Iit: Nandan Nilekani donates Rs 315 crore to IIT Bombay – Times of India

BENGALURU: Infosys co-founder and chairman Nandan Nilekani has donated Rs 315 crore to his alma mater — IIT Bombay — to mark 50 years of his association with the premier technology institute. Nilekani joined the institute in 1973 for a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering.
The endowment is one of the largest donations made by an alumnus in India, taking Nilekani’s cumulative contribution to Rs 400 crore building upon his previous grant of Rs 85 crore, which was partly used to build hostel facilities.
Nilekani signed the MoU in Bengaluru in the presence of Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri, director of IIT Bombay and three other former directors. Nilekani has become the anchor donor as the institute plans to raise $500 million (Rs 4200 crore) by 2030. The funds would be deployed to accelerate R&D efforts and step-up infrastructure. In the last financial year, IIT Bombay raised Rs 180 crore from its donors.
Nilekani has left it to the discretion of IIT Bombay to spend the money. “It’s as un-tied as possible for them to identify key areas of development,” he said.
“I have benefited from IIT. I’m what I’m because of IIT. It’s more than money – an emotional commitment to IIT,” Nilekani told TOI on Tuesday. “Joining IIT Bombay was an act of teenage rebellion. I went for an interview at IIT Madras. And in those days, there were no mobile phones. My father sent me a telegram asking me to join IIT Madras chemical (engineering). I was 18 and “you do the opposite of what your father tells you at that age.” I joined electrical engineering at IIT Bombay, and I don’t regret that decision,” he said.
Chaudhuri said Nandan is its most distinguished alumnus and his giving “is a giant step for Indian philanthropy.” Nilekani said it’s not fair to expect the government to pay for the future growth of these institutes. “First-gen IITs must look at their alumni and their firms, going forward. They have thousands of graduates, and many have been successful. They must start giving back. We wanted Subhasis to have something in his hand so that he can tell those chaps sitting in Silicon Valley, who are making billions, that it’s payback time.” He told Chaudhuri,” I hope you come back with a rich load of commitments from your trip.” Chaudhuri is embarking on a US roadshow, shortly.
Part of the funds would be pumped to boost existing infrastructure. “We had one room to ourselves that we must go back to. As IITs become more scalable in their intake they will have more bright people come out and more things will happen,” he said. To create this virtuous cycle capital is crucial in accelerating research efforts in AI, nano tech and quantum. “IIT Bombay is foundational for all of it. We came out street smart. I also met Rohini (wife) when I was at IIT. I guess that was icing on the cake. If we can really take IIT Bombay to the next orbit, that’s the best thing you can do for all of us,” Nilekani added.
Over the last 50 years, Nilekani has stayed connected with the institute in multiple roles. He served on the board of the IIT Bombay Heritage Foundation from 1999 to 2009 and was on the Board of Governors from 2005 to 2011. His initial contribution of Rs 85 crore, was instrumental in constructing new hostels, co-financing the School of Information Technology, and setting up India’s first university incubator giving a big fillip to the Indian startup ecosystem. He was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999, followed by an Honorary Doctorate in 2019 as part of the 57th convocation of IIT Bombay. Nilekani was instrumental in setting up the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), an umbrella organisation at IIT Bombay for fostering entrepreneurship.