By buld_online 
Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani on Saturday outlined four ideas on how India can offer a meaningful ‘Guru Dakshina’ to its educators. He was speaking at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, during the launch of a biography on his mentor and former professor, MM Sharma, titled Divine Scientist.
Paying tribute to Professor MM Sharma—under whom he studied at the then University Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT)—Ambani referred to him as a “Guru of Bharat” and “a quiet architect of India’s economic reforms”.
Recalling his early student days, Ambani shared how Professor Sharma’s first lecture left a lasting impact on him, shaping his outlook and ambition. He credited Sharma with influencing key policymakers in post-liberalisation India, helping them recognise the need to dismantle the license-permit raj. “Like my father Dhirubhai Ambani, he had a burning desire to change Indian industry from scarcity to global leadership,” Ambani said. “These two bold visionaries believed that science and technology, in alliance with private entrepreneurship, would open the floodgates of prosperity.”
During his address to students and alumni, Ambani announced an unconditional grant of ₹151 crore to ICT Mumbai as part of his ‘Guru Dakshina’, acting on the guidance of Professor Sharma himself. “Indian culture places an obligation on every student to repay our debt to the Guru in the form of Guru Dakshina. So how can we as a nation pay a befitting Guru Dakshina to Prof M.M. Sharma and all the professors that we have?” he said.
Ambani then presented four forward-looking ideas for honouring India’s teachers:
“First: We must make India a deep-tech nation and a world leader in Advanced Manufacturing using AI and other breakthrough technologies… especially in proteins, enzymes and other areas of chemistry that can cure complex diseases, prolong human life, and create new materials, clean up the environment, and boost productivity exponentially,” he said.
“My Second Idea: After the 1990s, the private sector unlocked the potential of India’s economic growth. Now, it should also unlock the potential of India’s educational development… Today, when many globally reputed universities are facing a crisis, India has the best opportunity to attract back the most talented students and faculties from around the world.”
“My Third Idea: Education is not only about creating material and financial value… education is even more about inculcating human values… Character is that intangible wealth that comes with integrity, honesty, humility, empathy and other values rooted in India’s priceless culture.”
“My Fourth Idea: Prof Sharma belongs to that rare community of teachers for whom teaching itself is their dharma… The word that best captures Prof Sharma’s personality is that he is an INFLUENCER… We need tens of thousands of Gurus like him, who can teach our youth to combine Success with Sanskaar,” he said.
Ambani spent over three hours at the ICT campus, engaging with faculty, students, and fellow alumni, in what was both a personal homage and a national call to action for investing in knowledge, character, and technological leadership.
The ceremony took place at Pidilite Hall, hosted by esteemed nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar. Distinguished scientists such as Raghunath Mashelkar, J B Joshi, Aniruddha Pandit, and G D Yadav honored Prof Sharma’s contributions to education and science. “Divine Scientist” has been penned in Marathi by Anita Patil and translated into English by Sonia Khare.