Nandan Nilekani, wife Rohini to donate half of their wealth under ‘Giving Pledge’

coastaldigest.com news netwok
November 21, 2017

Bengaluru, Nov 21: Joining the Giving Pledge, a movement initiated by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Infosys co-founder and Chairman Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani have decided to pledge half of their wealth for philanthropy.

With this, the Nilekani has become the fourth Indian and second tech magnate from Bengaluru to join The Giving Pledge, the philanthropy movement started by US billionaires Bill Gates, his wife Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett in August 2010.

Nilekani family's networth is currently pegged at $1.7 billion (aprroximately Rs 11,000 crore).

Since resigning as chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India in 2014, the billionaire has been involved in various causes such as Ekstep, founded by the couple to address learning challenges in primary education.

Incidentally, all the other Indians in the list are based in Bengaluru. Earlier, Wipro Chairman Azim H Premji, Biocon Chairman and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, and P N C Menon of Sobha Developers have pledged half of their wealth for the cause.

In a statement, the Nilekanis explained why they joined the Giving Pledge movement. They said: "We see that inequality is increasing sharply in most countries. We see the young and the restless in this interconnected globe, unsure of their future, wanting more but anticipating less. We see a growing politics of polarization, of divisions, of brinksmanship. It is as if the world holds its breath. What should we do at this time? That is a question every citizen must ask. Those of us who have wealth beyond all our wants must ask that very sharply. Wealth comes with huge responsibility and is best deployed for the larger public interest. So what must the super-wealthy do?"

"We thank Bill and Melinda for creating this unique opportunity for so many people to realise a moral aspiration inspired by the Bhagwad Gita- Karmanye Va dhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana, Ma karma phalaheturbhurma Te Sangostvakarmani," the Nilekanis added. Bill Gates welcomed Nilekanis for their pledge and said: "I'm amazed by how Nandan Nilekani has lent his entrepreneurial passion to philanthropy. I'm delighted to welcome him and his wife Rohini to the Giving Pledge."

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News Network
June 1,2020

Coimbatore, June 1: A communal conspiracy has been aborted by the police by arrested a miscreant who had placed meat in front of Venugopala Krishnaswamy Temple and Sri Ragavendra Temple in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

The miscreant has been identified as S Hari Ramprakash, 48, of Kavundampalayam in Coimbatore. He is a civil engineering graduate. It is suspected that He is a Sangh Parivar activist and the intention behind his act was to put the blame on Muslims.

Even though officials claimed that Hari appeared to be mentally disturbed, there were no medical records that stated he was mentally disturbed.

Two separate cases were registered against Hari. He was booked under sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups) 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and 298 (uttering words etc, with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code.

City police commissioner Sumit Sharan said, “We collected CCTV footage and found a man, who had parked his motorcycle near the two temples and returned from the temples. Based on the registration number, we traced and arrested Hari.”

Commissioner added that the city has CCTV cameras in many places and it helped police officials crack the case faster. The police said he purchased one kg of pork meat from a shop at Kavundamapalaym last Friday morning and placed it in front of the temples on the same day.

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zaki ahmed
 - 
Monday, 1 Jun 2020

Now why is this story not highlighted in national media so that the whole nation knows about the intent of the BJp , the sangh parivar & the rss & also those communal outfits who support atrocities against minorities 

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News Network
January 7,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 7: Kasturba Medical College Mangaluru, a constituent unit of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), in association with Pai Family Endowment (in memory of Shri Suhas Gopal Pai) as its social initiative opens a newborn hearing assessment centre at Govt Lady Goshen Hospital on Tuesday.

Dr M Venkatraya Prabhu, Dean of KMC Mangaluru addressing the media persons said that the project is made possible by the generous philanthropic contribution of Mrs Anuradha (Shanthi)Gopal Pai and will be inaugurated by her in Presence of Dr H Vinod Bhat, Vice-Chancellor of MAHE.

Dr Deepak Madi, Deputy Medical Superintendent KMC Hospital Attavar explained that the facility will be managed by the departments from Audiology, ENT and Paediatrics of Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru. The Centre aims to screen all the babies born in the hospital for hearing loss.

This is the maiden initiative of the MAHE-Pai Family endowment which has been set up to find solutions for the numerous challenges faced by the hearing handicapped in & around Dakshina Kannada district.

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News Network
April 11,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 11: Karnataka Library Department’s mobile application, which is said to be the first of its kind initiative in the country has seen an exponential growth in downloads during the COVID-19 lockdown, a senior Minister said on Friday. The main reason that the application is growing is due to the heavy students demand as schools and colleges are closed during the 21-day nationwide lockdown.

Students are relying on online material for their studies as they can’t step out of the house and risk being infected.

The Library Department's efforts to keep readers active through the lockdown time, by prompting them to utilise its e-initiatives is paying off, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Suresh Kumar said.

"The app is seeing exponential increase in downloads since its launch. As many as 16,500 people have taken it; while ten thousand people have downloaded it during this brief lock down time itself," he said.

E-library mobile app was released by the library department on February 26.

There are over one lakh e-books available on department's digital platform ranging from arts, humanity, school curriculum, competitive exams and self help to classic novels - all for free for the readers.

"Its needless to say, the variety of attractive content that is available in the app is creating all the buzz among the public. Not just the books, the app contains over 600 educational videos too," the Minister said in a statement.

Considering that over 16,500 readers have downloaded the app since its launch a couple of months back, its high time, we see this domain as an opportunity for growth, he said, and stressed on the need for better adaptability approaches to the changing times.

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