IIM Ahmedabad has announced a historic ₹12 crore inflation-adjusted merit scholarship, the latest in its tradition of excellence and student beneficence. The fully sponsored scholarship by Infosys founder Narayana Murthy will be awarded to the highest-performing first-year student of the flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP) every academic year. This project is planned to extend for the next 20 years, with complete cost coverage for tuition fees, accommodation, course material, and mess charges.
The new award, called the Professor Jaswant G. Krishnayya Merit Scholarship, honors a much-respected past faculty member of IIM Ahmedabad, who significantly influenced Narayana Murthy’s early days in his professional career. The award seeks to honor and reward the brightest at the college, while also honoring the memory of a highly respected teacher who inspired one of India’s most iconic entrepreneurs.
The institute says the scholarship will be inflation-adjusted each year to ensure its real value over the 20-year period. The framework is designed to make each worthy student enjoying the scholarship have a steady and complete financial assistance. The endowment, which is expected at ₹12 crore over the duration, is one of the biggest single donations to IIM Ahmedabad‘s scholarship corpus in recent history.
Narayana Murthy, in announcing the scholarship, looked back on the deep influence Professor Krishnayya had on his career. “This is not a money thing; it’s a token of appreciation,” he said. “Professor Krishnayya’s advice and guidance provided the early years of my life and laid the foundation for all I have created since. Through this scholarship, I want to continue that legacy by supporting exceptional students to pursue their goals.”
IIM Ahmedabad, India’s leading management school, views this scholarship as a timely affirmation of its vision to encourage inclusive academic excellence. With rising education expenses and intensified competition, the institute feels that such high-impact philanthropic gestures can help overcome financial barriers and enable a more merit-based academic environment.
Chairman of the board of IIM Ahmedabad, Pankaj R. Patel, lauded the move as saying, “Mr. Murthy’s association with IIM Ahmedabad is long-standing, and the gesture reflects his unstinting commitment towards empowering future leaders. This scholarship is a jubilation of excellence, mentorship, and gratitude.” Patel added that Narayana Murthy was the Chairman of the IIM Ahmedabad Board of Governors during the period 2002-2007, further solidifying his legacy in the institution.
The endowment was made possible by the IIM Ahmedabad Endowment Fund (IIMAEF), which has played a crucial role in bringing together alumni, philanthropists, and the academic fraternity to amplify student support programs. The primary objective of the fund is to enhance the financial ecosystem of IIM Ahmedabad and make quality education accessible to deserving candidates regardless of their economic status.
IIM Ahmedabad Director Professor Bharat Bhasker stressed the scholarship’s purpose in inspiring academic performance. “This scholarship represents our long history of believing in honoring excellence,” he stated. “By rewarding the highest-performing student annually, we hope to encourage a greater culture of commitment, intellectual discipline, and perseverance.”
IIM Ahmedabad: Will the new scholarship restructure academic merit remuneration?
IIM Ahmedabad has been known to be the epitome of meritocracy for a long time, but with the launch of the ₹12 crore inflation-adjusted scholarship, the question arises whether this will become a benchmark for academic excellence in top Indian institutions?
The scholarship is expected to enhance constructive competition between students, especially in the initial year of the PGP programme, which tends to establish the baseline of their overall academic lives. Certain education scholars opine that this can have a positive effect on student performance overall, while others warn of overacademicization.
Nevertheless, IIM Ahmedabad is optimistic that the scholarship would be more of an opportunity flagpost than a source of stress. The management made it clear that it hopes the students perceive the prize not as a limitation, but as an acknowledgment of exceptional potential and hard work.
The scholarship winner will be chosen based solely on CGPA achievement at the end of the first year of academic work, with no regard for need. The premise, the creators of the scholarship say, is to reward intellectual excellence in its unadulterated form.
The first award under this program will be made in the next academic year, after the completion of the first term’s assessments. Officials at IIM Ahmedabad indicate that procedures are already in place to make the selection process transparent, objective, and prompt.
Narayana Murthy’s vision of philanthropy, as reflected by this scholarship, is part of a larger trend among Indian captains of industry who are placing more and more bets on higher education. In doing so, they are hoping to make sustainable institutional contribution that is more than physical infrastructure or business incubation but intellectual capital and human development.
Apart from the monetary impact, IIM Ahmedabad also feels that the scholarship might encourage students from different socio-economic backgrounds to target top schools with the assurance that talent will be recognized and encouraged.
These kinds of scholarships send out the message that excellence is recognized and appreciated, no matter where a student is from,” Professor Bhasker said. “It perfectly aligns with the mission of IIM Ahmedabad, which is to build leaders who benefit society by questioning assumptions and challenging norms.
As the institute goes ahead with this scholarship of distinction, it is hoped that more alumni and industry leaders will come forward with such initiatives, broadening the domain of quality education available.
In a world where the cost of higher education is on the increase and the need for quality learning experiences keeps on rising, IIM Ahmedabad has yet again set itself right at the top of inclusive academic excellence. With the ₹12 crore inflation-indexed scholarship, the institute not only remembers a much-respected professor but also sets an example for India’s future leaders to succeed without any monetary obstacles.
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