GMR boss Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao pledges $340 million for education

MUMBAI: GMR Group chairman Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao, a first-generation entrepreneur hailing from Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh, on Tuesday pledged $340 million (Rs 1,540 crore), which is equivalent to his personal share in the infrastructure conglomerate , to improve education among the undeserved sections of the society.

The move comes on a day when Warren Buffet, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, arrived on his maiden trip to India to promote philanthropy among the the country’s richest. Rao has committed his funds to the group’s charitable wing GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, which has a presence in India and abroad, focuses on education and vocational training for the underprivileged.

The 60-year-old G M Rao, who started as a jute trader three decades ago, went on to create a Rs 5,000-crore enterprise spread across energy, airports and roads. Rao joins the growing list of Indian industrialists who are creating endowments to support social causes. “I have always believed that we have a responsibility to give back to the society in which we thrive and we owe our success to,” Rao said.

Last year, tech czar Azim Premji donated over Rs 8,000 crore by transferring a small part of his stake in Wipro to his foundation focused on improving primary education. Reliance Industries created a foundation to provide affordable healthcare and meaningful rural development in 2009. India’s largest private sector firm set aside Rs 500 crore for this initiative.

Indian billionaires have ramped up their philanthropic work in recent past but still lag their western counterparts. A 2010 Bain & Co report said that India’s contribution to charity was just 0.6% of its GDP, while it was 2.2% in the US and 1.3% in the UK.

HCL founder Shiv Nadar gifted Rs 580 crore to his foundation that works to strengthen the country’s education framework . While these new-generation entrepreneurs are ploughing back a part of their wealth for the society, traditional conglomerates such as Tatas and Godrejs have gifted some of their holdings to charitable trusts engaged with learning institutes and hospitals.