Key facts
- Bajaj Auto Foundation committed ₹400 crore over 10 years for women in engineering scholarships.
- The scholarship program will support students in core engineering disciplines at 40 institutions, including IITs, NITs, and IIITs.
- The foundation plans to invest approximately ₹1,500 crore in skilling, education, and community development over the next five years.
- The initiative aims to increase women's participation in engineering and manufacturing roles.
- Bajaj Auto's workforce is now nearly 20% women, up from negligible numbers a decade ago.
Bajaj Auto Foundation has announced a significant commitment of ₹400 crore over the next decade to support women pursuing core engineering disciplines through a new scholarship program. This initiative, named the Rupa Rahul Bajaj Scholarship for Women in Engineering, aims to address the underrepresentation of women in technical roles within the industry.
The scholarship will offer financial aid of up to ₹8 lakh to students enrolled in fields such as mechanical engineering, electronics, and robotics at 40 premier institutions, including IITs, NITs, and IIITs. The foundation has already felicitated the inaugural cohort of 506 scholars.
Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, highlighted the company's progress in increasing female workforce participation to nearly 20%, emphasizing the benefits derived from greater inclusion of women engineers. He stated that India's long-term industrial competitiveness hinges on strengthening technical education and skills development.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson of Biocon, urged students to embrace experimentation and resilience, noting that innovation and entrepreneurship are built through persistence. She stressed that inclusion and equal opportunity are crucial for the future of science, engineering, and manufacturing, making the encouragement of women in core engineering not just a social but also an economic imperative.
In addition to the scholarship, the foundation plans to invest approximately ₹1,500 crore in broader skilling, education, and community development initiatives over the next five years. This follows a previous investment of nearly ₹550 crore in similar programs over the last five years.