Indian HNIs Must Donate More
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2022-02-21 08:19:38
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
In India, despite huge disparity in income and wealth, the power of giving (other than the legally mandated corporate social responsibility which in any case is not donated from personal wealth) is an alien thing and is limited to a select few. Hence, it was heartwarming to read that Mindtree co-founders Subroto Bagchi and N S Parthasarathy had made a donation of Rs 425 crore to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to set up medical facilities with a focus on cutting-edge clinical research and innovation. Research in India is lagging behind world standards mainly due to the fact that is poorly funded. The talent is there but the infrastructure is not. It is donations such as the one made by Bagchi and Parthasarthy that kindles the hope that other wealthy persons will follow their lead and the raise the bar for research in India.
It is not as if Indians do not donate, but given the number of billionaires in the country, the total amount is very low. India has more than 140 billionaires (in dollar terms). The top 1% holds 33% of the nation's wealth and the top 10% hold 64.6%. No one is asking them to share the wealth with others or give it away without a cause. But it is their moral duty to use the wealth to fund research, innovation and other social causes. The nation looks up to them to be socially responsive citizens. Many of these high net worth individuals (HNIs) have formed trusts and foundations and are already funding a variety of causes. But the outflow is miniscule compared to global standards, in terms of expenditure versus assets.
The EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021 shows that 11 persons gave away more than Rs 100cr in FY21, 20 persons more than Rs 50cr and 40 persons more than Rs 20cr. The top spot was once again occupied by Azim Premiji of Wipro who donated Rs 9713cr in FY21. He was followed by Shiv Nadar of HCL with Rs 1263cr. While Indiaâs richest man Mukesh Ambani donated just Rs 577cr the person who gained the most during the pandemic years, Gautam Adani, donated just Rs 130cr. There were 17 new entrants in the list. India needs more donations from its rich who are already donating and needs more rich persons to start donating. The gap between what is needed for all causes and the public funding available for it must be bridged by HNIs in India.
