Vedanta Chairman ranked among India’s top philanthropists

Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal has been ranked among the top philanthropists in the country, according to the EdelGiveHurun India Philanthropy List 2020.

The Hurun Report says that Mr Agarwal’s contribution this year has risen by 90 per cent compared to the previous year and has ranked him among the top five philanthropists in India.

The Hurun report says that Vedanta has contributed more than the government-mandated 2 per cent towards corporate social responsibility. The report includes cash and cash equivalents pledged with legally binding commitments for the twelve months from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 and the latest available CSR data filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Vedanta has been at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19 and contributed Rs 101 crore to the PM-CARES Fund. The company also created a special corpus of Rs 100 crore for Covid-related initiatives to support daily wage earners and local communities.

In line with his philosophy of Giving Back, Mr Agarwal has pledged 75 per cent of his wealth for social good. He has created the philanthropic arm of the Group – The Vedanta Foundation – with a deep-seated belief that businesses must give back to the society and help people prosper.

“The foundation works towards education and computer literacy, vocational training, women & child empowerment, and community welfare,” the Hurun report has said.

Under the aegis of Vedanta Cares, Mr. Agarwal has created the Nand Ghar – a network of model anganwadis which are focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women. Vedanta has rolled out more than 1700 Nand Ghars in India, enhancing the lives of numerous women and children at the grassroot level. The Group CSR initiative comprises of seven key verticals – Education, Healthcare, Water and Sanitation, Sustainable Livelihood, Skilling, Sports & Culture and Employee Volunteering. Vedanta Foundation, a philanthropic initiative of Vedanta Group is focused on skill development and vocational training programmes for the underprivileged to make them employable. A key healthcare speciality CSR project is the Balco Medical Center, a 200-bed state-of-the-art Cancer care hospital located in New Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The company supports grassroots level sports through their Football academies in Goa and Udaipur.

EdelGive Foundation has partnered with Hurun India towards creating this report to understand philanthropic giving in the country.