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The Right Honourable Lord Swraj Paul of Marylebone, PC, Chairman of Caparo Group and Caparo Bull Moose, Inc., is pleased to announce the donation of $5 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the Swraj Paul Theatre at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium. The donation has been made through the Paul family’s charitable trust, the Ambika Paul Foundation.

Designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, Kresge Auditorium is architecturally significant as a leading example of a minimalist thin-shell concrete structure. Located in the central area of the MIT campus, Kresge opened its doors in 1955 and has played an important role in the life of the MIT community. The facility was renovated in 2016. In addition to providing performance facilities and practice space for MIT Music and Theater Arts programs, the auditorium serves as a venue for a variety of community activities including MIT events and symposiums and student performances, and Cambridge Symphony Orchestra and New England Philharmonic performances.

Lord Paul and his sons Akash Paul and the late Angad Paul studied at MIT.

In recognition of this gift, the large hall in the Kresge Auditorium will be named as the Lord Swraj Paul PC ’52 and Angad Paul ’92 Theatre. The hall will be more generally known as theSwraj Paul Theatreat Kresge Auditorium.

Commenting on the donation, Lord Paul said, “I first came to MIT from India in 1949 at a time when there were very few Indian students in the United States, and the experience changed my life. Because of my time at MIT, I decided to expand my Caparo companies into the United States, and for more than 30 years, we have made significant investments across the country in our Bull Moose Tube and XL Trailers businesses.

“I have always had a great respect for MIT as a world centre of technical excellence, and was delighted when my sons followed me there in the 1970s and 80s. MIT means a lot to our family, and I am honoured that we are able to support the continuation of its values and way of life through this iconic building.”

About the Ambika Paul Foundation

The Ambika Paul Foundation is a charitable trust established in memory of Lord Swraj Paul’s daughter, Ambika, who died of leukaemia in 1968 at age 4. It was to further the treatment of her illness that Lord Paul first came to Britain in 1966. He remained in England after Ambika’s tragic death and went on to create Caparo, a diversified global association of businesses with interests predominantly in the design, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of value-added steel and niche engineering products.

The Foundation was established in 1978 and since then, funded by donations from the Paul family and the Caparo businesses, has grown to have substantial net assets and an impressive programme of donations, including for the Ambika Paul Children’s Zoo at the London Zoo. The Foundation promotes the well-being of children and young people all over the world through education, culture and health, and seeks to encourage and inspire them to learn about the world they live in.