Nandan Nilekani marked 50 years of his association with his alma mater, IIT Bombay by donating the institute Rs 315 crore (US$ 38.5 million) on Tuesday. The co-founder and non-executive chairman of Infosys joined the institute for a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in the year 1973. Along with the earlier donation of Rs 85 crore, this brings his total contribution to his former college to Rs 400 crore, making it the largest individual grant the college has ever received.
Nilekani formally signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) giving away Rs 315 crore in the presence of IIT-Bombay’s director professor Subhasis Chaudhuri and three former directors, in Bengaluru. The donation made by Nilekani will play an essential role in developing world-class infrastructure, encouraging research in cutting-edge fields of engineering and technology, and fostering a deep tech startup ecosystem at IIT-Bombay.
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While interacting with the Economic Times Nilekani acknowledged IIT-B’s efforts to foster young IITs in Dharwad, Goa, Gandhinagar, and Indore. He said, “It takes time to create great institutions. First-generation IITs mentoring second-generation ones themselves is a good thing. In addition to mentoring the younger institutions, the older ones also passed faculty and directors along, aiding in the process of capacity diffusion. Following this, Subhasis Chaudhuri added that the donation has put us on a good pedestal and post signing the MoU, we are responsible for making the most out of it.
The co-founder of Infosys previously served on the board of governors from 2005 to 2011. He has also served on the board of IIT Bombay Foundation between 1999 and 2009. Additionally, he received the esteemed Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999, after which he obtained an Honorary Doctorate in 2019, as part of the 57th convocation of IIT-Bombay.
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