Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons announced $50 million gift to Harvard Business School, Boston through their philanthropic arm – the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Tata Education and Development Trust.
“The money, the largest from an international donor in the School’s 102-year history, will fund a new academic and residential building on the HBS campus in Boston for participants in the School’s broad portfolio of Executive Education programs. The School hopes to break ground for the building, which will be named Tata Hall, next spring.” – source.
Incidentally, Harvard Business School also designated an Indian Nitin Nohria as its dean less than a year ago. Mr. Nitin expressed appreciation for the Tata Group’s extraordinary generosity. “This is an historic gift from a renowned organization revered for its significant economic, civic, and philanthropic impact. The Tata Group is widely respected for integrity and innovation, not just in India—where it produced both the first indigenous car and the $2,000 Tata Nano automobile—but in a variety of business lines across several continents, from cars to hotels and from tea to information technology,” said the dean.
Indeed the Tatas, as I mentioned before, have values larger than many enterprise around the world. I have personally been a witness to their foresightedness and uprightness on a landscape with fewer resources and which did not score too well in terms of politics and ethics.
Also see: Letter from a Girl to JRD Tata
Note from Ashish: How about Mahendra & Tata(s) of India world giving funds to Indian institutes as well? I am pretty sure that Indian technology colleges need funds as much as Harvards of the world. In lieu of funds, most of these Indian colleges end up ‘giving into’ demands of babus (the ‘unofficial govt quota’) and there starts mediocracy.
Why Harvard? He could have used the money here in India. A lot of people can and will help Harvard. I just cannot understand the logic behind donating money to Harvard instead of investing in resources for the betterment of the underprivileged in India.
Could he not have just started something like http://www.bhartifoundation.org. Sunil Mittal said ““As a first step towards fulfilling the vision of the Government and the leadership of the country, Bharti has kick-started it’s voluntary and affirmative action in making significant contribution to provide education to the weaker sections of the society, so as to make them employable. We need to ensure that our children and young people have access to quality education. Through Bharti Foundation we are determined to make a substantial impact in this area.”
I couldn’t have agreed more with Santosh. This is a huge amount of money and it could have done wonders for the poor in India.
Having said that, I do believe that Mr Ratan Tata is a wise man. He must have had solid reasons behind donating this money. Personally I would have loved that money to stay in India.
Anyone crying hoarse about philanthropy in India by Tata, should first do some research. Tata has donated much much more than that in India. There is only so much money one can donate beyond which it is equivalent to throwing it in the bin. Philanthropy is philanthropy no matter which country benefits!
Just needing funds doesn’t mean you should give/donate them the money.
Stop ranting! Please!
Nitin: I am aware of the many initiatives of TATAs. Infact it is considered one of the most responsible Corporate of India. But setting up TATA hall in HBS Boston for promoting executive education there can be termed as a good Strategic decision for Brand building..calling it Corporate Philanthropy, to me, finds lesser logic
I disagree with you Gita. When the nation’s pride the Taj Mahal hotel was burning, not even a single Government leader came out and said – hey this is the National heritage and we will support Ratan Tata in the restoration effort of the hotel(s).
The businessman did it himself, and only a handful insurance companies took the loss to themselves simply because the bloody Government failed to protect its boundaries from trigger-happy morons. Didn’t the highest philanthropic cause – Government & Citizens both – fail at that point of time?
That said any corporate effort, even by the best of Government enterprise, is only about brand building. Philanthropy in our own donations to schools and hungry kids are nothing but selfish desires to utilize the resource or elevate oneself in life. It may be the right to some or wrong – depends on your perception.
@Nitin is right. Tata’s have done immense work decisively for the benefit of our countrymen, including some of the poorest regions on earth where our favorite Government had failed. I have been witness to such initiatives myself for fifteen years, and I can vouch for them.
It’s very simple @Santosh & @Yash: Why don’t you & I donate some money to the Indian tech houses in which we or our children are never going to study? Think.
- Arvind
http://pluggd.in
Come on friends, there’s no need to criticize them so much. On the contrary, I am proud of what Anand Mahendra and Ratan Tata have done mainly because I am saddened by people like Danny Boyle who create movies like ” Slum Dog Millionaire” and portray India as one of the poorest nations who is always on the receiving end. It’s time to show to the world that there’s other side of fence too. Don’t spend your claps and whistles to movies like Slum Dog Millionaire. Anand and Ratan have done a perfect job in soothing the melancholy I had for years. Hats off to them. claps…claps…claps
It is an incredible gift, but I am sure that this donation would have made more difference and would have been much more interesting if it had been given to a business school or other type of school in India. Harvard University is already the richest school in the world! They do not need his money, but I guess he needs the ego boost (Tata Hall)!
If it was donated to India, it would be eaten up by our corrupt politicians. Even Tata cannot solve the problem of corruption in India.