CSR funds account for half the IIT-M donations
IIT-Madras has raised Rs 131 crore to fund philanthropic and socially-relevant projects. The office of alumni and corporate relations of IIT-M is responsible for raising the capital. Nearly half the donations came from CSR funds. The number of corporate donating funds to IIT Madras on CSR allocations has almost doubled in the last five years.
There has been a constant 30 per cent increase in funds raised year on year even during the Covid-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the institute collected over Rs 15 crore from IIT-Madras alumni globally for Covid-19 relief projects, which was used to supply essential medical equipment such as BiPAP and oxygen concentrators to the governments of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana.
The sectors that attracted major funding include infrastructure, innovative projects of students, Faculty Research, scholarships and chair-professorships.
Speaking on the key fund-raising initiatives of the Institute, Kaviraj Nair, Chief Executive Officer, Institutional Advancement, said that “IIT Madras had put in place a milestone-based tracking system to ensure that the donors’ money is utilised in a transparent and impactful way, providing scalable solutions. And we meet all their requirements.”
ReNew and Rajesh opt Karnataka
Jewelry manufacturer and exporter, Rajesh Exports, zeroed in on Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to locate its production of lithium-ion batteries.
What tipped the decision in favour of Karnataka were the overwhelming overtures of the state.
Earlier, India’s largest renewable energy company, ReNew Power, chose Karnataka for locating its wind and solar plants. ReNew Power is already a significant player in Karnataka’s renewable energy industry, with over 2GW of power plants either operating or under construction.
Tirunelveli, the solar hub of TN?
Statkraft, a Norwegian company, has chosen Tamil Nadu to put up its first solar plant in India. Statkraft has incorporated the company Nellai Solar Pvt Ltd, to put up a 76 MW solar power plant in the southern district of Tirunelveli. The plant is expected to be commission-ready soon.
Statkraft has been in India mainly in the area of hydro power, where it has four run-of-the-river plants in Himachal Pradesh—either of its own, or in joint venture with the Bhilwara group.
It is not clear as to whom the power generated by Nellai Solar would be sold to—whether it would be sold to Tamil Nadu’s electricity distribution company, Tangedco, under a long-term power purchase agreement, or directly to consumers under the ‘open access’ route. Statkraft has not replied to queries about this sent by Industrial Economist.
The Tirunelveli district has abundant sunshine and wind resources and is, therefore, a fit place for renewable energy companies to put up their plants. Earlier, another company, NLC Tangedco Ltd, a joint venture of the government of India-owned NLC India Ltd and Tangedco, put up a 200 MW solar plant in the district. The power generated by this plant is sold to Tangedco for Rs 4.12 a kWhr under a 25-year power purchase agreement.
With Nellai Solar and NLC Tangedco being there as anchor investors, it is expected that others will follow suit.
Incidentally, the Tata group has announced it would invest Rs 3000 crore to set up a solar cell manufacturing project in the district. With these developments, it is tempting to believe that Tirunelveli will soon turn into one of the solar hub of the state.
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