India CSR News Network
BANGALORE: UIDAI Chairman, Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani have announced a gift of $11 million (Rs 55 crore) to the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) to fund its School of Environment and Sustainability . The institute is the first in the country that is being developed to look into urban affairs exclusively.
Their joint statement said, “IIHS is at the convergence of both our interests in education, urbanisation and sustainability. We are excited about contributing to an institution which will help people engage with new challenges in an innovative and interdisciplinary manner.”
The institute had started a campaign to gather resources of around $67 million to fund five interdisciplinary Schools, one of South Asia’s largest reference and digital libraries and other facilities for its Bangalore campus. Another $22 million will be raised for chair professorships.
Nilekani is also part of the team of thought leaders from diverse disciplines including HDFC’s Deepak Satwalekar, Jamshyd Godrej and Vijay Kelkar who initiated the establishment of IIHS.
Thanking the Nilekanis for “one of the largest gifts in India’s history for a new school at a prospective national university,” Aromar Revi, Director, IIHS, said:
“India is returning to a tradition of philanthropy to build independent national institutions for the common good.”
The IIHS said the donation marked “a major step” in its endeavour to mobilise Rs. 300 crore in order to fund five interdisciplinary schools, build one of South Asia’s largest reference and digital libraries and establish other facilities on its campus near Kengeri. The IIHS is also raising Rs. 100 crore for chair professorships at the university.
