When it comes to charitable activities, the endeavors of Indian companies run from educational actions and animal welfare enterprises to medical relief.  Far from seeing the huge amount of effort afforded to philanthropic activities as something out of the ordinary, these companies view their work as a necessary and integral part of helping those who are less fortunate.

“The focus of all [our] philanthropic activities has been to help enhance the quality of human life,” says Navrattan Kothari, chairman of the KGK Group, a DTC Sightholder.  This desire has led to a considerable range of charitable endeavors, including the Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital & Research Centre  (BMCHRC) in Jaipur (Cancer Care, an all-women charitable organization attached to the hospital, is chaired by Anila Kothari, the wife of the KGK Group  chairman), the Subodh Shiksha Samiti (SSS) educational trust established by the Jain community in Jaipur, which Kothari has presided over for more than 12 years, to the group’s involvement in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. (Since 2005 – the company’s 100th anniversary – KGK has pledged to make the wishes of 100 children come true every year.)

However, KGK’s activities go beyond doling out help. They also perform the highest form of charitable giving – helping others to help themselves. This is achieved via the Diamond Training Institute in Jaipur, which  provides  training  in  all  aspects  of diamonds  including  cutting,  and  polishing.  The group is also the main sponsor of the Jaipur branch of the Indian Institute of Gem and Jewellery. Their involvement there is mutually beneficial. “This institute provides education and creates fresh talent for the jewelry business,” says Kothari, who mentions his pride in following the “brilliant” careers of those who have passed through the institution.

Despite the work already carried out by the group, Kothari would like to increase the range of activities in which the company participates. “If I had the resources I would like to be involved in environment rehabilitation programs and continue to do more in the fields of education and health care,” says Kothari. “We have already undertaken the restoration of Jal Mahal covering 350 acres of water and 100 acres of land surrounding the neglected lake and creating an eco-friendly environment for migrating birds.”

From a personal perspective, Kothari is philosophical about the role of government in improving people’s lives. “I think government alone cannot improve the quality of life,” he asserts. “Therefore, people who have a philanthropic approach must come forward to shoulder these social responsibilities for the upliftment and good of mankind. And both from a personal perspective we get mental and emotional satisfaction on seeing people getting relief because of our efforts,” he says.

However, even with all the good work the industry is doing, there is room for more. “The diamond industry is sizable and the industry should contribute wholeheartedly for the upliftment of their fellow beings,” says Kothari. “The industry has much more capability and potential to do for the public at large. The present contribution has only scratched the surface of this potential.”

For K.P. Sanghvi, it’s their Jain heritage, which upholds the centrality of compassion for all life, human and non-human, that dictates their main charitable activities. With the aid of the K.P. Sanghvi Trust, the DTC Sightholder has (among many other charitable endeavors) built Shree Pavapuri Tirth Dham in the Rajasthan State in the north of India. The development comprises a Jain Tirth (temple complex), which occupies 3,101,000 square feet and the Jeev  Raksha Kendra  (Animal Welfare Center), which provides shelter to 5,900 stray cattle.

Jeev Raksha Kendra houses injured, old, retired and rescued cows and buffaloes, al lowing them to live in a peaceful and loving atmosphere. They are well fed and looked after with the help of local people who are employed by the Trust. Veterinary doctors residing at the campus treat not only the cattle on the premises but also from the nearby villages. Water tanks and dams have been constructed to ensure an ample supply of water during dry spells, and fruit bearing trees have been planted for birds.

The Trust is setting up new animal shelters and also donates funds to animal welfare in times of natural disasters.

Facing difficult conditions is al l too often a natural part of life in India, which is where Bhavani Gems, a Sightholder since 1966, comes in.  In northern Gujarat, specifically in and around the town of Lathi, villagers were suffering from a problem of acute water shortage. To solve this, Manjibhai Dholkia, the senior partner and founder of Bhavani Gems, built a dam on the Gagdia River, which helped the community of villages to enjoy a continuous supply of water. He also built a crematorium and provided an ambulance, which runs free of charge for the villagers. He also organized a medical camp in the village, where more than 10,000 people attended from neighboring villages and were given treatment and medicine free of charge.

Under Dholkia’s direction, Bhavani Gems distributes 1000 food kits, which provide enough food to feed a family for three months. He has also built a school and  provided  assistance  to  develop  facilities  at various academic  institutions, such as  the Sardar Patel Education Trust, the Ahmedabad, Kalapi Vinay Mandir High  School  and  the  Lathi , Youth Hostel Association of India.

Mumbai-based diamond and jewelry manufacturer and retailer Asian Star Co. Ltd. is especially committed to community development. So far, their donations to educational, medical and community service projects have exceeded $300,000.

In the area of education, Asian Star, a DTC Sightholder, has invested $160,000 for the establishment of schools in India’s northwestern province of Gujarat, in which they also provide computer and IT training for the students.

 

Donations have been made to the Disabled Flood Relief Fund for providing education to mute and blind children, and in 2007, Asian Star collaborated with the ministry of Education and donated mobile vans to disabled pupils in Gujarat. The goal is to cover 24 districts and reach more than 40,000 children.

Asian Star is also involved in ongoing healthcare initiatives with programs such as the Rural Health Project, which works in rural communities for empowerment and integration.  They have also contributed $45,000 to the Bachubhai Meghjibhai Nandola Trust for establishing hospitals, and direct aid has been provided to many individual patients with cancer, heart and kidney problems, whom the company has helped by contributing toward their hospital fees.

Through the support of the Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust, the company has given $35,000, distributed wheelchairs, hearing aids and the  Jaipur Foot, a prosthetic developed in India, to more than 3,000 people.

Another company, Navin Gems, founded in 1977 and headquartered in Mumbai, is involved in a wide range of charitable activities, most notably in the area of medical care. Mahaveer Cardiac Hospital, the first of its kind in the diamond polishing area of Surat, was built by Babubhai Gandhi of Navin Gems.  It is currently the only cardiac center in Surat and boasts that it can perform up to 40 angiographs, 15 angioplasties and three bypass surgeries per day.

 

Gandhi continues to take an active role in the performance of the heart center. He currently sits as vice chairman on the board and spends a few hours every day involved in its administration. Navin Gems is also involved with the Mother Teresa Leprosy Home, a center with the capacity to care for up to 400 patients, as well as with twice-yearly large-scale blood drives in Surat, vital keys helping to support medical institutions in the region.

Navin Gems also engages in on-the-spot humanitarian assistance.  For example, during recent major flooding in Surat, the company contributed ten truckloads of essential foods for 650 families, distributing wheat, rice, sugar, oil and pulses. They also arranged for an additional ten truckloads of green grass to be distributed for grazing.

 

Over the years, Mumbai-based D. Navinchandra & Co. has contributed to what the company calls, “the cause of a stronger and better society.”

The manufacturer has donated to a full range of charities from children’s causes, organizations for the elderly, various health funds, natural calamity funds and infrastructure development funds. “Everyone has a debt to society,” says Mihir Mehta, director of the company’s Belgian-based subsidiary Dianco. “We are all here because of our workers and employees, and we have to give back to the community.”

For Mehta, however, it is not just a matter of giving out money. He believes it is important to follow up where it goes. “The issue is not about finances, but rather about making sure that we know the money is going to the right place.”

In addition, he is keen to point out that although the company as a single entity does a good amount of charitable activity, many of the partners also make donations and fund projects in an individual capacity.

They say an education is the key to life. If that’s true, Laxmi Diamonds is helping to open a lot of doors. The owners of the company, the Gajera family, are well known for their work in improving the lives of women in India. With  the  Shrimati  Shantaben Haribhai  Gajera  School  in  Amreli ,  the  company educates more than 7,000 students and houses all of  the female students. The school was recently given a five-star rating and is considered one of the best in Gujarat.

The company also funds an educational trust in Surat – the Shantaben Haribhai Charitable Trust – which educates youngsters from primary to college level and the Prannath Shantaben Haribhai Gajera School for girls named for Shantaben Gajera,  the mother of Vasant Mehta, the founder of Laxmi, which provides education from kindergarten through high school and makes schooling available up to the MBA level .

 

Despite the enormous contributions these schools are making, Laxmi funds an even larger project – the Gajera Vidya Bhavan and Gajera International School in Surat, which provides educational facilities for approximately 9,100 students.  This school has six principles and 400 teachers and is one of the largest in the country.

Vasant is also presently now embarking on another large-scale project – a center that will house the aged and orphans together in Surat. The idea of this unique project is for the older people to regain a sense of their childhood while the children get to experience their “grandparents.”

Diamond manufacturer Sheetal Group is known for their unique end-to-end supply capability, as well as being a specialist in brown diamonds. Lesser known may be their long list of charitable activities in the areas of education, health and the environment, which they note is a gift toward the development of mankind.

Through their contributions, Sheetal Group funded the major renovation of the Kakadia hospital in Ahmedabad, the same medical facility that Sheetal had funded the building of in the 1990s. During the renovation, the existing hospital was moved to a better location to enhance the facilities offered. The center’s capacity was increased and all of the amenities were upgraded to match the latest international standards.

The additional aid also made it possible for the hospital to reach out to the underprivileged by providing relatively affordable treatment. Ambulance and laboratory services rates have been reduced by 50 percent, and fees for heart treatments have been lowered significantly.

The group is also involved in educational projects, such as building schools and colleges in Gujarat, especially for the education of women, which is a prime objective of the company’s philanthropy.

 

“It is not a community that I am contributing to but it is to the people of Bapunagar,” says Govind Kakadia, chairman and founder of the company. “My contributions are towards the development of mankind not any community or any place.”

Finally, among the many philanthropic activities of Shree Ramkrishna Export is a girls’ school in Surat, which educates those in need for free in honor of the company’s founder, the late Shri. Virjibhai, who dreamt of educating girls. Shree Ramkrishna Export is also associated with six other schools in India. As the company says simply, “success multiplies when shared,” a philosophy shared by many other Indian firms.