Additional Focus Areas
From cities to culture, conservation to legacy—here are some of the ways we’re powering ideas that shape India’s future.
Conservation
Sacred Groves, Western Ghats Projects.
Why
The Western Ghats (Sahyadri) are one of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra alone, nearly 350,000 hectares of forests remain at risk of indiscriminate felling. Protecting them is vital for carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and climate resilience. Forests also play a critical role in regulating water cycles, recharging aquifers, and preventing soil erosion, thereby deeply linked to water security.
What
We have partnered with the Applied Environmental Research Foundation (AERF), an organisation with proven conservation models and deep expertise in the Western Ghats. Together, we are advancing a model of community forest ownership and non-timber-based livelihood creation. This ensures that forests are preserved for the long term while providing sustainable economic opportunities to local communities.
Through this partnership, we aim to:
Conserve large tracts of ecologically critical forest land in the Western Ghats.
Enhance carbon sequestration by protecting mature forest cover.
Secure and diversify livelihoods for local communities, reducing dependence on timber felling.
Build a sustainable, community-driven model of forest stewardship that can be scaled across the region.
IMPACT
1,800 acres
under conservation in Western Ghats
50%
increase in biodiversity species
4 sacred groves
Restoration ~ 63 acres
History and Culture
Allegory (film)Capturing the journey of Guru Nanak Dev ji to help promote greater understanding of his teachings and philosophy, which are an inspiration to us.
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1947 Partition ArchivesEarly donors to help kick start aggregation and archiving of 11,500 oral histories, leading to production of a book on partition history.
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The Partition museum, Amritsar Amongst three core donors to help build a museum next to Jallianwala Baug, to communicate the realities of partition so current generations both understand it and value freedom.
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Ahilyabai Holkar (film)Documentary by Peepul Tree Foundation to promote greater understanding of an iconic woman, with contributions across governance, industry, culture, despite all odds.
Legacy Grants
SRCC – The largest Superspeciality children’s pediatric hospital in IndiaAnchored collaborative philanthropic effort to realise long standing aspirational opportunity, for super-speciality paediatric care for all strata, run by a leading player, Narayan Hridalaya and Dr Devi Shetty, which aligned with our dream of having a children’s hospital that fulfilled a huge societal need. 15 donors came together to make this happen.
Ashoka University, India’s premier liberal arts collegeWe were the early donors who came together to build a template for excellence in inclusive higher education and collaborative philanthropy. Over 250 donors made this happen.
Sankara Eye, one of the largest providers of affordable eye care:Co-donated alongside Rakesh Jhunjhunwala to build sustainable opthalmology infrastructure in a proven model run by Sanakr Eye Care.
AkshayA Patra - 50,000 meals per day kitchen in jorhat:Co-donated with Credit Suisse to set up infrastructure in a difficult and under-served geography.
