Krishna Chivukula, MEIL Reddys enter EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List

Hyderabad: An alumnus of IIT Chennai, a Telugu, Dr Krishna Chivukula, who made the single largest donation of Rs 228 crore in the history of the prestigious institution, is the new entrant among India's top 10 donors in the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024.

Interestingly, owners of Hyderabad-based infrastructure conglomerate Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd. (MEIL), PV Krishna Reddy, and P Pitchi Reddy are also among the top new donors in the 2024 Philanthropy List of the Hurun and EdelGive.

Notably, MEIL is the second largest contributor to the electoral bonds in the country. Krishna Chivukula, originally hailing from Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh, secured seventh position on the list by donating Rs 228 crore to his alma mater.

The EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024 was released on Thursday. For the list, EdelGive and Hurun had measured donations by the value of their cash or cash equivalents. Dr Krishna Chivukula, who announced his donation in August, had graduated with a M Tech (Aerospace Engineering), majoring in jet propulsion in 1970, from IIT Madras. In addition, he received an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1980.

After a stint as Group President and CEO at the Hoffman Group of Companies in New York, Krishna Chivukula founded two "world number one" companies in succession. In 1990, Krishna Chivukula founded Shiva Technologies Inc., a company that specialized in advanced mass spectroscopy for the certification of ultrahigh purity materials.

In 1997 he brought to India a state-of-the-art engineering manufacturing technology called 'Metal Injection Moulding (MIM)' while it was still an emerging technology in the US. Presently, his company, INDO US MIM Tec, occupies the number one position in the world in MIM technology in terms of capacity and sales and has a projected turnover of nearly Rs. 1,000 crore.

His donation will support international students studying at IIT Madras through scholarships, the Research Excellence Grant Program, an UG Fellowship Program for freshmen at IIT Madras, the Sports Scholar Program, the development of Shaastra Magazine, and the Krishna Chivukula Block Maintenance, among other activities.

PV Krishna Reddy and his uncle Pitchi Reddy had donated Rs 33 crore and Rs 32 crore respectively for poverty eradication. Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Ltd. (MEIL), which began as a small fabrication unit in 1989, has grown to become the country's second-largest contributor to electoral bonds.

Led by PV Krishna Reddy, who is listed as the 54th richest person in India by Forbes, MEIL and companies associated with it as per SBI's report in March this year donated around Rs 1,200 crores via controversial electoral bonds to political parties.

According to the SBI's report, MEIL purchased bonds worth Rs 966 crore between 2019 and 2023. Besides donations from MEIL, companies associated with the Telangana-based firm Western UP Power Transmission Company Limited donated Rs 220 crore, SEPC Power donated Rs 40 crore, and Evey Trans Private Limited had donated Rs 6 crore through electoral bonds.