The fellowship was established by esteemed alumnus Deepak Raghavan and is administered through the IIT-Delhi Endowment Management Foundation. It provides the faculty with sustained academic and financial support to undertake independent, high-impact research while also making strong contributions to teaching and academic leadership.

This includes a five-year Endowed Chair Professorship for faculty 45 years and younger.

The chair will also benefit from a dedicated research fund, access to dedicated research staff and resources that will facilitate developing and delivering sophisticated research programs.

The program provides flexible funding for researchers to carry out various activities such as purchasing equipment and software, conducting experiments and fieldwork, developing prototypes and engaging post-doctoral researchers.

It also promotes collaboration with industry and other institutions outside the university, helping to put research into widespread applications, patents and new technologies.

There is also the inclusion of the awarding of a fully-funded PhD fellowship once every five years for a doctoral researcher to work directly with the chair professor.

The fellowship also offers exposure through national and international conferences. This exposes the young researcher to a global platform.

In discussing the project initiative, the Director of IIT-Delhi Institute, Rangan Banerjee, noted that IIT-Delhi has some of the very best researchers and academics. It is initiatives like the current program that will enable academics from IIT-Delhi take their talent to the next level and hence ensure the institute and the nation remain competitive in the years to come.