BBC
Nikita Shah is one of 70 women with developmental conditions helped by Om Creations
India is home to 4% of the world’s billionaires, yet the country’s rich have often been criticised for not sharing enough of their wealth through philanthropy.
Things seem to be slowly changing though, with more being done to promote a greater culture of giving.
“Painting is what I like to do most,” says Nikita Shah, 30, and judging by her confident brush strokes on a large canvas, she has a great flair for it.
…
India is at the number four spot on an international list compiled by Forbes magazine, based on the number of billionaires a country produces.
Yet it comes in at a dismal 91st place on another list, the World Giving Index, which ranks 153 nations according to charitable-giving behaviour.
This performance though is a vast improvement over the previous year, when India ranked 134th.
“India is a low-income country so clearly we are not going to see as much philanthropy as in advanced nations,” says Adi Godrej, the head of another big Indian conglomerate, the Godrej Group.
“But compared to developing countries, the philanthropic culture here has grown over the years.”
Some say Indians are more inclined to donate to religious causes rather than philanthropic projects.
“In India if you ask someone to give money to set up a school or hospital it is unlikely they will agree, but at the temple they will most certainly drop something in the donation box,” says Subhash Mayekar, the chairman of the Siddhivinayak Temple Trust in Mumbai.
Siddhivinayak is one of the most popular temples in Mumbai and every year it collects more than $11m (£6.9m) in the donation boxes that lie in every corner of the temple.
BBC for more
(Thanks to reader)