Post liberalisation, India has made its presence felt in the international arena.
Post liberalisation, India has made its presence felt in the international arena. Our economy touched the trillion-dollar mark in less than two decades and stock markets began surging northwards ever since. India Inc also booked their slots in the Fortune 500 and Forbes lists with unprecedented frequency.
However, such entries did not change the attitude of these Indian corporations towards social cause. Unlike the West (and even China, Hong Kong and other Asian countries), Indian billionaires largely kept themselves away from the idea of philanthropy. This is quite evident from the fact that inspite of the surging number of billionaires, the fate of our workforces has not changed much. Else, how can one justify India's Gini coefficient (an economic indicator that indicates the income inequality of the nation) of 36.8, which is even worse than Pakistan and Bangladesh.
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The Asia-Pacific Wealth Report devel reveals that in 2008, India had 84,000 HNWIs (High Net Worth Individuals), which crosse one million mark in 2009 and today, the same is estimated to be around 127,000. To top this up, Forbes' magazine lists around 69 Indians as billionaires.
Now, to get a better perspective of the huge disparity, one just needs to compare this prosperity at the top of the pyramid with the misery at the bottom. An average Indian currently earns around Rs 4,000 per month (the latest per capita figure). If one were to assume that everyone in India is caught in a time warp wherein the billionaires' wealth does not grow beyond the current levels, and at the same time those at the bottom do not spend a single penny for the next many years, then it would take 970 years for the average per capita earning Indian to catch up with the current billionaires!
If the top 100 HNWIs decide to donate merely one per cent of their total wealth, they could add around 135 billion rupees every year to the economy, which could fund basic developmental initiatives and social imperatives planned by the government. Also, here we are referring to just the top 100 of India's wealthiest; imagine the social revolution that could be brought about if all 127,000 HNWIs contribute to this donation every year for social development!
Time has come for the successful Indian companies to model their commitments in the way today's global companies view their duty towards society. India's wealthiest should realise that donating isn't just about philanthropy, but it makes good business sense too. A healthy, educated and a well-endowed society is the future market. And a one per cent contribution to create this huge market is surely a worthy investment!
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