Anil Agarwal, founder and executive chairman of mining group Vedanta, has donated $1bn from a personal fortune estimated at $3.5bn to set up a university in India – the biggest donation for a single teaching institute.

The Indian tycoon, who divides his time between homes in London’s Mayfair and Mumbai, owns 53.76 per cent of Vedanta, which listed in 2003 as a holding group for his aluminum, copper and zinc assets in India and Africa.