Article
Putting Samaaj on top for Positive Collective Action
This is the third book by philanthropist and civil society leader Rohini Nilekani, the founder of Arghyam, a foundation that works towards sustainable water and sanitation goals, and Pratham Books, a publishing nonprofit that helps millions of children to read books. Samaaj Sarkaar Bazaar is a collection of Nilekani’s articles, speeches, and interviews, which offers […]
Others
Announcing the publication of Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar – A Citizen-First Approach by Rohini Nilekani
An invitation to re-examine the role of an engaged and active Samaaj Bengaluru, Thursday, July 21, 2022: This August will mark the publication of Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar: A Citizen-First Approach by Rohini Nilekani, a leading philanthropist, journalist and writer. The book showcases Nilekani’s learnings from her civic engagement and philanthropy over three decades. She advocates that the […]
Interview
My grandson is my inspiration: Rohini Nilekani
Writer Rohini Nilekani is a doting grandma. And over the last five years, her grandson, Tanush, who has been the joy of her life has also been the inspiration for many of her books, including the latest one, The Great Rifasa (Rs 60). Released on Sunday, young readers, accompanied by their parents, seated themselves on […]
Article
Indian philanthropists need to become bolder, lead with trust, look for new areas to fund: Rohini Nilekani
Winner of FILA 2022 Grassroots Philanthropist, Nilekani props up causes that others may find risky, and steers her philanthropy by having an ear to the ground, operating from a place of trust, and being liberal with her time for the causes and people she supports By Divya J Shekhar, Forbes India Staff It was less […]
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Three Patrol Vehicles Donated To Nagarahole For Conservation
Rohini Nilekani handed over three Tata Yodha patrol vehicles to Nagarahole Tiger Reserve Director Mahesh Kumar. More: Star of Mysore
Report
Uncommon Ground | Playbook & Manual
Uncommon Ground is a movement co-created by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and the CAMP Centre for Arbitration and Mediation practice, that is centered around the value that the balance between samaaj, sarkaar and bazaar (society, government and business) needs to be reestablished through processes of dialogue and exchange that are embedded as a way of working […]
Article
India Inc: Lending a Helping Hand
Philanthropist Rohini Nilekani, who donated Rs 47 crore of her personal wealth, feels the rich in India need to open their purses more. Noted philanthropist and chairperson of Arghyam Foundation Rohini Nilekani feels the philanthropy sector changed during the coronavirus pandemic as members of civil society donated generously. However, she is of the opinion that […]
Article
Rohini Nilekani’s latest book is what you need to help your kids learn everything about the Moon
What’s the science behind the Moon and the changes in its shape and size? Rohini Nilekani speaks about her new book, The Hungry Little Sky Monster, that answers this question. Like every mother or grandmother, Author and Founder-Chairperson of Arghyam Foundation Rohini Nilekani told stories of the Moon to her grandson when he was three years old. […]
Interview
India’s Richest are Giving Away More
The total amount of philanthropic donations made by the top 112 richest in the country, according to the recently released EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List, has increased by 175% to touch ₹12,050 crore in 2020. The list is being constantly improved and some feel it needs more computational fine-tuning. Yet, the bigger message is about […]
Interview
Rohini Nilekani Comments on #REVIVEIndia
Namaste. For years now, I’ve been thinking about how should we all come together to reduce the friction to collaborate between Samaj, Bazaar and Sarkar. Because one thing has become very clear to all of us, right? Because of this pandemic, especially, that unless these three sectors can collaborate more seamlessly, there is no way […]
Interview
The Interview: Rohini and Nandan Nilekani want to use Platforms to Fight Platforms
With “Societal Platform”, the billionaire couple are combining their ideas, experience, and wealth to effect change. Nandan Nilekani co-founded Infosys and architected Aadhaar, which now covers 1.26 billion Indian.s Rohini Nilekani isn’t just India’s most prolific woman philanthropist, but she’s also the sixth overall, While Nandan has mastered the art of building disruptive tech platforms, […]
Article
The Joy of Staying With the Young
In the world of children’s books, 16 years is a long time, which is how old Pratham Books turned on January 1, 2020. Co-founded and funded by Rohini Nilekani, Pratham Books is a non-profit publisher focused on introducing children to the joy of reading. Nilekani has written 11 books for Pratham Books so far, out […]
Podcast
Sea Change – Nandan Nilekani, Rohini Nilekani
To unbundle the thinking and provide diverse perspectives on the need for new ways of catalysing scaled, speedy and sustainable societal change, we are happy to share a 3 episode podcast series titled Sea Change; co-produced by Societal Platform and Vakku. This is a show about societal change in the digital age, and how to […]
Article
Karnas of Philanthrophy – Telugu – Eenadu
Nandan Nilekani and Rohini Nilekani have pledged half their wealth for Philanthrophy. View PDF
Report
The National Conversation: Barriers and Enablers to Engage Boys and Men Towards Gender Equality
The objective of this research enquiry is to understand what the barriers and opportunities are to accelerate work with boys and men towards gender equality in India, and to initiate a national conversation towards the same goal. The research was conceived because Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Equal Community Foundation (ECF) identified a lack of publicly […]
Interview
Giving Pledge is not meant to be prescriptive: Rohini Nilekani
Rohini Nilekani on why she and her husband Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani signed up for Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge initiative. In a phone interview from Bengaluru, Rohini Nilekani explains why the couple felt the need to sign the pledge, how wealth can influence policy and how societal platforms will help them scale up. Edited […]
Article
1st-generation entrepreneurs – Premji, Nilekani, NRN – make Bengaluru India’s philanthropy capital
With four Bengalureans being the only Indian signatories to Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge, the IT city could very well be the philanthropy capital of the country. Representatives of India Inc here adopt fresh approaches to humanitarianism — from closely-monitored capacity building in existing nonprofits to promoting tech-led scalable market solutions for development issues. Additionally, younger […]
Article
Nandan Nilekani, wife Rohini commit to donate 50 per cent of their wealth
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and wife Rohini have pledged to donate 50 percent of their wealth under Giving Pledge- a movement initiated by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Melinda Gates. Bill Gates appreciated Nilekani couple’s philanthropic initiative in his tweet. “I’m amazed by how Nandan Nilekani has lent his entrepreneurial passion to philanthropy. I’m delighted […]
Article
Nilekanis pledge to donate half of their wealth for philanthropy
Infosys co-founder and Chairman Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani have decided to pledge half of their wealth for philanthropy. With this, the Nilekani family has become the fourth Indian and second tech magnate from Bengaluru to join ‘The Giving Pledge’, the philanthropy movement started by U.S billionaires Bill Gates, his wife Melinda Gates […]
Article
Nilekanis pledge half of wealth to charity
Infosys co-founder and tech billionaire Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani have joined ‘The Giving Pledge’, an elite network of the worlds wealthiest individuals committing half their wealth to philanthropy. The Giving Pledge website uploaded Nilekanis’ letter signing up for the cause. The letter said, “We thank Bill and Melinda for creating this unique […]
Article
Nilekanis donate half of wealth to philanthropy
Infosys co-founder and Non-Executive Chairman Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani have pledged to donate half of their wealth to philanthropy. The Nilekanis had announced their decision to donate their wealth through a letter on November 8 that was put up on the website of ‘The Giving Pledge’. The Giving Pledge is a campaign […]
Article
Infosys Co-Founder Nandan Nilekani, Wife Rohini Donate 50 Per Cent Of Their Wealth
Wealth comes with huge responsibility and is best deployed for the larger public interest,” said Infosys co founder Nandan Nilekani quoting a line from the Giving Pledge letter, which had announced that he and his wife, the author and philanthropist Rohini, would be donating 50 per cent of their wealth under the movement initiated by […]
Article
Nilekanis pledge half their wealth for philanthropy
Infosys co-founder and Chairman Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani have decided to pledge half of their wealth for philanthropy. With this, the Nilekani has become the fourth Indian and second tech magnate from Bengaluru to join The Giving Pledge, the philanthropy movement started by US billionaires Bill Gates, his wife Melinda Gates and […]
Article
Nilekanis pledge half of wealth for philanthropy
BENGALURU: Infosys co-founder and tech billionaire Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani have joined ‘The Giving Pledge’, an elite network of the world’s wealthiest individuals committing half their wealth to philanthropy. The Giving Pledge website uploaded Nilekanis’ letter signing up for the cause. View PDF
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Letter | Rohini & Nandan Nilekani Join The Giving Pledge
Bhagwad Gita- “Karmanye Va dhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana, Ma karma phalaheturbhurma Te Sangostvakarmani”. This verse reminds us that we have a right to do our duty but no automatic right to the fruits from the doing. So it is the idea of action itself that should motivate us much more than the ego-driven desire for […]
Article
Nandan and Rohini Nilekani join Bill Gates-led philanthropic group
The grouping, which is called Co-Impact, has been set up with an initial corpus of $500 million and will focus providing healthcare, education, and economic opportunity to the underserved populus in developing countries. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini have joined a grouping of billionaire philanthropists including Bill and Melinda Gates to set […]
Article
Azim Premji tops India philanthropy listing: Hurun
Premji contributed about 80% of the total donations made by 36 Indian philanthropists who together gave away nearly Rs.35,000 crore. Wipro Ltd chairman Azim Hashim Premji, unsurprisingly, was ranked the most generous Indian for the third year in a row on the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2015 released on Friday. Infosys Ltd’s co-founder Nandan Nilekani […]
Article
Rohini Nilekani | Want to make a difference? Then initiate it.
Good governance, no matter how you define it, is about more than govt and its institutions. Its about citizens investing and engaging in transformation process. View PDF
Article
Forbes India PHILANTHROPY AWARDS 2014
THE CAUSE AND THE EFFECT: Celebrating the best of philanthropy in India. These are the winners of the Forbes India Philanthropy Awards 2014, chosen by our eminent jury comprising Narayanan Vaghul (jury chair and former chairman of ICICI Bank), MV Subbiah (former executive chairman, Murugappa Group), Jayant Sinha (currently minister of state for finance) and Rohini Nilekani (founder-chairperson, Arghyam). View PDF
Article
The Conscious Givers
Rohini and Nandan Nilekani contribute to causes that others may find risky. In doing so, they are nudging the society to look at issues afresh. View PDF
Article
Company law to change CSR landscape
Experts see mixed blessings from new company law; some say the move will result in rise in CSR consulting. The CSR provisions could have a “cascading impact” on philanthropy, according to Rohini Nilekani, chairperson and founder of non-profit Arghyam and wife of Nandan Nilekani, a co-founder of software service firm Infosys Ltd and chairman of […]
Article
Rohini Nilekani Sells Infosys Shares, Raises $27 Million For Charity
Rohini Nilekani, wife of Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani, disclosed Friday that she has recently sold 577,000 shares out of the 8 million shares that she holds in the outsourcer. The sale reduced her stake marginally from 1.41% to 1.31% which is still worth close to $370 million. The funds from the share sale, amounting to […]
Interview
Philanthropy in India Is Taking Its Own Route
A debate was going on about a government proposal to make it compulsory for companies to spend 2% of their net pro?ts on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Rohini Nilekani, philanthropist and chairperson of Arghyam, a foundation she set up with a private endowment to work on water and sanitation issues in India, says she has […]
Keynote
An Approach To Integrated Water Management
By Lisa Tsering, Staff Reporter. Dec 03, 2012. BERKELEY, Calif., United States Grounded and detail-driven, water activist Rohini Nilekani is committed to helping India solve its water crisis one village at a time. Nilekani, the founder and chair of Arghyam, an NGO based in Bangalore that works to improve water and sanitation in small towns across […]
Article
Uncommon Ground – Rohini Nilekani
Uncommon Ground – Rohini Nilekani. New Arrivals – View PDF
Article
Uncommon Ground – by Rohini Nilekani
Uncommon Ground – by Rohini Nilekani. New Woman. View PDF
Article
Wife Drive
If you thought holding kitty parties or botox luncheons were all corporate first wives did, think again. Take Rohini Nilekani, wife of Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani. After running a non government organisation, authoring a medical thriller and hosting a TV show, she has now launched her second book, Uncommon Ground: Dialogues between Business and Social […]
Article
Anna movement has lost its focus: Hande
“I think the Anna Hazare movement for Jan Lokpal Bill was good but the focus got lost somewhere,” said Harish Hande, the 2011 Magsaysay award winner. Hande was speaking at the launch of ‘Uncommon Ground’, authored by Rohini Nilekani, chairperson of NGOs Pratham Books and Arghyam. View PDF
Article
Anna brigade lost focus: Hande
I think the Anna Hazare movement for Jan Lokpal Bill was good but the focus got lost somewhere,” said Harish Hande, the 2011 Magsaysay award winner. Hande was speaking at the launch of ‘Uncommon Ground’, authored by Rohini Nilekani, chairperson of NGOs Pratham Books and Arghyam. View PDF
Interview
Uncommon Ground – Do we see ourselves as citizens or consumers?
There has to be a fine balance between society, government and the market – samaj, sarkar and bazaar. I attempted to seek that balance through a dialogue between samaj and bazaar. In 2008, Rohini Nilekani, chairperson of NGOs Pratham Books and Arghyam, moderated an eight-part television series called ‘Uncommon Ground’. Conceptualised by Nilekani, a former […]
Article
Skills vs. Passion: The Challenges for Corporate Professionals Who Move into the Social Sector
Professionals “are very impatient to scale, and don’t realize that in the social sector, what to scale is more critical than how to scale,” says Rohini Nilekani, philanthropist and founder of Arghyam, a Bangalore-based NGO. Corporate professionals, Nilekani adds, tend to have a strong and mistaken belief in the power of the markets to solve […]
Article
UNCOMMON GROUND: DIALOGUES WITH BUSINESS AND SOCIAL LEADERS – Rohini Nilekani
Excerpted with the permission of Penguin Books India from the book Uncommon Ground: Dialogues between Business and Social Leaders by Rohini Nilekani. View PDF
Article
One Common Issue – Two Uncommon Minds – Uncommon Ground
Writer and philanthropist, Rohini Nilekani anchors an electrifying episode of UNCOMMON GROUND, fuelling dialogue between industrialist Anand Mahindra and social activist Medha Patkar on the land rights issue that challenges India. View PDF
Interview
India’s NGO Sector is the most diverse in the world
Writer and philanthropist Rohini Nilekani, wife of Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani, has been deeply involved in development issues for many years now. She is the trustee of Akshara Foundation, which works to bring literacy and teaching programmes to poorer children; she co-founded Pratham Books, a non-profit publishing enterprise to produce high-quality, low-cost books for children […]
Article
Now, Mrs. Nilekani On TV
It is time for change. To business television junkies, Nandan Nilekani has been a familiar face. Be it talking about his company or pitching for Indian software skills, Nilekani is almost a brand ambassador for the industry. In the next, we will see another Nilekani take the centre stage. Nilekani’s wife Rohini will host a […]
Article
Kelvinator GR8! Women Awards 2007
ohini Nilekani started as a writer. She worked as a journalist for several years writing for many for leading publications such as Sunday and India Today. Her first novel, a medical thriller called STILLBORN was published by Penguin Books. She is Founder-Chairperson, Pratham Books, a non-profit publishing house set up to create high quality, low […]
Interview
focus on philanthrocapitalism: myth or reality?
What Rohini Nilekani sees as innovative and different about the way she’s doing things is the way she has brought together the opportunities that coming into money has given her and her earlier work in the social sector, with ‘all its emotional charge towards equity’. View PDF
Article
Modern Womanhood
Modern Womanhood – Rohini Nilekani, Chairman of Argyam and Akshara Foundation, Bangalore. Social Services. View PDF
Interview
CNBCTV18 – Nandan helps me think logically: Rohini Nilekani
One wonders how different her life story would have been, had she not fallen in love and married one of corporate India’s brightest entrepreneurs. But Rohini Nilekani says while her bank balance may look very different, her outlook to life and her aspirations remain the same. For 26 years, she has given Nandan Nilekani the […]
Article
Femme De Force – DAUGHTER, WIFE. MOTHER – India Woman today is so much more than this.
SHE IS THE FORCE THAT’S INSPIRING THE NATION AND THE WORLD. The woman you see here is Rohini Nilekani, wife of Infosys CEO, Nandan Nilekani. But more important, she is a woman with strong beliefs about how one can “give back to the society in small measure what one receives in such abundance”. A former […]
Article
Learning the Art of Giving
For Rohini Nilekani, making the money was the easy part. The Bangalore-based wife of Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani, Rohini owns 1.67% of the Indian outsourcing company, and her personal fortune soared to about $300 million along with the meteoric rise of its stock. She calls her windfall “a quite frightening amount of money.” And as […]
Article
Akshara Foundation presented Rotary award – Kannada
Foundation chairperson Rohini Nilekani accepts the award. Ms. Nilekani said the foundation, as part of the Pratham Network, believed in giving underprivileged children the opportunity to learn and thereby empower them to take advantage of several more opportunities available for the educated. View PDF
Interview
Akshara Foundation presented Rotary award
Foundation chairperson Rohini Nilekani accepts the award. Ms. Nilekani said the foundation, as part of the Pratham Network, believed in giving underprivileged children the opportunity to learn and thereby empower them to take advantage of several more opportunities available for the educated. View PDF
Interview
50 Leaders re-shaping Indian Education – Acceptable Capitalists
Nandan Nilekani, managing director, Infosys Technologies Ltd and Rohini Nilekani, promoter trustee of the Akshara and Arghyam Trust foundations and trustee Pratham. Rohini has promoted the Akshara Eoundation to improve learning outcomes in municipal schools in Bangalore and the Arghyam Trust Foundation to research ways and means to improve water availability to socio-economically disadvantaged citizens, […]
Interview
Rohini Nilekani wants to make available high-quality, low-cost books to as many children as possible
ROHINI Nilekani is involved in a big way with Pratham India education initiative network. She’s on the board of directors of this 10 year movement that has attracted individuals and corporates to its mission of education for underprivileged children. “Many corporates, the government and individuals have been our partners in the community based action on […]
Interview
Western Ghats symbol of bio-diversity: Nilekani
The Western Ghats is a symbol of unique bio-diversity, said Nandan Nilekani, CEO of Infosys, at the release o f ‘Sahyadris: India’s Western Ghats – A Vanishing Tradition’ authored by Sandesh Kadur here on Wednesday. The book was supported and produced by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and Kamaljit Bawa, […]
Interview
Unveiling grandeur of Sahyadris
MAGNIFICENT”, “awe-some”, “breathtaking” are the words which come to mind if you happen to take in the vision the Malabar coast of Southern India along the Arabian Sea, wherein lies a range of mountains known as the Western Ghats or Sahyadris. One can’t but marvel at the painstaking effort of Kamal Bawa, a professor in […]
Interview
Education for every Child : Nilekani (Kannada)
Education for every Child : Nilekani (Kannada). View PDF
Interview
Chaudhvin Ka Chand Over City Slum – Off to school, with Waheeda Rehman
Legendary actress joins hands with Akshara Foundation to open new world for slum children. IT was a rare day in Bangalore’s largest slum. Visiting a, school at the end of a narrow muddy lane was one of Bollywood’s most accomplished actresses of all time – Waheeda Rehman, with Rohini Nilekani. View PDF
Interview
Reconciling public stature with privacy is tough
Rohini Nilekani, wife of Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani, is a journalist-turned-author whose debut Stillborn – a medical thriller – was the first Indian novei of its kind in its genre. An active sociai worker, Rohini now runs Akshara Foundation promoting education for underpriviieged chiidren. She aiso pians to pen another novel. Chetan Krishnaswamy finds out […]
Interview
Yogacharya to the world – Padmashri Dr B K S Iyengar
Padmashri Dr B K S Iyengar, referred to simply as Guruji, has made a seminal difference to the practice and propagation of yoga. Rohini Nilekani speaks to the yogacharya. View PDF