With Rs 164 crore in kitty, Rohini Nilekani to chart a new course in philanthropy

Rohini Nilekani, who sold a portion of her shares in Infosys last week for Rs 164 crore, will use the money to chart a new course in philanthropy by backing select social ventures. Rohini, 53, whose husband Nandan co-founded Infosys, said she will provide grant capital to individuals and organisations in the areas of governance, legal services, environment protection and new media. The money will be kept aside in a separate portfolio to be managed by the family office of the Nilekanis. “This way, I am not bound to the limitations of putting it in a corpus and can give away just the income or larger chunks as I see fit,’ she told ET. At least three entities have already been chosen to receive the grants, which will typically be below Rs 5 crore each. Among the first are online media portal IndiaSpend, PRS Legislative Research andAssociation for Democratic Reforms. Read More