New Delhi: The Adani Group’s expansion into education and healthcare has taken a new step with Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research (DMIHER), a deemed-to-be university in Wardha, Maharashtra, being renamed Adani Institute of Higher Education and Research (AIHER) under a partnership between the two sides.
Priti Adani, chairperson of the Adani Foundation and wife of Gautam Adani, has been appointed the institute’s chancellor, while the Foundation has become its sponsoring trust. The Union education ministry formally issued the order changing the institution’s name on 22 September.
The partnership brings an established multidisciplinary university with 15 institutes, five teaching hospitals, 15 allied-health colleges and two medical colleges into the Adani Group’s expanding healthcare and education portfolio.
The group already operates the Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences, which includes a medical college and teaching hospital, in Bhuj. It has also announced plans for medical colleges alongside its proposed Health Cities in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, as well as the Rs 4,000-crore Adani Arogya Mandir project in Kolkata.
Adani’s healthcare push
Established in 1990 as Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Wardha, DMIHER grew into a multidisciplinary education and healthcare institution before receiving deemed-to-be university status in 2005.
The institute has long been part of the Meghe family’s education and healthcare network across Wardha and the wider Vidarbha region. Its founder, Datta Meghe, is a former MP and Maharashtra minister who switched from the Congress to the BJP in 2014 along with his sons.
Priti Adani was appointed DMIHER Chancellor in April this year. In May last year, the institute conferred an honorary Doctor of Science degree on her at its 16th convocation.
In her message on the institute’s website, Priti outlined a vision for AIHER to bring medicine together with technology, data science, public policy and human values. She also highlighted outcome-based education, curricular innovation and an interdisciplinary clinical ecosystem incorporating AI-driven diagnostics, evidence-based precision medicine and a “One Health” approach.
The Adani Foundation formally announced its collaboration with DMIHER on 26 June 2025, with the stated aim of developing the institution into a global centre of excellence in affordable healthcare education and delivery. The partnership focused on academic innovation, clinical research and community health.
In August this year, Priti virtually inaugurated Shanti Arogya Mandir, a preventive healthcare and wellness centre established by DMIHER with Adani Group support.
How the partnership will work
An Adani Group spokesperson told ThePrint on Thursday that DMIHER would continue to operate under its existing governance structure as a public charitable trust, with representatives of both the Adani Group and the Datta Meghe family working together on its long-term development.
“It is a partnership that brings together the strengths and expertise of both the Meghe Group and the Adani Group,” the spokesperson said, describing the collaboration as a combination of the Meghe Group’s academic and healthcare expertise with the Adani Group’s operational capabilities.
The Adani Group did not disclose a specific investment amount for DMIHER. The spokesperson said the Adani Foundation would fund future expenditure as required through endowments.
“The institute is a non-profit trust-run institution, and the Adani Foundation will take its legacy forward. The foundation will fund all future expenditure as and when needed,” the spokesperson said.
The group’s stated priorities include academic excellence, healthcare delivery, research, infrastructure development and technology-enabled healthcare solutions. Asked whether DMIHER’s institutes, medical colleges and teaching hospitals would be integrated into the Adani Group’s wider healthcare network, the spokesperson said the focus was on expanding the institution’s capabilities in healthcare delivery, medical education and research.
“The intent is to leverage the combined strengths of both organisations for mutual learning, knowledge sharing and excellence in healthcare and academics,” the spokesperson said, adding that the partnership would preserve the institution’s “core values, autonomy, and commitment to public service”.
Asked whether the collaboration formed part of the Adani Group’s previously announced Rs 6,000-crore healthcare commitment, the spokesperson said the amount was earmarked for the first two Adani Health Cities being developed in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
“We will continue to contribute for DMIHER development as an endowment for fulfilling the vision,” the spokesperson said.