Dec 17: BITS Pilani, an Institute of Eminence, has announced a significant USD 1 million endowment from its alumnus, Brij Bhushan. The fund, established by Bhushan, founder of Reston Consulting Group (RCG) and a member of BITS Pilani’s inaugural 1960 batch, aims to empower female students and stimulate innovative, faculty-guided solutions for real-world problems.

After a successful 24-year career in the US telecommunications corporate sector, Bhushan established RCG in 1987. His firm provides network operations and maintenance, cybersecurity, enterprise architecture, IT support, and telecommunications services to US government and commercial clients.

The Bhushans’ ongoing association with BITS Pilani serves as a notable example of long-term alumni engagement. Brij Bhushan and his wife Champa, also a BITSian with a Master’s in Electrical Engineering (1966), have been highly active within the Washington DC alumni community since 1980. Following his retirement from RCG, the couple returned to teach for one semester at BITS Pilani’s Pilani campus in 2006.

Acknowledging the generous endowment, Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, Vice-Chancellor, BITS Pilani, said;

“Prof. Brij Bhushan and Champa Bhushan have been true well-wishers of BITS Pilani, not only have they established this significant scholarship, but provided their valuable expertise through teaching on campus. Both Brij and Champa Bhushan have seen BITS transformation over the years, and we feel deeply moved by their belief in BITS ethos and mission.”

Prof. Brij Bhushan, said;

“when we left Pilani to pursue higher education abroad our dream was to contribute to BITS Pilani’s growth in any and every way that we could for student welfare and with this endowment, we have achieved that lifelong dream”

This isn’t Bhushan’s first act of philanthropy at BITS. Along with his wife, Champa Bhushan, they had set up 2 MCN scholarships at BITS in 2009 (which continue to this day). The additional $1 million will help in supporting meritorious students from the low-income backgrounds and in encouraging students to come out with innovative solutions to challenging problems.

Prof Arya Kumar expressing gratitude to Prof Brij Bhushan and family stated that both of them have been contributing in multiple ways for the growth of their alma mater and advocating alumni community for the forward giving; as has been the culture in the west.

BITS Pilani has set up a 100 Million Endowment Fund for fueling transformation into a global institution. Recently, it has shown significant growth across national and international ranking with strong performance in academic reputation, research quality, and student outcomes.