Keeping track of progress on Vedanta University (proposed near Puri, Orissa, India)

The World's Billionaires
#230 Anil Agarwal
03.08.07, 6:00 PM ET

Courtesy Vedanta Resources

Age: 53

Fortune: inherited and growing

Source: mining, metals

Net Worth: $3.8 bil

Country Of Citizenship: India

Residence: London , United Kingdom, Europe & Russia

Industry: Mining/Lumber

Marital Status: married, 2 children

Education:

Chairs $3.7 billion (sales) London-listed metals and mining giant Vedanta Resources; brother Navin is No. 2. Main assets in India, Australia and Zambia. Announced $3.1 billion expansion of capacities. Plans to build Vedanta University, India's answer to Stanford, in eastern India; has pledged $1 billion.

Following Vedanta's purchase of a huge stake in Sesa Goa there have been a few profile articles on its Chairman Mr. Anil Agarwal.

1. Rediff: How a small trader became a metal king
2. Daily News India: A long journey from Bihar’s badlands to London’s Mayfair

The second article has a brief paragraph on Vedanta University. Following is an excerpt.

Struck by the munificence that created Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, and Stanford, Agarwal wants to do something similar in India. So, he is making an endowment of up to $1 billion (Rs4,435 crore) to establish a “world-class, multi-disciplinary university”. His dream project is called Vedanta University and will be set up in the state of Orissa. AT Kearney is the consultant for the project. Agarwal had told DNA Money: “We (the family) have decided to give our wealth back to society,” he said.

Vedanta to build hospital with proposed university

BHUBANESWAR, April 16: Evidently conscious of the eyebrows being raised over his proposed world class varsity across 8,000 acres of land near Puri, Mr Anil Agrawal, head of Sterlite and Vedanta group of industries, today said it will try to tighten things and reduce to required area and will also add a 1,000 bedded hospital cum research institute to the project.

Mr Agrawal, who met chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik here, said the CM had requested him to consider setting up a super speciality hospital and he had readily agreed to it. The focus will be on cancer and cardiology, he said before stating that it will come up in the first phase of the varsity project.

Asked about land acquisition, he said it would be done as per the usual government process but no specifics were discussed today.

Mr Agrawal said his discussions with the CM also revolved around progress on his aluminum project, power plant etc. “The bauxite for trial production is being transported from Gujarat and we are also mulling on importing till the mining lease which is pending with the central government is disposed,” he noted.

Vedanta will set up a technical institute at Lanjigarh for local people, he informed. It may be noted here that the company has run into problems with regard to the bauxite mines at Niyamgiri hills and the matter has gone to court.SNS