(Image source from: Indiatimes.com)
Indian-origin entrepreneurs Prashant Palakurthi and Anuradha Palakurthi have given a donation of worth USD 1 million to Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences (BITS) Pilani, according to the university.
The donation, which is the largest ever received by the institution, was made by a Boston-based alumni couple keeping in mind the campus programs.
The announcement was made by the couple when 200 alumni gathered to celebrate the ruby anniversary of their batch. Heartily welcoming the contribution, Professor Souvik Bhattacharyya, Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani, termed the announcement by the Palakurthi's as a "momentous and a game-changing gesture".
Prashanth is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the United States-based Reflexis Systems and his wife Anuradha is the founder of Juju Productions.
Related content: Indians Among World's Highest Spenders Abroad: Report
"With this pledge, BITS Pilani is launching a campaign to set up Rs. 100 crore Research Endowment Fund. This fund would help provide an additional thrust to Research by way of attracting research-driven faculty, post-doctoral fellows and research scholars," he said, as quoted by PTI.
Professor Bhattacharya also mentioned that the donations will help provide funds to the new faculty and set up an advanced research lab.
While speaking at the event, Prashant said, "We wanted to give back to our alma mater which gave us so much and where we started our journey." His wife Anuradha also addressed the gathering saying, “We hope our contribution is followed up by many more from the family of hugely successful alumni."
BITS has campuses in Goa, Dubai, Hyderabad, and Pilani, and it recently ranked 401-500 in the 2019 Subject Ranking for Life Sciences.
-Sowmya Sangam
