Tata Education and Development Trust, a philanthropic entity of the Tata Group, has decided to donate a whooping $50 million (about Rs 240 crore at current exchange rates) to the prestigious Cornell University in New York.
University President David Skorton has called this donation coming from Tata as "one of the most generous endowments ever received from an international benefactor by an American university."
An agreement in this regard was signed by Ratan Tata, head of the Tata Group, and David Skorton, president of the Cornell University early this week. Ratan Tata is an alumnus of the university. Skorton made this announcement during the course of his State of the University Address on October 17.
The $50 million (about Rs 240 crores) is expected to give a major boost to the research and other activities of this private university located in Ithaca, New York. The university's entire endowment for international financial aid is about $1.5 million per year.
As per the agreement, the endowment consists of $25 million to establish the Tata-Cornell Initiative in Agriculture and Nutrition. This will contribute to advances in nutrition and agriculture for India, the university said.
The goal of the new agriculture initiative is to improve the productivity, sustainability and profitability of India's food system, with the aim of reducing poverty and malnutrition, said Alice Pell, Cornell vice provost for international relations.
The advisory board to be set up for this purpose would be co-chaired by Ratan Tata.
The remaining $25 million of the endowment would be used for the Tata Scholarship Fund for Students from India. This is to help attract more of the best and brightest students to Cornell from India. The scholarships will be offered to between six and 10 students annually, depending on level of need, and could ultimately support up to 25 Tata scholars at Cornell at any one time.
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