NEW DELHI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shiv Nadar, Founder & Chairman of HCL & the Shiv Nadar Foundation, has been named India’s ‘Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year’ by Forbes India Magazine as part of their annual philanthropy awards.
The Forbes India Philanthropy Awards recognize the 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. 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).
Forbes India has listed the following reasons for his selection as the ‘Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year’ award:
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 crores on its philanthropic initiatives till March 31, 2014.
In recognition of his pioneering role in business and philanthropy in India and across the globe, Shiv Nadar has received several honours and accolades in the past, notable being the Padma Bhushan from the President of India in 2008, the BNP Paribas Grand Prize for Individual Philanthropy in 2013, the AIMA Managing India Corporate Citizen Award, the ICSI Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in Corporate Governance and the Golden Peacock Award for Social Leadership in 2014.