An Education Philanthropist's Steely Resolve To Globalise Indian Education

While Naveen Jindal wears many hats, as a parliamentarian, steel tycoon, sports enthusiast, avid shooter and a polo player, his most significant contribution has been in the field of education philanthropy.

- C. RAJ KUMAR

One of India's greatest philanthropists and business leaders, J.R.D. Tata famously observed, "Money is like manure. It stinks when you pile it; it grows when you spread it." The idea of spreading wealth and using it for the larger purpose of pursuing common good is the foundational idea of philanthropy.

Historically, India has had its share of higher education institutions which were established as extraordinary acts of philanthropy—the Indian Institute of Science was established in 1909 with active support from Jamsetji Tata. The Tata Group has built many institutions, including the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (1945), through the efforts of Homi J. Bhabha, the father of India's atomic energy programme, and JRD Tata. Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya established the Banaras Hindu University, one of the finest examples of Indian philanthropy contributing to higher education.

In modern times, Naveen Jindal has emerged as one of the global leaders in promoting philanthropy in higher education. While Naveen Jindal wears many hats—as a parliamentarian, steel tycoon, sports enthusiast, avid shooter and a polo player—his greatest and most significant contribution has been in the field of education philanthropy. Naveen Jindal, through his extraordinary act of philanthropy in higher education established India's first global university in 2009. He contributed over Rs. 2,500 crores to establish O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) to benchmark Indian universities with the best in the world.

Naveen Jindal has also ensured complete academic freedom, institutional autonomy and operational independence for the university—a rare phenomenon in the world of both public and private universities. The typical public university's ability to function autonomously is restricted by the dependence on funds and resources from the state and the central government in addition to policy and regulatory restrictions.