He also invested in rubber plantations, tin mines, textile mills, insurance companies, hotels, theatres, a stock exchange and a private airline.

[4] In 1947, at the Annie Besant centenary celebrations, he responded to the call for industrialists to help educate India by offering to start an Arts College in Karaikudi.

His donations led to the establishment of a number of educational institutions, which formed the basis for the foundation of the Alagappa University in 1985 by the Government of Tamil Nadu.

At the inauguration of the Central Electro Chemical Research Institute (CECRI) on 14 January 1953, then-Vice President of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan stated: The magnificent gift of 300 acres of land and fifteen lakhs of rupees by Alagappa Chettiar helped the Government of India to select Karaikudi as the seat of Electro Chemical Research Institute.

His other foundations and charitable donations included: Chettiar was treated for cancer in 1955, and after a brief recovery, his health worsened and he died on 5 April 1957 at his residence in Vepery, Madras (now Chennai).