In a remarkable and unprecedented gesture of alumni philanthropy, distinguished alumnus of the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, Dr. Rajendra Sardesai has come forward and donated Rs. 20 lakh to Laxminarayan Innovation Technological University (LITU), Nagpur.  

Responding to an appeal by Padma Shri Professor G. D. Yadav, Chairman of the Board of Governors, LITU, and former Vice Chancellor of ICT Mumbai, Dr. Rajendra (Raj) Sardesai has announced creation of two endowments with a total corpus of Rs. 20 lakh at LITU. 

Dr. Sardesai is an accomplished chemical engineer, innovation leader, and intellectual property (IP) attorney with over four decades of international experience across industry, research, and law. An alumnus of ICT Mumbai, he holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Manchester, an MBA from Cranfield School of Management, and a JD from Southwestern University School of Law, USA.  

His distinguished career spans organizations such as L&T Mumbai, Atomic Energy Research Establishment (UK), Heat Transfer Research Inc. (USA), Parsons Corporation, and Avery Dennison Corporation, where he served as Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, managing a global portfolio of over 2,000 patents and 2,500 trademarks.  

A named inventor on more than 70 international patents, he has also co-founded several medical device companies and continues to advise on innovation strategy and IP commercialization. 

The first endowment, Dr. Rajendra Gurudas Sardesai – Padma Vibhushan Professor M. M. Sharma Endowment for supporting hostellers at LITU Nagpur (Rs. 10 lakh corpus), honours the legendary contributions of Padma Vibhushan Professor M. M. Sharma to chemical engineering, research, innovation, and institution building in India. The endowment is also a personal tribute to Prof. Sharma’s mentorship of Dr. Sardesai during his undergraduate days as a hosteller at ICT and later encouragement during his doctoral studies in the UK. The annual interest from this endowment will provide financial assistance to two meritorious and economically disadvantaged hostellers at LITU—one male and one female. 

The second endowment, Dr. Rajendra Gurudas Sardesai - Padma Vibhushan Professor M. M. Sharma Endowment for Innovation and Intellectual Property Promotion (Rs. 10 lakh corpus), is aimed at encouraging excellence in innovation, product development, entrepreneurship, and the creation and filing of patents and other forms of intellectual property. This initiative is expected to significantly strengthen LITU’s ecosystem for translational research and industry-relevant innovation. 

In line with best practices for sustainability, only 50% of the annual interest from each endowment will be utilised, ensuring perpetual support for future generations of students. Welcoming the gesture, Professor Yadav remarked that such visionary alumni support would “Catapult LITU into a great university” and inspire members of the LIT Alumni Association (LITAA) to actively contribute to the institution’s growth. 

Further strengthening this engagement, Dr. Sardesai will also deliver a special three-day course at LITU in February 2026 on intellectual property creation and management, aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat and the Make in India Initiative.  

LITU Vice Chancellor Dr. Atul Vaidya, LITAA President Madhav Labhe and Principal Adviser Mohan Pande are extremely happy to receive these two endowments and hope LITU must now attract excellent faculty and innovators to make use of the Loksarang Hardas Incubation Centre.