IIT-Bombay alumni raise ₹2.3 crore to help 500 UG students with laptops, broadband

A week after the management of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) announced their decision to conduct the next semester online, the IIT-B Heritage

A week after the management of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) announced their decision to conduct the next semester online, the IIT-B Heritage Foundation (IITBHF) has decided to help address the issue of necessary infrastructure needed to implement the decision.

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On Friday, IITBHF announced a grant of ₹2.35 crore to the institute. “This fund will be used to purchase 500 laptops and to support broadband for 500 needy undergraduate students,” said Raj Mashruwala, chairman of the foundation.

According to a statement released by the institute, IITBHF collected $301,000 from its US-based alumni, pursuant to extended fund-raising drives. “Given the need for up to 1,000 laptops, IITBHF is requesting other India-based alumni and the institute’s corporate sponsors to provide matching funds to meet the needs of the other 500 students,” said Mashruwala.

In the last week of June, the institute’s senate decided that the autumn semester would be conducted online in the interest of students’ safety. The institute’s director Subhasis Chaudhuri had said the senate’s decision to conduct online classes is applicable only for the autumn semester.

The institute has remained shut since March 14 and an early summer vacation was announced from April 1 to May 31. While classes for the spring semester of 2020 concluded prior to the shutdown, exams were pending. On May 17, the administration announced an elaborate scheme to do away with spring semester exams and promote students based on their scores in the previous semester.

“At this pressing time, when many of our students need help, we are thankful to our alumni in the United States for opening their hearts in supporting their alma mater’s students. Since we are still at 50% of this specific fund, we hope many others will come forward to help our students in need,” said Chaudhuri.

IITBHF was established as a non-profit organisation to assist IIT-B and received its status as a tax-exempt organisation from the Indian Revenue Service on July 5, 1996.