US-based alumnus gifts $1 million to BHU

Varanasi, June 7

A US-based alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) has gifted $1 million.

Boston-based entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr Desh Deshpande and his wife Jaishree made the donation through the IIT-BHU Foundation, a US-based all volunteer, non-profit association.

The Institute will name the library in honour of his father, Shreenivas Deshpande, a 1948 graduate of the College of Technology.

The library naming ceremony will be held on June 24 on the campus.

According to an IIT-BHU spokesperson, after completing his B.Sc. in first class in Industrial Chemistry in 1948, Shreenivas Deshpande spent the next 31 years working in the public sector and retired in 1980 as the joint commissioner of labour in the government of Karnataka.

He then went on to serve as the president of Chinmaya Mission in Hubli.

IIT-BHU Foundation president Arun Tripathi said: "We are thankful to Desh and his wife Jaishree for this very thoughtful gift. They are well known philanthropists. However, this gift is very special to the Foundation as it is across generations, reflecting upon the Institute's transformative impact."

IIT-BHU Director, Professor Pramod Kumar Jain thanked the couple, and said: "It is the achievements of distinguished alumni that inspire the faculty and staff to train the technology leaders of the future."

He said that this contribution to the library will be helpful in strengthening the academic and research ecosystem of the Institute.