Shiv Nadar is Forbes India’s Outstanding Philanthropist 2014

Shiv Nadar is Forbes India’s Outstanding Philanthropist 2014

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 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’ 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.

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Donating Surplus Food – a Social Service Activity

Any occasion that is happy and auspicious is not complete without food. Any good news and we want to celebrate the occasion with our loved ones we call for a party. Any occasion whether it is good or bad it is not complete without food.

In marriages or in other functions we see that lot of food and that too many varieties are offered to the guests. Now a days it has also become a fashion to offer multiple cuisines in such occasions, even after consumption lot of food is left out, and it goes waste.

On such occasion instead of wasting the food you can donate the leftover food to food banks, yes, these are the very people who collect the excess food from your place and distribute it among those who are starving.

There are many kinds of organizations that are offering these kind of services. Some people bring their own transport and vessels and collect the food and go.

In some other organizations you have to take the food to their place and then they will make arrangements to distribute the food.

Any way the food is not wasted and what is excess and waste to you fills the stomach of someone who is hungry.

These are voluntary organizations founded by persons like you and me who do this as service to the society. There are many such organizations that are undertaking these kinds of activities.

So, next time you are any where you see excess or left over and good food, instead of throwing it out you can suggest giving it to these organizations and help fill in some ones empty stomach.

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