IIT Kanpur's 'Greater Than Us' campaign launched with a US$1 billion target by March 2029; Rajnath Singh speaks at the event

15 October 2026

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh spoke at the launch of IIT Kanpur's 'Greater Than Us' fundraising campaign in New Delhi on 14 October 2026. The campaign has a target of US$1 billion by March 2029, and Rs 4,155 crore has already been committed, nearly half the goal. He said close defence-academia-industry collaboration is key to accelerating the development and adoption of indigenous technology amid the evolving nature of warfare. He noted that the IIT ecosystem has supported over 6,000 start-ups, 56 unicorns and nearly 5,000 patents, and referred to the Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Scheme. Prof Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur, and Shri Awanish Kumar Awasthi, Advisor to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, were present. The release refers to IIT Kanpur's existing DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence and its C3i Cybersecurity Technology Innovation Hub. A School of Defence Technologies at the institute is a proposal, which he welcomed, and the proposal for a National Military Drone Technology Hub at IIT Kanpur in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence has made significant progress with its approval process nearing completion.