Listen to your mother if you want to become a Shiv Nadar, said Shiv Nadar, the founder and chairman of HCL during a fireside conversation on the theme ‘Beyond Business’ organised by the Chennai International Centre in Chennai. Responding to a volley of questions from Pradeep Gupta, chairman and managing director of Cyber Media, and R. Srinivasan, founder of Redington India, on various topics, including education and philanthropy, Mr. Nadar said that there are no targets for charity; one just needs a heart to give.
In 2016, he gave away more than ₹650 crore for various charity initiatives. Till date, SSN College of Engineering, named after his father Sivasubramaniya Nadar, a former district judge, has disbursed scholarships to the tune of ₹65 crore.
The founder of one of the largest IT firms in India said that he is now focussing on a venture called HCL Samuday in Hardoi district in Uttar Pradesh. The project will focus on six areas including water, agriculture, sanitation, health and education. When asked how he would like to be remembered 50 years from now, he responded instantly: “as an educationalist.”
Mr. Nadar said that throughout his journey, he had never met a politician or any Minister in Uttar Pradesh. “We have 32,000 employees in Tamil Nadu but have not stepped out to meet the Chief Minister except once to hand over the Cyclone Relief Fund cheque,” he said. “Both the Chief Ministers have never bothered us for any admissions,” he added.
Changing rural lives
His daughter Roshni Nadar Malhotra, executive director and CEO of HCL Corporation and Trustee of Shiv Nadar Foundation, spoke about how Vidyagyan (an educational academy) campuses at Bulandshahr and Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh had transformed the lives of children from rural pockets and villages nearby. “More than 2.5 lakh students from across U.P. sit for an examination and finally we select 200 toppers. More than 40% are girls, and in the last eight years, only five children have left the academy,” Ms. Roshni added.
Prashant Kumar Dixit, who is pursing his second year in Computer Science at SSN College, told the audience how his life was transformed after he was chosen to study at the institute by Mr. Nadar.
