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IIT-K launches ‘Greater Than Us’ campaign, targets $1bn by 2029
Defence minister Rajnath Singh launches campaign; IndiGo co-founder Rakesh Gangwal pledges ₹400 crore, highest-ever contribution by an alumni
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LUCKNOW The Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-Kanpur) on Wednesday launched ‘Greater Than Us’, an ambitious campaign to raise US$1 billion by March 2029—the largest fundraising drive ever undertaken by any IIT.
Nearly half of the goal — ₹4,155 crore — has already been committed by alumni, donors, corporate partners, and the government. Launched by defence minister Rajnath Singh at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the campaign builds on more than six decades of IIT-K’s legacy, bringing stakeholders together to invest in foundational facilities and young Indians who will make the discoveries, build the technologies, and start the companies a developed India will need.
Co-founder of IndiGo airlines and an alumni of the institute, Rakesh Gangwal, pledged to contribute ₹400 crore to the Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology at IIT-K, supporting medical education, research, clinical innovation and MedTech. It is the highest-ever contribution by an alumni in the history of IIT-K.
At the launch on Wednesday, IIT-K signed an MoU with alumnus Rahul Gautam, who has committed ₹180 crore to establish the Gautam School of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (G-SINE) at the institute’s Noida campus to train a new generation of technology-driven founders and leaders for India’s high-growth sectors, including AI, cybersecurity, digital health, biotech, drones and advanced manufacturing.
Launching the campaign, defence minister Rajnath Singh said he was encouraged by the proposal to establish a school of defence technology at the institute. “Such initiatives can deepen collaboration between academic research and defence requirements, helping translate scientific advances into technologies of strategic importance,” he said.
Singh said: “The purpose of our IITs has never been limited to producing engineers and scientists. Their larger mission has been to contribute to building a strong, self-reliant and developed India. Generations of IITians have carried this responsibility forward by applying their knowledge, ingenuity and enterprise to challenges that have shaped our nation’s progress.”
IIT-K director Prof Manindra Agrawal said: “What IIT-K is setting out to build is greater than any one of us. It is an investment in the young Indians who will build this country’s future. Nearly half of this goal was committed before we announced it, and that tells us donors believe in where we are going.”
“This campaign is an invitation to every alumnus, partner and friend of IIT-Kanpur to help write the institute’s next chapter. Every commitment is tied to a defined purpose, whether a school, a facility, a chair or a programme,” he said.
The institute will have its own full-time faculty and degree programmes and will launch in July 2027 with a flagship MBA in technology & entrepreneurship. Working alongside the proposed Deep Tech Hub at the Noida campus, it will give students access to frontier-technology facilities so they can build products from research and will draw on IIT-Kanpur’s incubator, SIIC, which has incubated 571 startups.
The campaign is built on three pillars: Foundation, talent and frontier.
Foundation, with a goal of ₹5,000 crore, will build the research and institutional infrastructure for IIT Kanpur’s next phase of growth. At its centre is a ₹524 crore Central Research Facility that will give researchers shared access to high-end equipment, including a ₹160 crore semiconductor and device processing centre with a clean room, and advanced spectroscopy and microscopy centres.
Talent, with a goal of ₹3,000 crore, will invest in exceptional students, researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs, faculty and future leaders. It will fund scholarships and more doctoral fellowships, with the aim of offering financial support to every eligible student.
Frontier connects fundamental research to translational research and real-world application across AI, quantum technologies, cybersecurity, semiconductors, drones, MedTech and sustainability, and has already crossed its ₹1,000 crore goal, with ₹1,556 crore committed.
