One of the largest donations made by an alumnus of an Indian educational institution was given on Tuesday by Infosys co-founder and non-executive chairman Nandan Nilekani to his alma mater, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, for the sum of Rs 315 crore ($38.5 million).
The gift commemorates Nilekani’s 50 years of affiliation with IIT Bombay. He enrolled in college in 1973 to pursue a bachelor’s in electrical engineering.
Nilekani and IIT Bombay Director Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri formally signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) there, according to the institute’s public relations department. The donation would play a crucial role in developing world-class infrastructure, encouraging research in cutting-edge fields of engineering and technology, and cultivating the ecosystem for deep tech startups at IIT Bombay.
He sat on the Board of Governors from 2005 to 2011 and the IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation from 1999 to 2009. He received the renowned Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999, and then in 2019, as part of IIT Bombay’s 57th convocation, he received an Honorary Doctorate.
His first gift, which amounted to up to Rs 85 crore over the years, was crucial in helping to build new dorms, co-finance the School of Information Technology, and launch India’s first university incubator, all of which had a substantial positive impact on the startup environment in India.
