IIT Madras receives ₹228-crore donation, its largest ever, from alumnus Dr Krishna Chivukula

IIT Madras has received a donation of ₹228 crore from alumnus Dr Krishna Chivukula – the largest in its history and one of the largest ever for an educational instution in India. 

Kaviraj Nair, chief executive at the Office of Institutional Advancement at IIT Madras said, “We are profoundly grateful to Dr Krishna Chivukula for his extraordinary generosity and unwavering commitment to our institution. His monumental contribution, the largest ever single donation received by IIT Madras, stands as a testament to his dedication to fostering excellence in education, research, and innovation.”

The donation will be used for various things, such as helping international students study at IIT Madras through a scholarship, funding research, providing an undergraduate fellowship program for newcomers at IIT Madras, supporting sports scholarships, developing the Shaastra Magazine, and maintaining the Krishna Chivukula Block, the insitution said.

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Dr Chivukula received an MTech degree in aerospace engineering from IIT Madras in 1970, and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1980. In 1997, he introduced the engineering manufacturing technology known as metal injection molding to India at a time when it was still an emerging technology in the US. In recognition of his achievements, he was honoured with the Distinguished Alumnus Award by IIT Madras in 2015.

In FY24, IIT Madras raised a record ₹513 crore, more than double what it raised the previous year. Notably, alumni alone contributed ₹367 crore in FY24, marking a 281% increase from the previous year.

The institute received donations of more than ₹1 crore from 48 donors (16 alumni and 32 corporate partners) in FY24. These funds were raised from IIT Madras alumni, individual philanthropists, and through CSR funds and grants from Indian and multinational corporations. According to data released by the college, it raised ₹101.2 crore in FY21 and ₹131 crore in FY22.

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