NEW DELHI: HCL Foundation on Monday said it has invested Rs 680 crore in the last 10 year to create an impact on society through transformational work. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of HCL Technologies also announced a Rs 16.5 crore grant for NGOs in their effort to transform lives in the country.
"This financial year, HCL Foundation...also marked a decade of impact of transformation work. Having invested more than Rs 680 crore in corporate social responsibility over this first decade of our existence, we have laid a very strong foundation of contributing towards prosperity of people and plants," HCL Foundation Director Nidhi Pundir said while announcing the grants.
Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) won a grant in the environment category; The Association for People with Disability (APD) in health; and Language and Learning Foundation (LLF) for education received grants of Rs 5 crore each.
Three winning NGOs -- one each in the development areas of environment, health and education -- received Rs 5 crore each for three to five-year projects.
Besides this, six NGOs who reached the final round were given one-year grants of Rs 25 lakh each, making a total grant of Rs 16.5 crore. HCL Technologies and HCL CSR Board committee chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra said HCL Foundation has created a pool of 35,000 NGOs which applied for grants at different points of time.
She said the first decade of HCL Foundation required major investments in creating pilots or source codes like HCL Grant. "The next decade will see us transform these and transform many more lives across many new geographies. We also aim to create a strategic program for climate actions to contribute to the country's goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2070 and help enhance the government of India's national action plan on climate change," Malhotra said.