Award Categories & Nominees

This flagship award recognises an outstanding individual whose leadership and contributions of time, money, skill and expertise has brought in new thinking into solving complex social issues. These leaders have not only made substantial financial contributions from their personal wealth, but have also taken responsibility for achieving results, by empowering stakeholders, bringing in best practices into the non-profit world, and by leveraging their vast personal and professional networks. Their leadership in this space encourages others to take philanthropic leadership roles on a community, national and/or international level.

• Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro Ltd
  For founding Azim Premji Foundation with a vision to significantly contribute to achieving quality universal education.
• Sunil Mittal, Founder & Chairman, Bharti Enterprises
  For starting Bharti Foundation, which provides free education to underprivileged children in remote villages with special focus on the girl child.
• Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Piramal Group
  For being personally involved in every cause he supports. His family funds Piramal Foundation that spends Rs 100 crore on welfare projects every year.
• Hemendra Kothari, Founder & Chairman, DSP BlackRock
  For founding the Wildlife Conservation Trust to generate alternative skills and employment for villagers in forest areas.
• Kallam Anji Reddy, Founder-Chairman, Dr Reddy’s Lab
  For spending a bulk of his earnings to fund initiatives to alleviate hunger, create livelihoods, provide education and access to safe drinking water and pull out children from hazardous industries.
• Shiv Nadar, Founder-Chairman, HCL Technologies
  For contributing to India’s educational system by setting up the Shiv Nadar University and running VidyaGyan schools to provide free education to rural toppers.

This award will honour foundations that have taken up a social issue and have long term vision, strategy, a sustainable model and have created significant impact in their chosen areas.

• Godrej Foundation
  Twenty-five percent of the Godrej Group’s dividends are channelised into philanthropic activities through trusts.
• Dr Reddy’s Foundation
  Through vocational training programmes, it addresses the issues of employability, income generation and improvement in the quality of life.
• Tata Trusts
  The largest philanthropy initiative in India with annual disbursements of over Rs 500 crore. They have the largest network of partners, or NGOs, to disburse funds.
• Bharti Foundation
  Bharti Foundation Plans to build 500 primary schools and 50 secondary schools that will enroll 100,000 students by 2013.
• Infosys Foundation
  Infosys donates 1 percent of its net profit to the foundation that improves healthcare infrastructure, supports primary education, rehabilitates abandoned women and children, preserves Indian art and culture.

This award honours families who have dedicated their private wealth for public good and benefited an institution or organisation in recognisable and sustainable ways. More than the quantum of money donated, these families have invested their personal time and resources and created impact for long-term sustainable social development. They have also been able to preserve and pass on this tradition of giving back across different generations in the family

• Murugappa and Family
  AMM Foundation is an autonomous charitable trust funded through the $4.4 billion Murugappa Group and the family.
• Ajay Piramal and Family
  Ajay, wife Swati, daughter Nandini and son Anand are involved in the work of the Piramal Foundation. Piramal Healthcare launched a new foundation in 2011.
• Shiv Nadar and Family
  Shiv Nadar chairs the Shiv Nadar Foundation with which his wife Kiran, daughter Roshni and son-in-law Shikhar Malhotra are closely linked.
• Godrej Family
  The Godrej group has a long tradition of philanthropic initiatives. Adi Godrej has turned 1,750 acres of land owned by him and his family into the Soonabai Pirojsha Godrej Marine Ecology Centre.
• Rohini and Nandan Nilekani
  Rohini donated about $40 mln to various causes and, with Nandan, gave Rs 50 crore to the Indian Institute for Human Settlements to fund a school of environment.

This award recognises the accomplishments and contributions of emerging leaders in the philanthropic sector. These outstanding individuals, who have clearly signalled their intent through meaningful giving, have also begun to contribute significant time, skills and resources to the causes they have helped advance.

• Ashish Dhawan, Founder, Central Square Foundation
  Set up Central Square Foundation, a venture philanthropy fund for improving educational outcomes for kids from low-income families.
• Asit Kotecha, Founder, ASK Group
  Started the Mumbai chapter of LIFE. One of their biggest projects was Habitat for Humanity, which provides housing for the poor.
• Amit Mukherjee, Founder, Aquatar
  Involved in building Dasra and launched Dasra Giving Circles, an initiative to bring together philanthropists who contribute to an organisation over three years. Dasra has channelled Rs 12 crore in two years.
• Kalpana Morparia, CEO, JPMorgan India
  Involved in various charitable activities like the SOS Children’s Village. Donated Rs 1.5 crore to the Bharti Foundation and is now a part of their board.
• Vineet Nayar, Vice Chairman & CEO, HCL Technologies
  Sold his stake in HCL for Rs 133 crore, a part of which will go towards funding his charity Sampark that works with schools to improve the quality of education.
• Amit Chandra, MD, Bain Capital Advisors
  Serves as a trustee/board member of GiveIndia and The Akanksha Foundation, addressing issues of formal and non-formal education.

This award is for a company that has successfully marketed products or services in conjunction with a charity and brought significant benefits to both parties.

• Procter & Gamble, India - Project Shiksha
  Its flagship corporate social responsibility programme Shiksha provides underprivileged kids access to education.
• HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd - Indian Cancer Society
  HDFC Debt Fund for Cancer Cure is a 100 percent debt-oriented closed-end fund that provides financial aid to cancer patients. Over Rs 6 crore has been approved for more than 200 patients.
• Hindustan Unilever Ltd - Surf Excel-Make a Difference
  HUL created a Facebook campaign for Surf Excel. Whenever anyone ‘liked’ the page, Surf Excel would donate goods worth Rs 11 on their behalf. In 45 days, goods worth Rs 22.11 lakh were donated.
• Whirlpool - Goonj-Ek Jodi Kapda
  Ek Jodi Kapda is an initiative to coax consumers to donate old clothes, which would be distributed among the underprivileged.
• Tata Tea - Jaago Re
  Tata Tea launched the Jaago Re campaign in an effort to wake up an apathetic nation to the issues that concern it.

This award is for a senior business leader who has used his influence to promote the cause of giving back not just in his or her company, but also across the entire industry. By bringing in his know-how, drive and his passion for giving back to society, he has served as an inspiration to many others to join these causes. He has helped set up institutions, influenced and mentored other executives and provided financial and business support. He has brought in innovative solutions from outside the non-profit-world to build scale and sustain these social organisations.

• Anand Mahindra, Chairman & MD, Mahindra & Mahindra
  Mahindra’s company runs several foundations for charitable causes. He is on the board of directors of Naandi Foundation.
• N Vaghul, Former Chairman, ICICI Bank Ltd
  Helped start the ICICI Foundation and played a catalytic role setting up Pratham. He’s also on the board of the Azim Premji Foundation and GiveIndia. In 2010, he helped start the First Givers Club.
• Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Group
  Has worked with top personalities in the field of philanthropy. Is in talks with Bill Gates that might lead to a foundation to advise future philanthropists.
• Kallam Anji Reddy, Founder-Chairman, Dr Reddy’s Labs
  Founded Naandi Foundation and Dr Reddy’s Foundation for Human and Social Development. Has pledged to donate Rs 1 crore every year for 10 years, starting 2006, to the LV Prasad Eye Institute.
• Deepak Parekh, Chairman, HDFC
  Under him, HDFC supported several social initiatives in the areas of education, child welfare, medical research, among others.

This award recognises pioneering strategic initiatives undertaken by large business corporations, where they have used market-based models to balance the twin objectives of doing well, while also doing social good.

• Jain Irrigation Systems Limited
  Developed micro-irrigation systems that reduced water usage. Its methods have raised annual incomes of small farmers by up to Rs 46,000.
• Novartis Arogya Parivar
  In 2007, launched Arogya Parivar to increase access to medicine in rural India. Uses its generics manufacturer, Sandoz, to produce drugs at low cost.
• Britannia Nutrition Foundation
  An independent, autonomous, non-profit entity that leverages the strengths of Britannia’s wide stakeholder network to address child malnutrition.
• Tata Chemicals (Swach)
  Tata Swach, a low-cost water purifier, is designed for consumers with low income and aims to ease access to clean drinking water.
• GE Embrace
  General Electric has partnered with Embrace to launch a low-cost infant warmer that saves lives in rural India.

This award is for an exceptional individual at any level in a company (not necessarily the CEO) who has successfully led and galvanised support within the organisation to mount programs that help more people within that organisation to support worthy causes and give back to society.

• Sathya Madurantakam, Senior Director, Quality Head-Six Sigma Initiatives, NTT Data, India
  Has been supporting causes that cater to the education of underprivileged children and empowerment of women.
• Nilesh Lale, Senior Technical Support Consultant, Allscripts
  Decided to donate fodder to villagers after a weekend trip to Maan, where villagers were on the verge of selling their animals to butchers. Initiated a collection drive of over Rs 1 lakh for drought-hit villages in Pune.
• Mudita Srivastava, Manager, Lean Six Sigma (Black Belt), Genpact
  Facilitated the Million Trees drive in Gurgaon where Genpact staff planted close to 3,000 trees in one day. Facilitated a movement of Rs 25 lakh towards five NGOs.
• Abraham Moses, Director, Administration & Facilities, MindTree Consulting
  A group led by Moses travels every month to engage with kids suffering from cerebral palsy, and to orphanages as well as homes for destitute. Also led an initiative by MindTree to adopt a school near Bangalore.
• Archana Raghuram, Director-Outreach, Cognizant
  Gave up her career as a software professional to set up the corporate volunteering programme at Cognizant.

This award is for a non-resident Indian who has contributed significantly to a social cause in India, by giving wealth, time and expertise.

• Vinod Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures
  Vinod Khosla and his wife Neeru have pledged half of their fortunes, estimated at $1.4 billion, to charity.
• Raj Loomba, Loomba Foundation
  Loomba Foundation was established in the UK in 1997 by Veena and Raj Loomba for educating the kids of poor widows in India. Thanks to his efforts, the UN declared June 23 as International Widows’ Day.
• Dr Kumar Bahuleyan, Neurosurgeon
  After losing two brothers and a sister to water-borne diseases in the 1930s, established the Bahuleyan Charitable Foundation for basic healthcare in Kerala villages.
• Dr Romesh Wadhwani, Founder-Chairman, Symphony Technology Group
  Wadhwani Foundation has spent around $25 million on a skills development project, two major biosciences and biotechnology research centres, and the National Entrepreneurship Network in India.
• Gururaj Deshpande, American Venture Capitalist and Entrepreneur
  The Deshpande Center for Social Entrepreneurship backs nearly 5,000 projects, involving students, and aids them in finding solutions in social enterprise building, livelihoods, health, education and agriculture.