Anil Agarwal is the only Indian Philanthropist to join The Giving Pledge in 2021
– Vedanta Chairman commits 75% of family wealth towards philanthropy and social good
– Initiative by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates & Warren Buffet has added 14 New Signatories globally
NEW DELHI and MUMBAI, India, Dec. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal is the only Indian to become part of The Giving Pledge this year, an initiative founded by Bill Gates in association with Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffet. He has pledged to give 75 percent of his wealth towards philanthropy and social good.
Now in its 11th year, The Giving Pledge is a movement of global philanthropists who have committed to give majority of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes.
In the past one year, The Giving Pledge has welcomed 14 new signatories, taking the total number of pledgers to 231 from 28 countries. Mr. Agarwal is the fourth Indian to have signed The Giving Pledge since its inception in 2010.
Anil Agarwal, Chairman Vedanta said, “I am pleased and excited to join The Giving Pledge along with my daughter Priya and would look forward to exchanging ideas on creating transformative impact on global goals such as eradicating malnutrition and women empowerment.”
Bill Gates, who founded the Giving Pledge together with Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett, said in a press release to announce the new group of Pledgers, “I have always believed that if you are in a position to help somebody, you should do it. It’s great to welcome this new group of philanthropists to the Giving Pledge community as we continue to learn from each other and find new ways to maximize the positive impact of our philanthropy.”
The Giving Pledge aims to catalyze a movement that will help shift the norms around wealth and Giving Back on a global scale – including encouraging wealthy people to give more, establish their giving plans sooner, and give with greater impact.
Vedanta’s flagship CSR project Nand Ghar and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are already working together in improving health and nutritional outcomes in Uttar Pradesh. The novel partnership aims to achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2, which aims to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030.
The Anil Agarwal Foundation – an umbrella entity for Vedanta’s Giving Back initiatives – has rolled out a Rs 5,000 crore social impact programme with focus on nutrition, women and child development, healthcare, animal welfare and grass root level sports, including investments in a Corona-free village project across several states to combat the ongoing pandemic. The Foundation is committed towards empowering communities, transforming lives and facilitating nation building through sustainable and inclusive growth.
Vedanta has spent around Rs 1,000 crore on its social impact initiatives in the past three years impacting the lives of more than 4.2 crore people across the country.
About Vedanta Limited
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta’s strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies company have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index 2020, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, CII Environmental Best Practices Award 2020, CSR Health Impact Award 2020, CII National Award 2020 for Excellence in Water Management, CII Digital Transformation Award 2020, People First HR Excellence Award 2020, ‘Company with Great Managers 2020’ by People Business and certified as a Great Place to Work 2021. Vedanta’s flagship Nand Ghar Project was identified as best CSR project by Government of Rajasthan. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange in India. For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com.
