Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) witnessed a 22% jump in its research funding, with the institute receiving Rs700 crore for research and development projects in the previous academic year 2023-24.
This is a significant improvement compared to 2022-23 and 2021-22, when the institute got Rs576 crore and Rs502 crore for various sponsored and consultancy projects from the government and private entities. While the public-sector organisations continue to account for the bulk of these grants, around 35% of the funding last year came from private industries.
The funding is usually released in phases as the projects last anywhere between two and five years. Besides its core competencies of science and engineering, the institute is also working on other assignments related to management, design and social sciences.
Key Projects Handled By IIT-Bombay
Among the major projects currently being handled by the institute are two programmes by the state government: Maharashtra Drone Mission, which seeks to establish Maharashtra as a global leader in drone technology, and an initiative to translate higher and technical education textbooks into Marathi language using artificial intelligence. The state has pledged an outlay of Rs151.8 crore to IIT-B for five years.
The institute is also working on a project of the Union textile ministry to develop a technology for hydrogen pressure vessel manufacturing using textile-based composites TeCoPV.
