Azim Premji, who transformed a family-owned cooking oil firm into the software giant Wipro, announced earlier this month that he was giving two billion dollars to fund rural education.
The 100 wealthiest Indians have a net worth equal to 25 percent of India's GDP and Premji's donation - by far the largest ever made by an individual - was seen as a challenge to others in the ultra-rich club.
Open displays of wealth are often more admired than criticised in India, where the rich commonly spend hundreds of thousands of dollars - sometimes millions - on lavish weddings.
Mukesh Ambani's construction of a billion-dollar, 27-storey home in Mumbai, where 60 percent of the 18 million population are slumdwellers, raised some eyebrows but little overt resentment.
Wipro's Premji, known for his frugal lifestyle, said conspicuous consumption was common in countries climbing the wealth ladder.
Traditionally, so-called "old money," embodied in the likes of India's 142-year-old Tata Group conglomerate, has focused on promoting the welfare of workers, with health care and housing.
"Initially people thought it necessary to help those closest in their households or villages, but now they realise help needs to be on a wider scale," Sanghavi said.
Together with his wife, Sanghavi runs the Dasra (Enlightened Giving) foundation, helping donors pick charities which can use their money best.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder of India's largest mobile company, has set up 237 schools to educate the poor, saying he wants to help children break out of the "generational poverty cycle."
The need for charitable funding in India is self-evident.
Some 42 percent of Indians, or 455 million people, live on less than 1.25 dollars a day, according to the World Bank and India's statistics on health, infant mortality and malnutrition are worse than those for sub-Saharan Africa.
But there's little sign yet of India's rich taking "The Giving Pledge" - an initiative by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffet that asks the wealthy to donate half their fortunes to charity.
The duo organised a dinner for China's mega-rich last September and say they may host a similar event in India early next year.
Billionaire Shiv Nadar, the founder of tech giant HCL who pledged in June to give 130 million dollars to education, believes India's rich are still not ready to embrace the Gates' concept.
"When it comes to giving, there aren't many people who will happily give away even one percent" of their wealth, he said.
Nice write-up. It is necessary for the rich to disclose their both charts - 'Business Growth' and 'Social Responsiblity'to the public. This will defenitely help them in peoples support in enhancing their growth on all fields. Employees will feel proud on their organisation which turn in more result orintented response. I feel charity is not always to be done silently or keep it as a secret, its required to be public but only for other awarness,inspiration,learning and follow-up.
ReplyDeleteSairam - Jaigurudev