They left IIT to build billion-dollar companies: Why are alumni giving crores back?
Successful alumni from various IITs are donating significant sums of money to fund infrastructure, research centers, and medical schools at their alma maters. This trend marks a shift from India exporting talent to a cycle of reinvestment in domestic academic institutions.
Why it matters
This philanthropic trend is significantly boosting the research and infrastructure capabilities of India's top-tier technical universities.
For decades, the IITs watched some of their brightest graduates leave campus to build technology companies, global businesses and careers around the world. Now, a reverse flow is becoming increasingly visible: successful alumni are returning with donations large enough to fund medical schools, hostels, research centres, infrastructure and new academic institutions.The latest example came from IIT Kanpur, where IndiGo co-founder and alumnus Rakesh Gangwal recently committed an additional Rs 300 crore towards the Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology.
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