Indian Philanthropy Forum

The Indian Philanthropy Forum is a community of visionary philanthropists committed to strategically driving social change in India. Dr. Rajan Sankar, Special Adviser and Regional Representative, South Asia represented GAIN at the second Indian Philanthropy Forum held in the business capital of India, Mumbai on 29th June 2011.

The objective of the event was to bring together leading philanthropists, inspirational social sector practitioners and government representatives to create dialogue around key social issues in India. It focused on the history of giving in India, on how corporate vehicle can be used to do social good, on the new entrepreneurs who are into giving and on the role of women in family philanthropy. Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson of Akshara Foundation, Pratham Books and  Arghyam in her presentation spoke about the history of women in philanthropy in India, the power of self help group and urged that rich women have tremendous responsibility of giving back to the society.  The main focus of the forum was nevertheless on two key areas which need immediate attention: tackling child malnutrition and eliminating tuberculoses.

The session on ‘tackling malnutrition’ was chaired by Vinita Bali, CEO Britannia and GAIN Board Member and presented by Prof. Pandav, Community Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Dr. Rajan Sankar, GAIN. Vinita Bali in her presentation highlighted that India though being a powerhouse is worst hit by malnutrition, as close to half of the under five children are malnourished compared to around one–quarter in Sub- Saharan Africa and seven percent in China. She spoke about the contribution made by Britannia by fortifying half of their product portfolio with micronutrients. Dr. Sankar in his presentation spoke about various solutions to tackle malnutrition, benefits of food fortification, the need to focus on first 1000 days of life and shared the best practices examples like sprinkles, fortifying wheat snacks, staple food fortification programs.

Eliminating Tuberculosis is also a challenge as India has 2 million new active TB cases every year and 1000 deaths every day. Dr. Shelly Batra, Managing Director of operation Asha plans to reach close to 13 million patients by 2013 by bringing the medical care close to patient’s doorsteps. During the conference Dasra which organized it, launched its latest giving circle report, Nourishing our Future: Tackling Child Malnutrition in urban slums. The report cover child malnutrition scenario in urban slums, role played by Government, private sector and the NGOs. The outcome of the report is the identification of four NGOs who work in the space. The second report will select one of the four organizations for a three year funding and management assistance commitment of INR 3 crores.

Dasra is India’s first venture Philanthropy fund. It was launched in 1999 and has directed over USD 9 Millions to Indian non-profit organization. Piramal Foundation, Redmond de Rotschild Foundation and Godrej supported the conference.