Shiv Nadar, Founder & Chairman of HCL has been named India’s ‘Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year’ by Forbes India.
The flagship award recognizes Shiv Nadar as an individual whose leadership and contributions in philanthropy have brought new thinking to solving complex social issues.
The Forbes India awards recognize efforts of individuals who have given time, money, skill and expertise to solve some of the most pressing societal issues to create model institutions and inspire others.
Forbes India explains why:
Why He Won: Shiv Nadar committed a billion dollars to his foundation which focuses on providing high quality education to children from economically poor backgrounds. He also kick-started a developmental venture, Samudhay, to accelerate change in rural India.
His Trigger: He believes education can drive social transformation in India. He has been inspired by the founders of PSG College (his alma mater) who run several institutions that offer scholarships to students.
His Mission: Nadar is working towards creating a strong Shiv Nadar Foundation, which has credibility and transparency.
His Action Plan: He wants to build prestigious educational institutions and improve the lot of the underprivileged by tackling critical parameters.
His Next Move: Nadar is looking for a ‘one size fits all’ model to solve India’s basic problems of water, education, employability, health and infrastructure.
Shiv Nadar has currently committed $1 billion (around Rs 6,000 crore) from his personal wealth to philanthropy. The Foundation has already spent approximately Rs 3000 crore on its philanthropic initiatives till March 31, 2014.
The Forbes India Philanthropy Awards 2014 eminent jury comprised Narayanan Vaghul (jury chair and former Chairman of ICICI Bank), MV Subbiah (former Executive Chairman, Murugappa Group), Jayant Sinha (currently Minister of State for Finance) and Rohini Nilekani (Founder-Chairperson, Arghyam).
