Not just Premji: Shiv Nadar pledges Rs 3,000 cr for education

In 2011, Warren Buffet and Microsoft creator Bill Gates toured India in an attempt to convince the country’s billionaires to sign up to a pledge that would see half of their wealth handed out to charity. That effort now appears to have borne fruit.

Earlier this year Wipro chairman and founder Azim Premji became the first Indian to sign up to the ‘Giving Pledge,’ and now afoundation run by founder and chairman of HCL Corporation Shiv Nadar has committed a whopping Rs 3,000 crore to develop education institutions in India andhas also made a long-term commitmentof $1 billion (about Rs 6,000) for expansion of the foundation’s activities.

On Tuesday,the Foundation (celebrating the completion of 20 years) released its first-ever annual report, detailing how it has spent Rs 1,800 crore so far of the Rs 6,000 crore it has committed to philanthropy.

The Rs 3,00o crore investments will be in new as well as existing initiatives of Shiv Nadar Foundation .

The Foundation has so far directly benefited 15,000 students with an investment of over Rs 1,800 crore till March 2013 across various initiatives.

An additional investment of up to Rs 1,220 crore is expected by the end of the current fiscal.The foundation gets dividends from HCL firms. It has a corpus fund which is utilised for expansion activities.The biggest recipient of the funds has been in the field of artsarts with the Museum of Arts in Delhi receiving Rs 548 crore, followed by the University in Greater Noida at Rs 512 crore, according to an Economic Times report .

Nadar said the foundation’s focus is on creating global leaders of tomorrow by providing “transformational education”.

The foundation’s other initiatives include SSN Institutions ( (an engineering and business schools) in Tamil Nadu and Shiv Nadar University, an international multi-disciplinary university located in Greater Noida, Kiran Nadar Museum of Arts, and Siksha, a new initiative to reduce illiteracy.A part of the funds will be utilised in making SSN a university by adding more departments such as liberal arts, social sciences, natural sciences, communications.

Once it becomes a university, SSN will have a capacity of 10,000 students, from the current 4,300. According to a report in Business Line , the Nadar foundation is already collaborating with a number of foreign universities like Carnegie Mellon and Duke Universities

Meanwhile,theShiv Nadar University alone will consume Rs 300 crore every year.

“Close to 20% of our family’s wealth will go to the foundation and it will continue to be family-run. We expect the Shiv Nadar University to consume R300 crore annually for the next 10 years,” said Nadar , adding that income from fee is only 15% of the outlay with the rest being contributed by the founders.

The foundation also plans on setting up at leastfour more Shiv Nadar Schools. VidyaGyan (the chain of schools it runs for rural children) will continue to be in two locations but the schools will expand, Nadar told the Business Standard in an interview.

The Shiv Nadar Foundation announced its financial statements, and Nadar said the initiative is aimed at ensuring transparency. “The annual report is our first step towards aligning the foundation with global governance standards in private philanthropy."

“I firmly believe that philanthropy is most effective and outcome-oriented when you ensure that your pledge actually gets spent,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, trustee of Shiv Nadar Foundation, said: “Our strong conviction in creating institutions that become citadels of leadership development has led the foundation to adopt the creative philanthropic approach.”

“In the last 20 years of its journey, the foundation has directly impacted 15,000 students and has created 2000 first generation learners,” she said.

According to a report in the Mint, Nadar like Premji affirmed his commitment to set aside one-fifth of his family’s wealth for philanthropic activities.

Dhaval Udani, chief executive of Give India, told Mint: “The $500 million is roughly in the top three donations that have happened in India. So from a size perspective…it’s quite clear where it stands. It’s going to be used towards funding the schools and universities and so it definitely sets a benchmark towards other people. Azim Premji isn’t the only one now.”

In 2010 Shiv Nadar had donated about Rs 580 crore by selling 2.5 percent of his stake in the company, owned by him and his family, for the Shiv Nadar Foundatio

Earlier this year, Wipro chairman Azim Premji transferred shares worth about Rs 12,300 crore to his philanthropic arm, the Azim Premji Trust, the largest philanthropic transfer by any individual in the country.