Outlook Business Desk
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, donates ₹151 crore to the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, where he graduated in the 1970s.
The announcement came during the launch of The Divine Scientist, a biography of renowned chemical engineer Professor Man Mohan Sharma. Ambani spent over three hours at ICT attending the launch event of Professor Sharma’s biography, Divine Scientist.
Ambani described the donation as a gesture of Guru Dakshina in honour of Prof Sharma’s mentorship. “When he tells us something, we just listen,” Ambani said. “He told me, ‘Mukesh, you have to do something big for ICT,’ and I am pleased to announce that for Prof Sharma.”
Ambani also highlighted Prof. Sharma’s crucial advice to policymakers: ending the license-permit raj to help Indian industry grow, reduce import dependence, and compete globally.
“Like my father Dhirubhai Ambani, he had a burning desire to transform Indian industry from scarcity to global leadership,” said Ambani. Authored by Anita Patil, The Divine Scientist chronicles Prof Sharma’s role in advancing chemical engineering in India.
Ambani hailed Prof. Sharma as a ‘Rashtra Guru,’ recognising his pivotal role in shaping India’s chemical sector.
Professor J. B. Joshi, former head of ICT, also addressed the gathering and described Professor Sharma as “our Yugpurush”. He highlighted Sharma’s guiding philosophy, “Be a good teacher, conduct research at the frontier of knowledge, and apply it for the benefit of industry and society.”
The event was held at ICT’s Pidilite Hall and presided over by senior nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar. Eminent scientists like Raghunath Mashelkar, J B Joshi, Aniruddha Pandit, and G D Yadav paid tribute to Prof Sharma’s legacy in education and science.