VJTI Matunga receives largest donation from alumnus Manu Shah for Rs 60 crore block
The Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) on its Matunga campus in Mumbai has received its largest-ever single donation from an alumnus to fund five storeys of a new Rs 60 crore academic block and modernize its mechanical engineering workshop. This major financial contribution comes from Manu Shah, a graduate of the class of 1967, and his family. The donation will support the state-owned autonomous institute as it moves forward with its plans to transition into a university.
Shah, who completed his Bachelor of Engineering (BE) in mechanical engineering at the institute, is the co-founder of the US-based company MS International. He and his family committed the funding through the Shah Happiness Foundation. The donation is aimed at transforming the infrastructure of the historic campus.
The funds will be utilized for two of the institute's flagship development projects. The primary project is the construction of a new 12-storey multipurpose academic block. While the total contribution amount has not been publicly disclosed, the entire academic block is projected to cost Rs 60 crore, with Shah's donation directly funding five of the storeys.
To make way for this massive 12-storey structure, the institute is demolishing the Old Smithy Building on the Matunga campus. This historic building previously housed the blacksmithing workshop for the mechanical engineering department. The second project supported by the donation is the complete modernization of this mechanical engineering workshop.
VJTI Director Sachin Kore explained that the new multipurpose academic block will serve as a state-of-the-art facility. According to Kore, the building is specifically designed to foster interdisciplinary learning, accommodate modern pedagogy, and encourage collaborative research.
This landmark alumnus donation adds to other recent financial support the institute has secured. In the recent past, VJTI received a donation of about Rs 3 crore from SBICAPS. Additionally, Savex Technologies contributed Rs 2 crore to the institute. Both of these previous donations were provided as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds.
