Archive · 8 Jan 2026
Mahesh Samdani Donates $1M to BITS Pilani for Female Scholarships
Mahesh Samdani and his wife Purva Ladha have given $1 million to their old university, BITS Pilani, to help poor but smart girls study there.
This money will be used to give scholarships every year starting in 2026.
The scholarship is named after Mahesh's mom.
Mahesh works as a big boss at a bank in New York.
The university's boss said this will help many girls get a good education.
The money is part of a bigger $100 million fund that helps with teaching, research, and other important things at the university.
Mahesh Samdani and his wife Purva Ladha donated $1 million to BITS Pilani to establish the Smt Kaushaliya Devi Samdani Scholarship for female students.
The scholarship aims to support academically talented female students from underprivileged backgrounds.
The scholarships will be awarded annually starting from the Academic Year 2026–27.
Samdani is the Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase in New York and a BITS Pilani alumnus.
The endowment is part of BITS Pilani's larger $100 million Endowment Fund, which supports various initiatives including faculty development and research.
- Who
- Mahesh Samdani and Purva Ladha
- What
- Donated $1 million to establish a scholarship for female students at BITS Pilani
- When
- Scholarships will be awarded starting Academic Year 2026–27
- Where
- BITS Pilani
- Why
- To support academically talented female students from underprivileged backgrounds and promote gender equality in education
- Donor
- Mahesh Samdani and Purva Ladha
- Amount
- $1 million
- Institution
- BITS Pilani
- Scholarship Name
- Smt Kaushaliya Devi Samdani Scholarship
- Start Date
- Academic Year 2026–27
- Beneficiaries
- Academically talented female students from underprivileged backgrounds
- Donor's Profession
- Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase
- Institution's Endowment Fund
- $100 million