Giving is a habit, it's like getting your first Test 100: Sourav Ganguly

Mumbai: Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly thinks Giving for causes and charitable purposes is like a habit we all should inculcate so it can benefit the people who deserve it the most in our country. Ganguly, who was part of a panel discussion in which the CAF World Giving Index 2015 Report was showcased, spoke on the sidelines of a 6-hour live Telethon ‘Support My School’, on a leading English news channel to help raise funds for revitalising schools across the country. [caption id=“attachment_2367926” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of Sourav Ganguly. Reuters[/caption] The panellists spoke about various issues concerning the social development sector in India and shared ideas on how the giving culture can benefit the underprivileged. “Giving is a habit. It’s like getting your first Test 100. It takes a lot of time to get your first one except a few who get it on debut. But then when it starts happening, it happens a lot quicker,” Ganguly said. To drive his point, Ganguly cited how Sachin Tendulkar too took a while to get to his first Test hundred but once he notched up his first test ton, there was no stopping him. “And then there is someone like Sachin who takes nearly 10 Test matches to get to his first Test hundred, but once that happens, he finishes with 100 hundreds,” added Ganguly, who is the brand ambassador of Support My School campaign. President, Coca Cola India & South West Asia, Venkatesh Kini said: “As a percentage of our population, the giving percentage may be small but if you look at absolute numbers, we still have the largest number of givers in the world. So, India still has a good story to tell.” Arun Bharat Ram, chairman, CAF India, who was part of the panel, said: “We should take into consideration the fact that India has around 30 percent of population living below poverty line or are at the edge, who cannot give and are also factored in while measuring generosity.” CAF India CEO Meenakshi Batra said: “If the economic growth in India is to benefit the entire Indian population, we must do more to engage people in addressing development gaps.” Praveen Kumar, COO, UBS India, said, “I think from the individual perspective, there is lack of transparency issues in the NGO sector which impacts the giving behaviour.” The panellist were discussing strategic ways of giving effectively in the backdrop of the CAF World Giving index 2015 report which revealed that India’s ranking in the world dropped to 106 from 69th position a year ago. PTI