HCL announced the winners of HCL Grant Edition

HCL Foundation announced the NGOs selected for the 2023 edition of its flagship program HCL Grant - which supports pioneering work in sustainable rural development in India. Three NGOs-Planatearth, Innovators in Health (IIH) India and Meghshala Trust will receive ₹5 crore each for their projects under the HCL Grant endowment. This year’s winners were chosen from submissions from more than 15,000 entities, an increase of 80% versus last year.

In addition, six NGO finalists Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER), North-East Initiative Development Agency (NEIDA) under environment category, MAHAN, Sri Sri Rural Development Programme Trust (SSRDPT) under education category, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan (GSSS) under health category will receive grants of ₹25 lakh.

Recipient NGOs were selected after screening and review of applications by an eminent jury, monitored and audited by HCL Grant governance partner Grant Thornton. Jury members include Ms. Robin Ann Abrams, Chairperson of the Jury, Board Member, HCLTech, Mr. Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestle India Limited, Mr. B. S. Baswan, Former Director, Indian Institute of Public Administration and Former Secretary, Human Resource Development Ministry, Ms. Pallavi Shroff, Managing Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, Dr. Richard Lariviere, Sanskrit Scholar & President Emeritus, Field Museum (Chicago) and Mr. Shiv Nadar, Founder, HCL Group and Chairman Emeritus, HCLTech.

According to Ms. Robin Ann Abrams, Chairperson of the HCL Grant Jury and Board Member, HCLTech: “These organizations and their projects - aligned to the HCL Foundation’s core areas of focus in environment, health and education - will bring a visible and inclusive change to the ‘last mile.’ We believe their work will provide an important lifeline to rural communities by bridging inequality in healthcare, helping in freshwater conservation and more readily bringing education to underserved populations.”

Dr. Nidhi Pundhir, Vice President, Global CSR, HCL Foundation said, “We are delighted at the volume of applications received for this year’s selection process. HCL Grant partners with these NGOs to strengthen their governance and help scale their innovative ideas for sustainable rural development. We look forward to working with this year’s selected NGO partners to scale innovative interventions that will supercharge progress for rural communities.