Nalanda varsity receives $1 mn from NRI couple

This is the second personal endowment of this kind to the University, the earlier being a donation from Ambassador Madanjeet Singh for the same amount.

Nalanda University has received an endowment of $1 million to support a professional chair in the School of Historical Studies from an NRI couple — Rajendra Kumar Joshi and his wife Ursula Joshi.

Temporary campus of the Nalanda University. (HT)

Rajendra Kumar Joshi, a Swiss citizen, has his roots in Rajasthan and is a graduate from BITS, Pilani.

Ursula Joshi, who will hand over the cheque on Tuesday to symbolically signify the transfer of funds, said: “My husband and I are very interested in the education system in India. As Nalanda University is one of the oldest universities of the world, we wanted to contribute by supporting a professorial chair in the School of Historical Studies. Similarly, we are also working towards bringing the Swiss Dual System of apprenticeship in India.”

This is the second personal endowment of this kind to the University, the earlier being a donation from Ambassador Madanjeet Singh for the same amount. The University has received endowments from countries like Australia , China, Singapore and Thailand. It has also received endowments in the form of books from individual donors.

Nalanda University based in Rajgir, Bihar was established by an Act of Parliament in 2010. The University admitted its first batch of students in the School of Ecology and Environment Studies and the School of Historical Studies in 2014. It plans to start “The School of Buddhist Studies, Comparative Religion and Philosophy” in 2016.