Paris/New Delhi, October 11, 2013: BNP Paribas Wealth Management, a leading global private bank, awarded the 2013 BNP Paribas Grand Prix for Individual Philanthropy to Shiv Nadar, Founder & Chairman, HCL and Shiv Nadar Foundation. The award was given to him at an event hosted on October 10th, 2013 at the Salons de l'Orangerie, the BNP Paribas headquarters in Paris, for his unparalleled efforts in philanthropy.
Francois Debiesse, Chairman of The Fondation de l’Orangerie for Individual Philanthropy, a grant-making foundation set up by BNP Paribas Wealth Management, said, “The inclusive leadership development model of the Shiv Nadar Foundation is unique and stands out not only in terms of the sheer impact it will have on its beneficiaries but also on the significance of this to create an inclusive future for India. We believe that is a very powerful model for every developing nation that would play a key role in contributing to nation building. I congratulate Mr Nadar and the Foundation for this truly exemplary work.”
Accepting the award, Shiv Nadar said, “This is a great honor and I thank BNP Paribas for this recognition. Education is the single largest tool for individual empowerment and sustainable large-scale social and economic transformation. The Shiv Nadar Foundation would continue to harness the power of inclusive education to bridge urban-rural divide and drive exponential social transformation in India by creating leaders from every socio-economic segment.”
Shiv Nadar has pledged over 20% of his total wealth towards philanthropy. Since inception, the Shiv Nadar Foundation has become a significant driver of social change and transformational education through its landmark institutions spanning the entire education spectrum from universities and colleges to K-12 schools and that include the SSN Institutions, one of India’s top ranked engineering college; the Shiv Nadar University, a multidisciplinary university with strong research orientation and VidyaGyan, a radical experiment in leadership development through free residential education to meritorious rural underprivileged children.
BNP Paribas Wealth Management instituted the BNP Paribas Awards for Individual Philanthropy in 2008 with a view to disseminating information and raising general awareness of the growing global phenomenon of philanthropic giving.
About Shiv Nadar Foundation
The Shiv Nadar Foundation (www.ShivNadarFoundation.org) has been established by Shiv Nadar, Founder, HCL - a $6.3 billion leading global technology and IT enterprise, with over 90,000 employees across 31 countries. The 37-year-old enterprise, founded in 1976, is one of India's original IT garage start-ups and offers diverse business aligned technology solutions spanning the entire hardware and software spectrum, to a focused range of industry verticals.
The Foundation is committed to the creation of a more equitable, merit-based society by empowering individuals to bridge the socio-economic divide. To that purpose the Foundation is focused on the underdeveloped disciplinary areas in India related to transformational education, creativity and art.
The Foundation set up the SSN Institutions (www.SSN.edu.in) in 1996, comprising the SSN College of Engineering (already a highly ranked private engineering college in India), in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. In addition, the Foundation runs the Shiv Nadar University (www.snu.edu.in), an international multi-disciplinary, research university located in Greater Noida in India’s National Capital Region. The Foundation has also set up Shiv Nadar School (www.shivnadarschool.edu.in), a network of progressive urban schools across India aimed to provide children with education that creates lifelong learners.
About BNP Paribas Prize for Individual Philanthropy
In 2008, the BNP Paribas Prize for Individual Philanthropy was created to provide models for its own clients and philanthropists around the world. Each year, two annual awards - a grand prix and a special prize - recognize philanthropic projects that are exemplary in terms of achievement and sustainability, with the grand prix rewarding dedication, professionalism and results, while the special prize acknowledges strong personal involvement in a local project.