Indian American leader in education and the arts, Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon, and her husband Ranjan Tandon, have bestowed Rupees 100 crore or the equivalent of more than US$11.5 million for the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad to establish the Krishnamurthy Tandon School of Artificial Intelligence. The Memorandum of Understanding was exchanged with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), January 29, 2026.
The Rupees 100 Crore endowment equals $11,562,030.29 using an exchange rate of Rs. 86.49 per 1US$.
The MoU exchange was attended by Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Minister of Education, in New Delhi as well as India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra virtually in USA, a press release from India’s Ministry of Education announced. India’s Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Dr Vineet Joshi; Prof. Bharat Bhasker, Director, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Joint Secretary, Higher Education, Purnendu Banerjee and senior officials of the ministry were also present at the MoU exchange.
Minister Pradhan described the MoU exchange as the lead-up to the India—AI Impact Summit 2026, calling it a “solid” reflection of the concrete actions India is taking under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to become a global AI superpower.
Pradhan added that AI will be an enabler for powering people, progress and planet. India’s AI leadership will not only be shaped by technology “but by the strength of our institutions and human capital,” Pradhan said, thanking Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon “for their benevolent gesture” and philanthropic initiative which “sets and strengthens a fine tradition of alumni giving back to their alma mater.”
As a “pioneering” school of artificial intelligence housed within a management institute in India, the Krishnamurthy Tandon School of Artificial Intelligence will operate at the intersection of technology, management, and public impact, the Ministry of Education said in the press release. “With a strong global outlook, the School will focus on addressing India’s unique and complex challenges through the responsible and effective application of AI,” it added.
The new School is envisioned as a hub for business-focused and translational AI which will bring together world-class faculty, industry leaders, policymakers, and global partners to redefine the frontiers of AI research and application.
Its research agenda will be application-led and case-based, rooted in real-world managerial, institutional, and societal challenges, the Ministry said.
“The School will focus on translating cutting-edge AI research into deployable solutions, tools, frameworks, and scalable systems that enhance decision-making, improve productivity, and address complex challenges across industry, government, and society,” it added.
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