India’s at a crossroads when it comes to wealth—how people make it, and what they do with it. More than a hundred billionaires now call the country home, along with hundreds of thousands of millionaires. Private fortunes have exploded, but giving hasn’t kept pace. Most of that new money stays in private hands, not in philanthropy.
But something’s shifting, even if it’s not making headlines. There’s a new wave of wealth creators who don’t see giving just as charity. For them, it’s about nation building. It’s a path to apply their entrepreneurial drive and vision for something beyond themselves. They’re asking tougher questions, too. What actually remains after the money’s gone? Instead of patching it up, how do you fix the root of a problem?
It isn’t about cheque writing but it’s about building the systems that make real change possible.
Take the stories in “Live to Give.” The book pulls together 16 journeys of remarkable philanthropists, showing how giving can become a norm in society. It’s about using wealth for the greater good, not just personal gain.
Look at Vikrant Bhargava. He made his fortune in the digital world, but now, through the Veddis Foundation, he’s focused on governance reform. He backs groups that strengthen property rights and local government, aiming to change the “rules of the game” instead of just offering quick fixes. It’s about changing the system so that incentives—and outcomes—shift for good.
Sunil Wadhwani is another example. His work with AI and healthcare doesn’t just create new programs; it plugs innovation straight into public systems. He partners with governments to improve disease tracking and maternal health. Instead of establishing parallel structures, the goal is to integrate new elements into the existing. For real ever-lasting change, work with the state, not around it.
At the grassroots, Swathi Kantamani leads the Natco Pharma family’s giving. She’s revamped her family’s philanthropy to focus on rural development in Telangana, blending livelihoods, education, health, and women’s empowerment. Her approach is local and it harmonises, so communities can sustain independently instead of awaiting help from outside.
Then you’ve got Sanjiv Saraf at the Rekhta Foundation, who’s tackled system change from a totally different angle. By creating the world’s largest digital archive of Urdu literature, he’s brought a language and culture back from the edge. His work proves that systems change isn’t just about infrastructure or policy—it’s also about keeping cultural and linguistic roots alive. Rekhta shows how vision and technology can preserve heritage while moving forward.
All these stories have something in common. They invest in building up capability, not just handing out charity. They care about how change happens, not just what gets changed.
Also Read: How Asian philanthropies achieve high impact
Ajit Isaac, who founded Quess Corp and the Isaac Family Foundation, applies a business mindset to giving. His foundation teams up with non-profits in health and job training, focusing on governance, measurable impact, and leadership. He approaches philanthropy as building a venture by ensuring it is self-sustainable should he step away.
Across all these journeys, a few core ideas keep coming up—the real signs of mature, system-level giving.
As one philanthropist put it, “When you give strategically, you stop counting what you gave and start paying attention to what changed.”
For business leaders and wealth creators, the message is simple: bring the same vision that built your companies to building a stronger society. Philanthropy can’t just be about writing checks anymore. It’s about changing systems—about moving from generosity to real governance.
When giving makes institutions stronger, keeps culture alive, and lasts long after the donor steps back, it stops being just charity.
It becomes nation-building.
Radhika Jain is a COO and Philanthropy Partner at Accelerate Indian Philanthropy (AIP)
Rashmi Bansal is a writer, entrepreneur, and a motivational speaker.
First Published: Dec 09, 2025, 15:12
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