IIT alumni pour billions back into campuses, funding hospitals, hostels and research
Former IIT graduates are returning massive sums to their alma maters, earmarking funds for medical schools, student housing and research facilities.
For decades IIT graduates built global tech firms abroad, but a growing cohort is now channeling wealth back into the institutes. Recent disclosures reveal alumni pledging hundreds of crores across IIT Kanpur, Delhi, Bombay and Madras for initiatives such as a medical school, hostels, research centres and endowments. Rakesh Gangwal has committed a total of Rs 400 crore to IIT Kanpur’s School of Medical Sciences and Technology, while Binny Bansal made the institute’s largest unrestricted individual donation, earning naming rights for an exhibition hall.
BrowserStack co-founders Ritesh Arora and Nakul Aggarwal pledged Rs 100 crore to rebuild Hostel 6 at IIT Bombay, reflecting a personal link to the campus. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s cumulative contributions to IIT Bombay amount to roughly Rs 400 crore, supporting deep-tech ecosystems, and Dr Krishna Chivukula’s Rs 228 crore gift to IIT Madras stands as the university’s biggest single donation. Collectively, these funds are reshaping infrastructure, research capacity and student life, marking a reversal of the historic talent outflow.
Why it matters
Alumni donations are upgrading India's top engineering schools, boosting research, health services and student facilities.
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