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In a pledge to commit more than half of their wealth to charitable causes, Nandan Nilekani, Infosys co-founder and Chairman, his spouse Rohini Nilekani and three other Indian-origin billionaires have joined the philanthropic initiative created by philanthropists Bill, Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.
Among 14 philanthropists, The Nilekanis, Aneel and Alison Bhusri, Shamsheer and Shabeena Vayalil and BR Shetty and his wife Chandrakumari Raghuram Shetty to have joined Giving Pledge throughout the previous year, bringing the whole to 183 from 22 countries since the year pledge began, 2010 with 40 American philanthropists, according to a press release from Giving Pledge.
At present, the philanthropy endeavor prevails to expand internationally in its eighth year with the addition of philanthropists from Canada, India, United Arab Emirates as well as the United States.
The multi-generational initiative invites the world's wealthiest philanthropists to perpetrate more than half of their wealth to charitable causes during their lifetimes or in their wills created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Buffett.
"Over the past eight years, we've been inspired by the dedicated philanthropists who have chosen to join the Giving Pledge, and this year's group is no exception. They are passionate about using their wealth to help reduce inequities and improve the lives of everyone in the world," Buffett said in a statement.
"We welcome their energy, enthusiasm, and creativity, and look forward to learning from them as we all work to ensure our giving makes a positive difference."
The organization said that umpteen of the new additions to the Giving Pledge are already progressively engaged in philanthropy, rendering aid to a range of causes including education, poverty alleviation, medial and health care research, economic development, entrepreneurship and advocacy and governance.
The 183 pledgers range in the age of 32-94. Globally signatories representing 22 countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and the United States.
By Sowmya Sangam
