IndiGo Airlines co-founder Rakesh Gangwal has offered to donate Rs 100 million to his alma institution, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-Kanpur). The fund will go towards the School of Medical Sciences and Technology, which IIT Kanpur is currently constructing. Rakesh Gangwal is committing himself in a personal capacity.
On Monday, Abhay Karandikar, the director of IIT-K, confirmed the news, he said, ‘In an extraordinary gesture, our alumnus Mr Rakesh Gangwal, co-founder of IndiGo airlines, has made one of the largest personal donations with a Rs 100 crore contribution focused on supporting the School of Medical Sciences & Technology at IIT Kanpur’.
Gangwal will also be a member of the school’s advisory board. IIT-Kanpur stated in 2021 that it will build a school of medical research and technology on its campus, which would comprise a medical school and a 500-bed super-speciality hospital.
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This is a deliberate step toward making IIT-Kanpur interdisciplinary and further complementing engineering and technology with medical research. The goal of the initiative is to mix medicine with engineering and stimulate cross-disciplinary learning.
According to reports, the school and medical college would have a combined built-up area of around 1 million square feet. The project’s first phase is expected to be completed in three to five years. Phase II is expected to be finished in the next 7-10 years.
IIT Kanpur was founded in 1959. The government has been soliciting funding for this massive project, which would cost 600 crores.
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