Nitte Vinaya Hegde

An entrepreneur, philanthropist, technocrat, an avid sports lover, a family man and in his own words a true human being, Nitte Vinaya Hegde towered over others in his contributions to education in undivided Dakshina Kannada district. Under his guidance, Nitte Education Trust (NET) has emerged as the largest Mangalore-based educational entity. Being the son of an illustrious father, late Justice K S Hegde, Judge of the Supreme Court of India and Speaker of Lok Sabha, did not deter him from carving a place for himself. 

Entrepreneur & Technocrat

As an entrepreneur and technocrat, he was the Chairman of Lamina Group of Industries; the flagship company of the Group, Lamina Suspension Products Ltd, (Estd 1976), manufactures Automobile Leaf Springs. The Lamina Group with an employee strength of 2000, with exports to Germany, USA, UK, Korea, Finland, Belgium has an annual turnover of over Rs.200 crores.

While he was Chairman of CII, Mangalore Chapter, he was nominated by the Government of Karnataka as the Industrial Representative in the Governing Council of KREC, Surathkal (now NIT Karnataka) and held office till the Institute was elevated to the status of National Institute of Technology. 

He was appointed by the Government of Karnataka as Chairman of the Coastal Agenda Task Force, constituted for drafting long term plans for the coastal districts. The Task Force played a key role in proposing the Special Economic Zone for this region.

He served as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of NITK, Surathkal, Member of the Mangalore University Syndicate and Academic Council and member of the Governing Council of Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal. In recognition of his distinguished and longstanding service in the fields of education and industry, he was conferred with the Honorary Doctorate by Mangalore University. 

Encouragement to Sports

He was responsible for awakening the sporting spirit among Mangaloreans by conducting national sports for the first time in 1984 under the aegis of the Lamina Group. He was deeply involved in identifying, encouraging and supporting talented sportspersons from the region, many of whom later rose to prominence as national-level athletes. His commitment to sports development extended beyond competition, as he was instrumental in providing freeships to outstanding student-athletes, along with free hostel accommodation and mess facilities, thereby enabling them to pursue both academic and sporting excellence.

Birth of Nitte University

When Nitte University was established in 2008, Sri. N V Hegde became the Chancellor. Under his leadership, in a span of just four years, the University was placed under category "A" by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, GoI. Nitte University is accredited with A+ Grade by NAAC, ranked 80 in National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2025 and placed in the Rank band 1201-1500 in THE World University Rankings 2026. The University offers over 160 programs across diverse disciplines, including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, physiotherapy, allied health sciences, speech & hearing, biological sciences, media & communication, engineering, management, architecture, pilot training and hospitality.

Firmly believing that research must serve society, the University under his leadership established, advanced research centres to address real-world challenges in neuroscience, regenerative medicine, cancer, genetics and environmental health.

Social Responsibility

Considering that a majority of the rural population travel more than 100 km to avail health services, he mooted the idea of establishing health centres in rural areas.  Today, Nitte runs 23 Rural Health Centres with the objective of making healthcare accessible, available and affordable to the rural population. 

Hundreds of general, specialty and dental health camps are organized at various rural/urban areas within Karnataka and neighbouring states, each year.

One of his initiatives the Nerekere Kshema project, adopted villages for comprehensive community development, providing healthcare, education, housing, water, sanitation, self-employment and infrastructure to families below the poverty line, salary support for school teachers and free bus service to rural schools. The initiative has empowered more than 1000 rural households in three adopted villages in Dakshina Kannada.

To address the serious issue of mental health, often ignored in rural areas, a Psychiatric Centre to support, treat and provide community care for the mentally ill along with psychosocial and occupational rehabilitation was established. In-house psychiatrists, psychologists and trained counsellors help in providing daily outpatient care, house visits for follow-ups and free disbursement of medicine.

In collaboration with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, he initiated the Nitte Special Child Care (N-SPECC) program with an objective to provide comprehensive healthcare to children with special needs. Under this scheme, free nutritious food along with conveyance is provided to children and their caregivers.

His commitment to national integration and social equity found powerful expression in his work with youth from India’s North Eastern states. Through the NAMASTE Centre for North Eastern Studies, fully sponsored seats are offered to deserving students from the North East across almost all programs of the University. Underprivileged children from NER are supported from primary school right up to graduation.

Disaster Response

Nitte, under him was always among the first to respond during disasters, ensuring that the immediate needs of individuals, families and communities were met, providing emergency financial assistance and supporting rescue missions and rehabilitation programs. 28 houses were constructed in Boplapur Village, in Gadag for the flood affected families. Rescue teams of doctors with specialty and super-specialty training along with medical supplies, surgical supplies, operating instruments and emergency medical kits were sent to the affected areas during earthquakes and Tsunami.

Justice K S Hegde Charitable Foundation

He established the K S Hegde Charitable Foundation in memory of his father in 1992. The Foundation is dedicated to serving communities through a range of charitable initiatives. These include the construction of wells, community halls and Panchayath offices; providing financial assistance for housing, education and healthcare and organising vocational training for rural youth. 

He supported inter-religious harmony in the coastal region, believing that all faiths should come together in a spirit of love and tolerance and has guided a platform, `Samanvaya` that promotes mutual understanding among religions.

For him, the belief that every person is equal was not merely a philosophy - it was a guiding principle reflected in decades of selfless service.