Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, has announced an unconditional grant of Rs 151 crore to the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai—his alma mater—during a special event commemorating the biography launch of Professor MM Sharma titled ‘Divine Scientist’.
Ambani, who studied at the institute in the 1970s when it was known as UDCT (University Department of Chemical Technology), spent over three hours at the campus, reflecting on the impact of his very first lecture by Prof. Sharma. He described Prof. Sharma as a key figure who quietly shaped India’s economic reforms by advocating for the dismantling of the license-permit raj to promote scale and global competitiveness in Indian industry.
Comparing Prof. Sharma to his father, Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh said both visionaries believed in the transformative power of science, technology, and private entrepreneurship. “These two bold visionaries believed that science and technology, in alliance with private entrepreneurship, would open the floodgates of prosperity,” he stated.
Referring to Prof. Sharma as a Rashtra Guru or “Guru of Bharat,” Ambani made the donation as a form of ‘Guru Dakshina’, acting on the professor’s personal request. “He told me, ‘Mukesh you have to do something big for ICT,’ and I am very pleased to announce that,” Ambani said.
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