Interview: Rahul Mehta of MFF on why India needs strategic philanthropy – ‘you can’t innovate without talent’

Founded in 1996 in Houston, Texas, in the United States, by the Mehta siblings—Nisha, Rahul, Jainesh, and Dharmesh—in honour of their parents Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta, the Mehta Family Foundation (MFF) is today a top philanthropic force strengthening India’s knowledge infrastructure through transformative investments in higher education.

With a firm belief that scientific and technological excellence is key to national progress, MFF partners today with top IITs to establish interdisciplinary schools focused on data science, biosciences, AI, health tech, and sustainability.

With over 1,400 students currently enrolled across IITs at Madras, Guwahati, Roorkee, Kanpur, and Palakkad and a target of graduating 12,000 by 2031, MFF’s collaborative model goes beyond traditional funding. Under the leadership of CEO Rahul Mehta, it shapes programmes, recruits faculty, and aligns with long-term national goals.

In India to announce two new schools at IIT Indore on July 22, Rahul Mehta spoke to LiveMint about the Mehta Family Foundation’s journey, the state of academic philanthropy in India, and the road ahead. Excerpts from the interview:

Q: Can you tell us about your background and how the Mehta Family Foundation started?

A: I left India when I was 17. I didn’t come from a wealthy or highly educated family—my parents had no formal education. But I worked hard, started multiple companies, and after selling my first one, I had more money than I ever thought I would need. I decided to start the Foundation. I’ve always believed I am just a steward of this wealth—my goal was to give it away meaningfully.

‘Philanthropic journey focused on education’

Initially, I donated to small nonprofits, gave $500 here, $1,000 there, even to Indian charities. But over time, I realised I needed to decide to donate where I felt the deepest impact. That’s when my philanthropic journey became more focused on education and institution-building.

Q: What was the first major project you funded in India?

A: It started around 2005–06. On a trip to the Aurobindo Ashram, I stopped at IIT Madras and had a conversation with the then-director, Dr K Kasturirangan. We discussed their vision, and that led to the creation of the School of Biosciences and Bioengineering—the first such school I funded.

Later, in 2010, they returned asking for support to expand lab space, animal hubs, and research infrastructure, which became our second project at IIT Madras. So we’ve supported two major projects there.

Q: How did you choose the areas of focus—Bio, AI, Sustainability?

A: I looked at trends in US academia. By the early 2000s, half of engineering faculty in the US were shifting their focus to healthcare and bio. But Indian campuses hadn’t even considered biosciences yet—they still offered only traditional disciplines like mechanical or chemical engineering.

Similarly, I saw that Indian institutions were slow to adopt AI and data science. In 2018–19, I even hosted a meeting in Delhi with several IIT directors to pitch data science and AI schools—no one was interested. Then came ChatGPT and suddenly everyone saw its relevance. The same is happening now with sustainability.

I havve been pushing for formal education in this space for the last three years. We need a new generation of talent explicitly trained in sustainability.

Q: You have been talking about the 12,000 deep-tech graduates goal. What does that mean?

A: Across eight schools we’ve funded so far, each school typically includes BTech, MTech, and PhD programmes. A typical school has:

● 40–60 BTech seats per year → 160–240 BTech students at steady state

● 50–75 master’s students

● 100–150 PhD students

Every school supports around 300–400 students. With eight schools, that’s over 3,000 students in steady-state enrollment—equivalent to the size of a new IIT. If you project this over 10 years, it adds up to over 10,000–12,000 graduates, which is critical for India’s intellectual and innovation capacity.

Q: Are these schools integrated into existing IITs or independent?

A: They’re integrated within existing IITs but are independently funded and branded—like the Mehta Family School of Data Science and AI. So far, we’ve supported biosciences, AI, and sustainability schools. Each has its own set of faculty, curriculum, and students.

Q: What is your long-term vision for the Foundation in India?

A: To help India build a critical mass of intellectual talent across future-critical areas. For example, one school in sustainability isn’t enough. We probably need three or four. Public health is another area I’d like to enter. The idea is to look at long-term capacity creation—not just short-term programs.

Q: Are there specific challenges in setting up these departments in India?

A: Many. The philanthropic ecosystem isn’t as mature as the West. In India, people still ask: “Why do you want to give us money?” Universities often don’t know how to write proposals.

‘Takes 18 months or more’

Even when they agree, internal processes like Senate approvals, faculty alignment, curriculum design—it all takes 18 months or more. In contrast, if I offer money to Harvard, I get a proposal in 24 hours, and they fly out to meet me.

Q: So it’s a 10+ year commitment to build each department?

A: Absolutely. From planning, curriculum design, faculty recruitment, to graduating the first batch—it’s easily a decade-long journey. But that’s what strategic philanthropy requires: focus, patience, and long-term commitment.

Q: How do you assess the impact of your work—what keeps you going?

A: The students. When I visit campuses, I meet them in classrooms and ask about their lives. Most come from small towns I have never heard of. Many are the first in their family to go to college. Getting a job post-graduation changes their lives—and their families.

That’s what keeps me going. One student’s transformation is enough to justify all the effort. But here, we’re talking about thousands.

Q: Do you worry about brain drain—will these students stay in India?

A: I don’t dictate that. They should do what’s best for them. But global forces are shifting—many will stay in India because opportunities here are growing. The goal is to empower them to lead wherever they are.

Q: Where does India stand in the innovation economy today?

A: We’re just beginning. Our innovation capacity has to scale massively. Take healthcare—MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, US, has more cancer researchers than all of India combined. In battery tech, China and the US are far ahead. We must build deep talent pools in these sectors to compete. You can’t innovate without talent.

Q: And where do you see philanthropy in India going from here?

A: It’s getting better. Compared to 2006, people are now more welcoming, more appreciative. But strategic philanthropy is still rare. Many want quick wins—whereas real impact, like building academic institutions, takes 15–20 years. You have to pick one mission and stick to it. That’s what we are doing.