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
May 17,2020

Mangaluru, May 17: A team of staff and students from the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte, have designed and developed a simple and cost-effective touch-less hand sanitiser dispenser kit at Research and Innovation Centre, Nitte.

According to a release here on Sunday, NITTE said that the most effective medicine for Covid-19 is social distancing, frequent use of sanitiser, and washing hands regularly. In work areas, many people sharing common sanitiser might lead to issues.

The developed product dispenses sanitiser upon sensing the presence of the hand. The product has features like automatic hand detection, indication for power, and sanitiser quantity in the system.

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News Network
February 16,2020

Udupi, Feb 16: Nine people were killed after a private bus collided with a large roadside boulder in Udupi district in Karnataka on Saturday, the police said. The accident took place on Saturday evening, at around 5.45 pm, on the Mulnur Ghat at Abbas Kattingeri in Mala village, while the bus was on its way to Mangaluru from Sringeri, reported the news channel.

The bus, which was reportedly carrying around 35 passengers, was trying to manoeuvre a turn while travelling on a ghat road when the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle hit a massive boulder and the impact caused seven people to die on the spot. Two others passed away while they were on the way to the hospital.

The deceased passengers have been identified as Radha Ravi, Yogendra, Preetham Gowda, Basavaraju, Angana, Sharul and Ranjitha. The cleaner of the bus was also killed in the accident.

According to reports, the passengers in the bus were mostly in their early 20s and were employees of Vital Records Private Limited near JCK Industrial Park. Century Vital Records is a data security company which works in the Hebbal Industrial Mysuru. The group was visiting Udupi, Hornadu and Kudremukh.

While some of the injured persons were rushed to Manipal hospital, others were taken to the Karkala city government hospital, police said.

The police have said that rash and negligent driving by the driver is likely to have caused the accident. A case has been registered at the Karkala Rural Police Station, the police said.

Last month, three persons were killed and four others were injured after a fatal collision between a van and a bus near Bengaluru. Both the vehicles caught fire after the impact, but while passengers of the bus, travelling from Bengaluru to Shivamogga, managed to escape, the three passengers who were trapped in the van could not escape and were charred to death.

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News Network
February 13,2020

Mangaluru, Feb 13: After pro-Kannada outfits called for a state-wide bandh today, the police are on high-alert to avoid any untoward incidents.

The dawn to dusk bandh was called demanding implementation of Sarojini Mahishi report which recommended certain percentage of jobs to Kannadigas in private & public sector companies.

There is no official holiday declared for schools and colleges. Besides, all government institutions and private establishments are open.

But, in some parts of Karnataka, autorickshaws and taxis, including Ola and Uber stayed off the roads.

Even though the bandh is unlikely to hit normal life in coastal Karnataka, stones were pelted on a Tirupati-Mangaluru bus in Farangipet.

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