TATA Group Donates 95 Crore To IIT For Research
No Featherweight This: TATA Group Donates 95 Crore To IIT For Research
When it comes to hefty donations for research, TATA group has put their money where it matters. The corporate conglomerate has provided a generous grant of 95 crore rupees to the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay for 5 years for setting up an R&D centre. The aim? To set up a centre that will come up with design and engineering principles that can help people and communities who have limited resources.
This is the largest donation ever received in the history of this educational institution. An MoU has been signed by the 2 institutions and the centre has been operational from last month. It is known as the TATA Centre for Technology and Design. The basic aim of the centre, as per the IIT-B website is the “Development of technology-driven solutions appropriate for the bottom sections of the consumer and business base, with a special focus on India, and development of human resources trained in identification of unmet technological needs, their solutions, and their placement in the market.”
Fellows for the TATA centre have already been appointed and they are soon to commence with studies, academic research and administration of the centre. The areas for research include affordably priced housing, water, energy, environment, food and agriculture, human powered mobility devices as well as education and crafts development.
IIT-B researchers have been at the forefront of developing all kinds of useful technology. TATA has always prided itself on the development of low cost, innovative technology and this is a step further in this direction. Resource constraints are nothing new in India either.
While the privileged classes have the best amenities, common man still struggles for a living. Lack of adequate healthcare, sanitation or potable drinking water are a grim reality in many parts of the country.
With an impending water crisis as groundwater levels are set to reach new lows, some innovative technology which can provide solutions would be most welcome. Centres such as these can focus on improving the state of infrastructure through the development of technology that can create solutions we need.
The centre will also focus on developing HR for the identification of technological requirements. New programmes will be developed for education and research. Inclusion of courses across a range of disciplines will also prosper here. An entrepreneurship cell has been developed known as the Desai Sethi Centre for Entrepreneurship which will develop new programmes and technology such as nano-tech and biotech.
Donations from corporates can go a long way for the development of indigenous technology that is low in cost and innovative. With support from the private sector, researchers and scientists can definitely be helped to discover technology that has the solutions for many of mankind's enduring problems.
