Bharti Family pledges Rs 7,000 crore towards Philanthropy

The Bharti family has pledged Rs 7,000 crore a part of their personal wealth for philanthropic purposes.

The family has decided to pledge 10 percent of their wealth, including 3 percent of their stake in group flagship Bharti Airtel, towards supporting the activities of Bharti Foundation, the Group's philanthropic arm, one of the few professionally managed philanthropic bodies in India and with this commitment, the Bharti Family envisions to significantly step up the scope and reach of Bharti Foundation's activities, and further enable the Foundation to develop and execute innovative development models to support the aspirations of India's underprivileged including students of Satya Bharti Schools.

Announcing the commitment, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises and Chairman, Bharti Foundation, said, "Today is a major milestone in the journey of the Bharti Family. Being first generation entrepreneurs, we feel absolutely privileged that this nation gave us the opportunity to imagine and build world-class businesses. Bharti's DNA has always been about creating a deep positive impact on society through our businesses, and we are proud to have contributed to the India growth story."

"Firm believers in Mahatma Gandhi's concept of Trusteeship, we have always reckoned that ownership of business is a social responsibility, and wealth creation cannot be an end in itself. Even when we were small in size and relatively modest with our business goals, we always aspired to be part of the wider nation-building process."

Set up in the year 2000, Bharti Foundation has also supported the creation of Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology & Management at IIT Delhi, Bharti Centre for Communication at IIT Mumbai and Bharti Institute of Public Policy at ISB Mohali. The Foundation has also instituted a number of scholarship programs, the prominent being scholarship for Indian students studying at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice-Chairman, Bharti Enterprises and Co-Chairman, Bharti Foundation said, "Having built a successful model for primary and senior schooling under Satya Bharti Schools, Bharti Family plans to build Satya Bharti University - a world-class institution, to support the higher education aspirations of India's youth. Our aspiration is to develop it into a centre of excellence not just in India but globally."