FROM PAGE

1

individuals who knew well that the full benefit of what

they were investing in – often without a commemora-

tive marble plaque – would be realised only after their

lifetimes.

So if anyone says that we need to thank the Ameri-

cans for this philanthropy bug, then you know what to

say. Take a … okay, sorry, give for a change. I mean

literally.

So what’s new?

The scale. For centuries, the concept of daan/

philanthropy was something you expensed out of your

books after you had taken care of your needs for the

number of years until the projected end of your life…

multiplied by five. This amount would be fairly ade-

quate to build the ashrams, ghats and dharamshalas.

The one thing that has now changed is the sheer

quantum of this spending. The sectoral space is no after-

thought; it is a veritable industry. The space does not

just employ a munim (accountant) but caregivers, exec-

utives, consultants and support staff. The space does

not just focus on things that can be fixed in the neigh-

bourhood but people willing to bet grandiose on eradi-

cating national poverty, disease and illiteracy. And,

best of all, the space is no longer about investing for an

intangible return (satisfaction, what else) but some im-

mediate tangible evidence as well (polio eradication).

And, finally, the space is no longer open-ended; it is fo-

cused, professionalised and documented.

The context

Oh, there is something else that is new. Earlier, bal-

anced individuals spent a part of their income towards

public good. The new boy on the philanthropic block is

the corporate, which either assumes projects directly

or funds reliable NGOs.

This philanthropic nudge is coming from India’s

Companies Bill 2013 as well. The Bill mandates that

companies, with a net worth of more than Rs500

crores or revenue of more than Rs1,000 crores or net

profit of more than Rs5 crores, to earmark at least 2

per cent of their average net profits of the preceding

three years for corporate social responsibility (CSR) ac-

tivities.

This comes at a time when even within corporates,

there is an emerging divergence – corporates belonging

to new age sectors marked by high margin, zero debt

and high cash business models, who are simply embar-

rassed by the largeness of their profits on the one hand

and shortness of the tenure on the other.

From within these corporates three trends have

emerged – one, thought leadership; two, walking their

talk; three, their senior executives spinning philan-

thropic initiatives following the divestment of a part of

their ownership in their highly valued organisations.

So you have IT tycoon Azim Hashim Premji donat-

ing Rs8,000 crores in the past year, Mr G.M. Rao

(through GMR Varalakshmi Foundation) donating

Rs740 crores for the education of underprivileged chil-

dren, the Nilekanis (Nandan and Rohini) contributing

Rs530 crores, Mr Ronnie Screwvala contributing

Rs470 crores for achieving rural empowerment

through the best practices and modern technology val-

ues, Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw donating Rs330 crores,

Mr Ratan Tata donating Rs310 crores to various chari-

table organisations followed by Mr Anil Agarwal,

Mr P.N.C. Menon, Mr Kushal Pal Singh and others.

The brand-enriching result is that Infosys is not just

about the magic of market capitalisation; it is a compa-

ny that showed modern India the philanthropic way.

Wipro is not just about a company that has endured

through challenges; it is about a company that is

putting down big money to eradicate illiteracy. Tata

Steel or JSW are not just companies that make steel

(terrible cliche); they are companies that nurse entire

townships, communities and culture.

The ad hocism

One would then think that given the evident connect

between branding and philanthropy, a number of cor-

porates would be willing to divert some of their brand

spend towards initiatives of social responsibility. Inter-

estingly, that has yet to happen in India. Industrialists

have been hesitant philanthropists partly because they

are still payback-obsessed in a space where the returns

are largely non-financial; a number of them excuse

themselves by insisting that their CSR is really the em-

ployment stability that they provide which helps stimu-

late the local economy; a number also feel that in the

slowdown they should be strengthening their business

than engaging in non-essentials.

So the CSR of large organisations helps them keep

up with the Joneses; much of mid-cap India is engaged

in ad hoc spending dictated by the mood; most

small-cap companies engage in absolutely no philan-

thropy except for advertising in event souvenirs or

sponsoring local tournaments to buy terrain peace.

The gaps

It might appear that the corporate is the villain – “they

have the money but they won’t have the heart to

spend it” syndrome. The reverse argument is also

worth considering. In a positioning-driven world, most

NGOs just do not know how to place a proposal that

will get a corporate to say “yes”. These NGOS are so

activity-focused that “branding” and “marketing” ap-

pear sinful. Most NGOs cannot write a proposal that

even explains in simple language how the world would

be a poorer place if they ceased to exist. Much of Indi-

an NGO collateral is badly written and designed. Peri-

od.

Besides, most NGOs work as silos; most are patheti-

cally networked; most are generally complaining that

they are under-resourced; most associate the word “in-

novation?” with what chemists do in laboratories;

most depend largely on the largesse of foreigners with-

out realising that a goldmine lies within their own coun-

try; some engage in practices that are downright unethi-

cal (but why get into that here?).

But let me come back to the corporates. Most corpo-

rates who engage in philanthropy spend no time study-

ing the space they want to grow in, as a result of which

they commit funds first, realise later that they over-ex-

tended, have too much of an ego to retract and the re-

sult is that they soon become top-heavy whereas some-

one else does a far better job with a lower outlay.

Besides, most corporates lack linkage. For instance,

a corporate will teach; when it comes to providing psy-

chological counselling – often a requirement if you are

teaching at the lowest slab of the economic pyramid –

CONTINUED ON PAGE

14

MUDAR PATHERYA

ONE of the best instances about passionate giving revolves

around someone I have known for nearly three decades.

Former Test cricketer Arun Lal (right).

Arun had a presswalla, someone who would iron

clothes for him. One day, the presswalla went to Arun and

his wife Reena with an unusual request: His son had been

admitted to an English medium school (Julien Day School)

in Kolkata – by itself unusual for someone from an

underprivileged background – and needed help with

conversational English.

After initial hesitation (“We thought he would be here

today and gone tomorrow”) Arun and Reena took the boy

in; he would, as per the arrangement, go to the couple for

an hour a day of language familiarisation.

Gradually, the brief extended; Reena started covering

more subjects. Not merely as in “covering” them. “It got

to a point when, if we wanted to go on a holiday,” says

Arun, “Reena would decline saying ‘Oh, but Bikash has his

exams coming up.”

Two things began to unfold gradually: Bikash started

spending more time with the couple, including having a

meal before going home to spend each night on the

pavement off Northern park (Bhowanipore). A few years

later, the couple started liking the boy enough to formally

propose an active support arrangement with his parents’

consent and get him to move in with them.

And that is what happened: Bikash would spend the

day either in school or at the Lals’ residence off upmarket

Ballygunge Circular Road in Kolkata just like a family

member, but each night he would zip down for dinner

with his family of origin, remaining connected with where

he came from.

From school, Bikash moved to Assembly of God

Church for his plus-two and thereafter was good enough

to be admitted to St Xavier’s College for his B.Com.

“We did something interesting for him at that point,”

says Arun. “We got him to sit for CAT tutorials so that he

would get into the groove of competitive examinations.

We said, don’t worry if you fail, just get the experience.”

Bikash failed the first time. Tried again. Cleared the

examination this time. Got a call from IIM Bangalore and

IIM Kolkata. Went for the latter.

The general Lal family apprehension: In a

mathematically-oriented institution, Bikash might not be

able to take the heat.

Bikash surprised. In his first year at what is rated as the

second best IIM in India, Bikash was elected Lord by his

seniors; the following year he was elected president, an

unlikely combination for most IIM-ers and an unusual

combination for someone just middling academically.

Bikash’s next big break was when Deutsche Bank

visited the campus to select recruits for summer training in

London. Bikash sent in his application for a lark. From

among dozens who had sent in their papers, Bikash was

selected. When he finished his two-year course, Deutsche

Bank took him in. Bikash now works for a large French

investment banking company in Mumbai.

“One of the most moving moments in our relationship,”

said Arun, “came when we wanted to move from an

apartment into a bungalow and did not have enough

money to make it happen.

“One day we received an envelope by courier from

Mumbai, opened it to find a demand draft from Bikash for

the remaining – significant – amount.

“On another occasion, I returned from some place to

find two young ladies outside my residence. They

motioned me to my garage and standing there was a silver

grey Mercedes presented to us by Bikash for getting him

where he is today.”

So what’s the take big message?

Reena encapsulates: “Most will see Bikash as the

beneficiary. The reverse is true; we gained more than him

and in a non-material way. We became more aware of the

inequality around us; it gave us the confidence to

financially support four more deserving youngsters

through college and the result is that they are on their way

to becoming doctors.”

Arun concludes: “A number of my friends are willing to

fund me create an NGO that does only this – support

deserving underprivileged children – as they feel that by

now I have acquired some core competence in this subject.

“The reality is that this model does not respond to scale

or mere financial infusion; one must feel strongly to give a

part of one’s life, time, emotion and money to provide an

opportunity to someone who can probably do more with

life’s chances than I can.

“But despite most of us having more than enough for

this existence, we pay lip service and do little to help

someone transform his destiny and those of his succeeding

generations.

“And that is where the real tragedy lies.”

➥

tabla@sph.com.sg

Azim Premji

Who:

Chairman of IT giant Wipro

Company revenue:

Rs11,330 crores

Donation:

Rs8,000 crores to Azim Premji

Foundation

For:

To promote education in rural India

Shiv Nadar

Who:

Founder and chairman of HCL

Company revenue:

Rs25,734 crores

Donation:

Rs3,000 crores

For:

Non-profit education and art initiatives,

through the Shiv Nadar Foundation

G.M. Rao

Who:

Chairman of infrastructure giant GMR Group

Company revenue:

Rs9,975 crores

Donation:

His entire stake in his business, which

amounts to Rs1,540 crores

For:

To help the underprivileged in India through

his trust.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

Who:

Chairman and managing director of Biocon, a

biotechnology company

Company revenue:

Rs2,538 crores

Donation:

Rs330 crores. Also pledged 75 per cent

of her wealth, which was US$655 million last year

For:

Diagnosing and researching cancer and other

philanthropic efforts after her death

P.N.C. Menon

Who:

Founder of Sobha Developers

Company revenue:

Rs1,865 crores

Donation:

Rs270 crores

For:

Children’s education and other welfare

initiatives

Kris Gopalakrishnan

Who:

Infosys executive vice chairman

Company revenue:

Rs47,712 crores

Donation:

Rs225 crores to his trust Pratiksha

For:

To set up a brain research centre in

collaboration with Indian Institute of Science

Yusuf Hamied

Who:

Chairman of pharmaceutical company Cipla

Company revenue:

Rs8,000 crores

Donation:

Rs8 crores to Royal Society of Chemistry

For:

To support chemistry education programmes in

Indian schools

Giving is growing

Leadership

academy... (left)

students at

VidyaGyan, a

residential school

launched by the Shiv

Nadar Foundation

for economically

challenged and

backward student

communities from

the rural hinterlands

of rural Uttar

Pradesh with the

aim of creating

leaders from “the

top of the bottom of

the pyramid”.

(Below) NGO Rural

Livelihood Initiatve’s

tank-based drip

irrigation.

PHOTOS:

SNF,

RURAL

LIVELIHOOD

INITIATVE

Former

Test

cricketer

Arun

Lal’s

story of

giving

They gave big money

Page 12

February 14, 2014

tabla

!

tabla

!

February 14, 2014

Page 13

NEWS