Award: Outstanding Philanthropist
Rohini and Nandan Nilekani
Age: Rohini-54, Nandan-58
Why They Won: For having given nearly Rs 350 crore, especially to ideas which CSR doesn’t fund. Rohini has committed to giving Rs 20 crore every year; Nandan has spent five years at UIDAI as part of the ‘giving back to society’ process.
Their Trigger: The belief that self-created wealth should be given away for social good. They believe that the wealthy should leave only so much to their children that they do something but not leave so much that they do nothing.
Their Mission: While Rohini funds ideas and people that create a more empowered society, Nandan invests in institutions that pay off over years.
Their Action Plan: A commitment to keep doing more of what they have done. Approachability is their biggest asset.
Their Next Move: For Nandan, giving years to public causes is more expensive than writing cheques for ‘a few hundred crores’. After having started UIDAI, it is clear he wants to remain in public life to help bring ‘consequential social change’.
She is a full-time philanthropist. She considers her wealth to be a product of serendipity, and not of any astute business move or smart investment. For her, such wealth generation is like a flowing river; owners should dip into it but never dam it—the river must flow. It is her sense of ‘politics’ that guides her giving. When she cuts a cheque, she perhaps asks herself more questions than what she poses to the receiver: Will the act of charity build societal capacity to deal with the changing set of problems?
She owes her wealth to legitimate market forces but believes if the balance of power in society is not right, the markets and the state might take over. She looks for ideas, not models; she funds people, not projects. She backs plurality—right-wing Takshashila Institution and left-leaning Economic and Political Weekly sit snugly in her scheme of philanthropy—and even supports people who disagree with her.-
Her passion is palpable. When she describes how traditional rainwater harvesting structures in rural Rajasthan have been restored, how water bodies are back just when the community was staring at modern schemes and declining water tables, and how women and farmers have a voice in sharing that water, you see she is totally into it—as the benefactor and the beneficiary.
In the last 15 years, Rohini Nilekani has come a long way, from being an accidental wealthy to a conscious giver. If she set up Arghyam in 2001 to learn how to give, today she is a cheerleader of that brigade, with her own theory—philanthropists must also give “outside their fence”.
The Long Bet
Rohini is the “real philanthropist” in the family, or at least that is how husband Nandan Nilekani describes her; by his own admission, his work is ancillary to hers. Apart from writing the fat cheques, mostly for institutional support, he engages with these organisations, sometimes even uses his professional network to facilitate their work. However, he stays away from pre-funding ‘due diligence’ or post-funding ‘monitoring’. In fact, he seems to strain his memory when we ask him about the places he has parked his philanthropic money.
“My belief is that the very nature of philanthropic capital allows you to take long-term bets. If I were running a business and using shareholder money, I would be far more cautious,” Nandan says. “The fact that I am not answerable to anyone allows me to fund ideas that will take time to show results.”
So far his donations—be it $5 million each to IIT-Bombay in 2002 and Yale University in 2008 or Rs 50 crore to the Indian Institute for Human Settlements in 2011—have proven to be reasonably good bets. He doesn’t apply any metric to measure the outcomes, but here are the facts: Yale India Initiative has become the hotbed of research and teaching, and hostels at IIT in Mumbai benefit hundreds of students. These would constitute worthy returns on his giving.
More than writing cheques, Nandan believes in giving his time and skill towards “consequential social change”. That is “high leverage” giving in his view. Five years ago, he left Infosys to set up the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) that gives a 12-digit unique identity, or Aadhaar number, to every individual residing in India. With nearly 500 million people having received their numbers, the agency is close to achieving its goal. It is another matter that Aadhaar, which started off as a benevolent idea to facilitate delivery of welfare schemes, evokes polarised debates today. Perhaps equally interesting is the politicisation of this initiative.
A few weeks ago, a section of the media reported that Nandan would contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate from South Bangalore. Nandan neither confirmed nor denied the news. We asked him again, in mid November, and he remained non-committal. “Political parties announce their candidates very close to the election,” is all he would say. But that confirmation is immaterial, at least for now. What is apparent is that his sense of philanthropy extends to the political role as well: He believes certain ideas need “political energy” to get implemented.
Does she look for a business plan when she funds these entities? “I ask for a financial model but that is not the limitation for me. I write cheques for all causes and there are hundreds and thousands of people like me who would come to support such ideas,” she says.
In comparison, what the Nilekanis, Premji, or Nadar are giving is not income from capital, but capital itself. It is still not common to find such examples, agrees Nandan. But he believes that will change as more first-generation wealth-creators come in. “It is difficult to give away inherited wealth,” he says.
(This story appears in the 13 December, 2013 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
Mr. & Mrs. Nilekani are RARE children of their parents and RARE parents for their children and they have committed to do something RARE. The common word in these statements is \" RARE\" and the value of RARE is VALUELESS. Their message to the society -\" LIFE IS NOT LIVING IN FEAR EVERYDAY BUT LIVING IS FUN EVERYDAY\".
on Jul 27, 2016Lovely story, very well and intelligently written.
on Jul 8, 2014Hi sir Me and my daughter and my relatives .from b.t.m 2nd, congratulate you and your family .have great success........
on Apr 17, 2014Nandan sir, you are best suited for PM candidate. I am an NGO running 3 organisations. we all will work for your success inshallah. if possible give us oppointment, we will come and meet you. All the best and Warm Regards, Naveed Ahmed Khan, B.E (ELectrical) M.E(Power Systems) Hon Secretary, The Karnataka Muslim Orphanage, Dickenson Road, Bangalore, General Secretary, Federation of Karnataka Muslim Association, Lalbagh Road, Bangalore, President for South India, All India Muslim Think Tank Association, Bangalore.
on Mar 10, 2014Sir I admire u as an enterpreneur since u have given more jobs to our Hubli Dharwad brothers on their merit. But I am disappointed that u have identified urself with most corrupt party in the world. Better u would have contested independently. The chances of winning are more when u go independently. People know u r a big asset for the nation but with No.1 \'looterei\'. Pls think over, our nation needs ur services if u select the right and non corrupt side. Thank you
on Feb 20, 2014Our country is blessed for such contributions.
on Dec 12, 2013Seema, Very perceptive and objective article. It shows the couple, esp Rohini, who I think likes to lead a low profile life, in a new, warm light. I read your other piece on Wadhwani as well. Equally perceptive article that one too. You really seem to be getting under the skin of these philanthropists to bring out the best of their work. I must say I enjoyed reading these stories. Thank you.
on Dec 10, 2013I loved this article. Really appreciate this wonderful couple. Very happy that India is also GIVING in a big way. May their acts encourage others to give too, without being dragged into too much rigmarole!! Please mail me this article to sent it to my cousin, a US citizen, who asks me why rich Indians are not giving like their American counterparts.
on Dec 10, 2013Dear Rohini and Nandan Nilekani, I\'m simply amazed by your actions. I\'m also an Ex-IITian (KGP). I have founded a trust Listeners Foundation in a village in West Bengal. We are working to make listening feasible. Lack of listening, we discovered, is the root cause of all human problems. Should you feel interested we be glad to let you know all details about us. Regards and many thanks. - Paramesh
on Dec 9, 2013