Modeling after Leland Stanford himself, Anil Agarwal of Vedanta Resources, a metals and mining company in India, has made the largest ever donation granted to a single educational institution anywhere in the world.

With his $1 billion donation, Agarwal established Vedanta University in the Indian state of Orissa. The money, according to Agarwal as quoted in The Chronicle of Higher Education, is set to create a large, multidisciplinary research university resembling Stanford’s “economic hub” style in Silicon Valley.

India’s state-run educational system has long been criticized for using outdated approaches, like rote learning. In the 2004-05 school year, more than 80,000 Indian students entered American universities, according to the Institute of International Education. But with an expected enrollment of over 100,000, beginning with the first class in 2008, Vedanta University may soon attract many of the students who previously left India for foreign universities.