IIT-Delhi urges alumni to leave a share in their will

The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) has appealed to its alumni to donate part of their assets to the institute in their will. As of now, two alumni have already pledged to donate a part of their money to the institute.

“We have been requesting our alumni, particularly the ones coming for the Golden Jubilee celebrations, to leave something in their will for the institute. In a couple of cases, we have already got a response. Ram Matta, from the 1976 batch, said he initially thought of leaving something in his will for the Stanford University, but has now decided to contribute the amount to IIT-D. However, he hasn’t mentioned how much,” said Sanjeev Sanghi, Dean, Alumni Affairs.

“Another alumnus, Ramesh Kapur from the 1968 batch, has said he would leave one million dollars. Both of them are NRIs living in the US. It probably works out better for them because according to their inheritance rules, after a particular amount, if you give your money to your children, it’s taxed at 80 per cent,” he said.

Alumni are also contributing by making donations. Kapur, for example, has also pledged Rs 2.4 crore for scholarships for those coming from financially deprived backgrounds.

“Another alumnus, Amarjeet Bakshi from the 1968 batch, has given Rs 1 crore to the institute this year, and has said that he would continue to give Rs 1 crore for the next 10 years too. Saurabh Mittal, based in Singapore, has pledged to give Rs 10 crore for an indoor stadium,” said Sanghi.

The institute is also in the process of setting up an ‘Alumni Endowment Fund’.

“The interest and earnings from these funds will be used by the institute wherever it wants,” Sanghi said.
News Source (Indian Express)