The director of the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT Delhi), Professor Ranjan Bose, has stepped down from his position. His resignation follows a serious inquiry from the office of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi, which questioned his authority in signing three major research and funding agreements with international organisations without seeking the mandatory prior approval.
The Core of the Controversy: Three Key MoUs
The controversy revolves around three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed by IIIT Delhi between June 2024 and October 2025. This period came after clear guidelines were issued by the LG's office to all Delhi government-run universities on June 13, 2024. The directive stated that the approval of the chancellor was compulsory before entering into any funding agreements or MoUs. LG VK Saxena is the chancellor of IIIT Delhi.
The institute entered into partnerships with:
- The Gates Foundation for an 'Innovation Challenge for Health AI Solutions'.
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for an 'R&D Partnership on Inclusive Public Digital Systems'.
- Skykraft Pvt Ltd for a project on 'Demonstration of Collaborative PNT (Position Navigation and Timing) in LEO (Low Earth Orbit)'.
The financial stakes were significant. Sources indicated the promised funding was $277,352 for the first Gates Foundation project, $1.67 million for the second, and $48,333 per year for three years from Skykraft.
Show-Cause Notice and Allegations of Misconduct
The matter escalated when the Department of Training and Technical Education (TTE) issued a show-cause notice to Professor Bose on December 5. The notice demanded an explanation for why Saxena's consent was not obtained. It accused Bose of having "failed in his statutory duties and responsibilities" and "accepted foreign funds without the due approval and authorisation" of the chancellor.
In its reply, the IIIT Delhi registrar acknowledged the lapse, calling it an "inadvertent" oversight due to internal processes. The registrar defended the move by stating that as the institute was in a "self-sustaining mode," such external funding was "extremely important" to avoid burdening other resources.
LG's Office Rejects Defence, Alleges Deliberate Violation
However, the LG's office was not satisfied with this explanation. In its internal notings after receiving the institute's reply, it stated that signing the MoUs "was not an isolated instance but three cases, one after the other, shows a premeditated mind to violate such directions."
The notings levelled a more serious allegation. It claimed that in a General Council meeting on November 21, when Saxena asked Bose to explain the situation, the director misled the council. Bose allegedly stated that the institute had received the funding through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, and not directly from the foreign entities. The LG's office termed this "a patent falsehood and amounts to misguiding."
Professor Bose, who was on deputation from IIT Delhi and is an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania, did not respond to calls and messages seeking his comment on the matter. His resignation marks a significant development in a case that highlights the tightening scrutiny over academic collaborations with foreign entities, especially concerning data security and procedural compliance.
