Boston-based entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr Desh Deshpande donated $1 million to his alma mater – The Indian Insititute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, through IIT-BHU Foundation, a US-based all volunteer, non-profit association of IIT. Acknowledging their generous gift, the institute named its library in honour of his father, Shreenivas Deshpande, who graduated from the College of Technology in 1948.
It was after completing his BSc in Industrial Chemistry in 1948 that Shreenivas Deshpande went onto work in the public sector for the next 31 years. It was in 1980 that he retired as the joint commissioner of labour for the government of Karnataka.
His son Desh Deshpande graduated from IIT-Madras, and later completed his PHD in Data Communications from Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science at Queen’s University in Ontario. After working a few years in Canada, he shifted base to the US in 1984. The Indian-American entrepreneur, known for co-founding the Chelmsford, is a philanthropist.
“We are thankful to Desh and his wife Jaishree for this very thoughtful gift. They are well known philanthropists. However, this gift is very special to the Foundation as it is across generations, reflecting upon the Institute’s transformative impact,” IIT-BHU Foundation president Arun Tripathi said in a statement.