In funds crunch time, universities rely on CSR support for infrastructure revamp
Times of India | 5 April 2025
Kolkata: Amid acute fund crunch, universities are reliant on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds of govt and private companies for ramping up their facilities and infrastructures.
For instance, a 3,000 sq. ft unit operation laboratory of the chemical engineering department at Jadavpur University was renovated with the help of the CSR grant from an American multinational pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co.
The revamped lab, which is essential for teaching and research, was inaugurated on Friday. JU is also set to start a multidisciplinary research centre for sustainable development, utilising a portion of the CSR grant.
"We are grateful to Sanat Chattopadhyay, who is the global president of the manufacturing division of Merck & Co. and also a JU chemical engineering department alumnus, for providing CSR grant of Rs 1 crore. A major portion of the money was spent on buying instruments and repair of the lab," said Pro-VC Amitava Datta, adding that the centre will be named after Chattopadhyay. The 1981 JU alumnus, Chattopadhyay, shared, "The centre will be established with a mission to drive high-impact research in sustainability, ensuring economic growth while maintaining ecological balance. " According to mechanical engineering department professor, Dipankar Sanyal, the centre will offer PhD degrees and courses on Sustainability and Environment.
Presidency University (PU) registrar Debajyoti Konar said, "The university has received quite a few CSR funds from some well-established govt institutes, both state and central, banks, and private bodies, that largely facilitated student development and infrastructural expansions. " PU chemistry department received financial support of about Rs 20 lakh from Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) for the upgradation of the lab. JU's electrical engineering department also received Rs 18. 5 lakh from PGCIL. Siemens contributed software worth a crore to JU's production engineering department .
The West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation granted approximately Rs 30 lakh for upgrading the student computer lab.
"Infosys Limited gave PU Rs 60 lakh for constructing a state-of-the-art lecture theatre and Rs 5 crore endowment for creating the post of Infosys chair professor for the economics department," said an official. The State Bank of India gave Rs 35 lakh to JU for campus beautification. It also helped PU.