Xytel India Private Limited has given a one-time endowment of Rupees Thirty lakh ten thousand to IISER Pune, to be used for giving awards to the best PhD and Masters theses every year.

Xytel India, a premier project and process engineering organisation, has given this endowment under the aegis of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The endowment will be used for awarding a best thesis prize to PhD and Masters' theses across disciplines, each year. It is intended to recognize research efforts and enhance the employability quotient of the winners.

A Memorandum of Understanding to this effect was signed between IISER Pune and Xytel India on February 27, 2018. Col. G. Raja Sekhar (Retd.), Registrar of the institute represented IISER Pune, while Mr Rajeev Hallur, Director - Operations signed the document on behalf of Xytel. Prof Sunil Mukhi (Chair of Endowments and Investments Committee), Dr Vandana Gambhir (Grants Office & IPR Cell) from IISER Pune and Mr. B. Shankar (Chairman and Managing Director) of Xytel India were also present.