For wealth-creation to reflect in terms of thoughtful giving, the rich need to strengthen intent, and be supported by infrastructure, transparency, peer groups and data. A new network for family philanthropy wants to put the pedal to the metal
Shiv Nadar, founder and chairman emeritus of HCL Technologies Ltd. and the Shiv Nadar Foundation and Roshni Nadar, chairperson of HCL Technologies Ltd. with the students of VidyaGyaan School in Noida. The father and daughter are the second biggest family philanthropic donors in India. Image: Udit Kulshrestha
Rajan Navani recollects how different generations of his family at the Jetline Group have thought differently about giving back to society.
For his grandfather, it was building a livelihood from scratch after the Partition of 1947, and securing wealth for his immediate and extended family. For his father, it was about helping build up local communities. For him, says Navani—who is the founder of digital entertainment and technology company JetSynthesys—the focus has been to not just give money, but also his time, skills and expertise to social impact initiatives across the country. “And my daughter, the fourth generation in the family, has already started thinking strategically about social problems and their solutions with a global perspective,†says Navani, who says that at least 10 percent of his family’s wealth is directed toward philanthropy every year, mainly towards causes related to skill development and job-creation.
Tara Singh Vachani also has a similar story. Growing up, “philanthropy had no label, it was spontaneous, need-based, ad-hoc and disorganisedâ€, she says. Vachani, who runs Antara Senior Care and is the daughter of billionaire Max Group founder Analjit Singh, explains that even when the Max India Foundation was launched about 18 years ago mainly for executing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives of the company, there was no family philanthropy lens. “The Foundation was professionally-run, rather than family-run. Since I took over as trustee three years ago, the family lens has become stronger. Now we are more involved in what we do and how we carry out philanthropy as a family.â€
Navani believes that having a strong philanthropic strategy is crucial as a family progresses from generation to generation. Philanthropy becomes a strong pillar in efforts to take a family’s legacy and values forward, he says. Both he and Vachani, however, agree that family philanthropy in India has barely reached its potential, and has a long way to go. There’s a lot more that the wealthy can do.