The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur on Wednesday launched its fundraising campaign, Greater Than Us, with ₹4,155 crore already committed towards its ₹5,000 crore target by 2029, making it the largest fundraising campaign undertaken by any IIT. The institute, which set the target in October 2024, has achieved about 77% of its goal and expects to meet it by early next year and funds will be used to expand research infrastructure, attract global talent and develop indigenous technologies in strategic sectors.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh launched the campaign at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The institute plans to raise the funds by March 2029. The campaign is structured around three pillars — Foundation, with a target of ₹5,000 crore for infrastructure; Talent, with ₹3,000 crore; and Frontier, with ₹1,000 crore for research and technology development.
“We will achieve our target by early next year,” IIT Kanpur director Manindra Agrawal said at a press conference, adding that the institute had secured commitments from alumni, corporate donors and the government before publicly launching the campaign.
“What IIT Kanpur 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,” Agrawal said. Pointing to growing restrictions on access to critical technologies, he added: “India cannot borrow the technologies that will define its future. We have to build them.”
The institute has identified seven strategic areas — artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, drone technologies, medical technologies, sustainability, semiconductors and quantum technologies — based on its expertise and the country’s requirements. Agrawal said the initiative stemmed from a strategic plan developed three years ago to strengthen the infrastructure and talent needed to develop indigenous technologies.
Addressing the launch, Singh said IITs were contributing to building a self-reliant, developed India by strengthening the country’s scientific capabilities and innovation ecosystem. “For us, Viksit Bharat is not merely an aspiration. We want to develop a nation that is technologically capable and economically competitive,” he said.
Singh also called for closer collaboration between academic research, the armed forces and industry. “Our IITs can make a significant contribution by bringing academic research closer to the operational requirements of the armed forces and the technological needs of industry,” he said, welcoming IIT Kanpur’s proposal to establish a school focused on defence technology and indigenous defence solutions.
Under the Foundation pillar, the institute plans to build a ₹524 crore central research facility, a ₹200 crore high-performance computing facility and advanced semiconductor research infrastructure. Other projects include four student hostels, each with a capacity of 1,000, faculty housing and a centre for mental health and wellbeing.
The Talent pillar will support scholarships, doctoral fellowships, faculty chairs and visiting faculty programmes, with the aim of providing financial assistance to every eligible student. Frontier, which has already secured ₹1,556 crore against its ₹1,000 crore target, will fund projects in quantum technology, semiconductor packaging, medical-device development and drug discovery.
At the launch, IIT Kanpur signed a memorandum of understanding with alumnus and industrialist Rahul Gautam, who has committed ₹180 crore to establish the Gautam School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (G-SINE) at the institute’s Noida campus. The school will launch an MBA in Technology and Entrepreneurship in July 2027, focusing on sectors including AI, cybersecurity, digital health, biotechnology, drones and advanced manufacturing. It will work alongside a proposed deep-tech hub at the campus.
Agrawal said alumni had contributed about $100 million towards the campaign, with a similar amount coming from corporate donors. Government support and other initiatives account for the remaining commitments, he said.