Harvard University receives fund from Vijay Shekhar Sharma for Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute

Harvard University has announced a new gift from India’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, which will support the activities and research performed by the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute (LMSAI). With this gift, every year two bright and promising students from India would receive a scholarship to pursue their research at Harvard and work towards transforming the lives of millions in India and abroad.

By enabling scholars from South Asia to work in a cross-disciplinary fashion with faculty, researchers, and students across Harvard on critical questions and issues related to the region, Sharma’s gift will significantly enhance the goals of the Institute to deepen the teaching and research on significant cultural and global issues related to South Asia.

University Provost Alan Garber, says “Recent months have confirmed that the most pressing societal challenges are global in nature. We are deeply grateful to Vijay Shekhar Sharma. Through his generosity, he has affirmed our shared commitment to advancing cross-disciplinary research and learning in our interconnected world. His vision for a more collaborative future has never been timelier. We are proud to partner with him.”

Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the Founder CEO of India's largest payments company, Paytm. He has played a critical role in developing the mobile payments and digital age financial services ecosystem in India. A strong believer in the power of technology to uplift underserved, Sharma founded Paytm in August 2010. Paytm counts Alibaba, Ant Group, Softbank and Berkshire Hathaway as its shareholders. He has a bachelor's degree in electronics and communications from the Delhi College of Engineering.

Sharma has seen firsthand the transformational powers of education. Inspired by the work of his father, he has helped students in their pursuit of a promising future through his support for several foundations that assist the educational pursuits of thousands of students. Additionally, Sharma has been named the UN Environment's “Patron for Clean Air,” where he helps to drive greater environmental action and awareness, and advocates for the goals of UN Environment's global “BreatheLife” campaign.

Each year, the Mittal Institute supports the research endeavors of numerous scholars from South Asia, providing them with opportunities to interact with Harvard’s faculty, students, and larger community for knowledge-sharing and the potential formation of new research partnerships. “This gift from Vijay will make it possible for young scholars of South Asia - who may have limited access to resources, but are highly talented - to have the opportunity to engage with the intellectual community at Harvard in ways that would make a lasting impact on their personal and professional development,” said Meena Hewett, Executive Director of the Mittal Institute.