions and so on,” Pandey said.

Jain, a former civil engineering professor at IIT Kanpur, is known for his teaching and research in earthquake engineering. He received a Padma Shri in 2020.

He told The Telegraph he would handle his new responsibility with an open mind.

“As a teacher and administrator, I advise my students to be ready for any challenge and handle problems with an open mind. The same principle applies to me too,” he said.

“I shall try to build aspirations among faculty members and students to give their best,” he said.