Interview
Philanthropy can provide ‘patient funding’ to boost science
Industry leaders and philanthropists Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Kris Gopalakrishnan and Rohini Nilekani have made individual and collective contributions towards furthering science and research in the city and outside. They told TOI’s Chethan Kumar in an interview that philanthropy could help provide the ‘patient funding’ that is needed to boost science and also help liberate science from […]
Article
A Call to Action: Why We Need a Citizen-First Approach
Recently, unseasonal rains flooded the city of Bengalaru. Visuals of privileged citizens living in upscale independent bungalows, riding tractors to get away from their inundated spaces, as their luxury cars lay submerged in the water, flooded our phones. Delhi is choking. As I write this, there are alarming newspaper reports of the rise in pollution […]
Article
Rohini Nilekani is Changing Philanthropy
Of India’s many prominent business couples, few can match the Nilekanis in their uniqueness. Nandan Nilekani is now a business legend, for his role in building Infosys (with N R Narayana Murthy and his co-founders) and for rescuing it a few years ago when he came back to set the company right. But unlike most […]
Interview
During the pandemic, we learned how Samaaj, Sarkaar and Bazaar work together in a crisis: Rohini Nilekani
This year marks 30 years since philanthropist-author Rohini Nilekani started her journey in civic engagement. She started with Nagarik, a public charitable trust, in 1992 and is now the Chairperson of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Director of EkStep, a non-profit education platform. She is the Co-founder and Former Chairperson of Arghyam, a foundation she set […]
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 […]
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 […]
Others
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
Podcast
To fail is to have dared | IDR Failure Files
Philanthropist, author, and former journalist Rohini Nilekani speaks to India Development Review (IDR) co-founder and CEO, Smarinita Shetty, on why failure needs to be underwritten in the social sector, and how philanthropists must develop more patience and create a space that normalises failure in the context of nonprofit work. You can listen to the full […]
Interview
Press Release: Arghyam Announces the Retirement of Rohini Nilekani as the Chairperson
Arghyam announces the retirement of Rohini Nilekani as the Chairperson; Sunita Nadhamuni is appointed as the new Chairperson Since its inception, Arghyam has operated via an endowment of Rs 150 CR provided by Ms Rohini Nilekani in her personal capacity. Bengaluru, June 28, 2021: Arghyam Foundation announced that Rohini Nilekani has decided to retire from […]
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
Author Rohini Nilekani on her new book The Hungry Little Sky Monster for Juggernaut, and the importance of reading for children
“The gift of a reading life to a child is the best gift of all.” Philanthropist and children’s author Rohini Nilekani wouldn’t have put it better while describing how important it is for every child to enjoy reading and derive both knowledge and pleasure from it. She was speaking with HerStory, in connection with the […]
Interview
Author Rohini Nilekani On How To Get Your Kids To Read More
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s appearance on NDTV, talking about how to encourage children to read and her latest book, ‘The Hungry Little Sky Monster’, published by Juggernaut Books. During this pandemic and the lockdown, parents have become increasingly worried about the amount of screen time that is good for their children. […]
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, […]
Interview
Rohini Nilekani on Water, Societal Platform Thinking and COVID-19 Response
Rohini talks about the water sector, the COVID-19 pandemic and her vision for the city of Bengaluru. You can read the full interview at the India Water Portal. PDF
TV Show
Rohini’s Message During the iForIndia Campaign
Rohini Nilekani’s comments and message during the iForIndia fundraiser.
Keynote
Masculinity and India’s Young Men | Rohini Nilekani’s Address at OTV’s Prerana 2019
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s talk on Masculinity and India’s Young Men at OTV’s Prerana 2019. With 230 million men below the age of 18 in India, Rohini talks about how we need to start doing the work of questioning our understanding of masculinity and providing safe spaces for boys and men […]
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 […]
Interview
Our society has become so unequal. The wealthy need to be taxed more, says Rohini Nilekani
Rohini Nilekani is a bit nervous that people might have “an overdose of the Nilekanis” as she and her husband Nandan have been in the news all week for having signed the Giving Pledge, committing half their wealth — about $1.7bn — to philanthropy. She believes philanthropy isn’t just about giving but is also a […]
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
Nandan Nilekani, wife Rohini join ‘The Giving Pledge’ philanthropy network, donate half their wealth
The Nilekanis are the fourth Indians after Wipro chairman Azim Premji, Biocon chairman Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Sobha Developers Chairman Emeritus P N C Menon to sign up for The Giving Pledge. 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 […]
Interview
Bill Gates Welcomes Rohini and Nandan Nilekani to The Giving Pledge
I’m amazed by how Nandan Nilekani has lent his entrepreneurial passion to philanthropy. I’m delighted to welcome him and his wife Rohini to the Giving Pledge. View PDF
Article
Indian Tech Billionaire Nandan Nilekani And Wife Rohini Join The Giving Pledge
Bangalore power couple Nandan Nilekani, cofounder of tech giant Infosys, who recently returned to the company as non-executive chairman after a boardroom shakeup, and his wife Rohini, announced over the weekend that they had signed on to the Giving Pledge. Their commitment to give away half their wealth, pegged at $1.7 billion, was made in […]
Others
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
Why millionaires are giving away their wealth
This story was selected by TOI Guest Editor Bill Gates. BENGALURU: “I didn’t know I was going to become this rich,” says philanthropist Rohini Nilekani, when asked what moves her to give, “but when it became clear that I would come into money, I wanted to do good.” The first chunk of Rs 100 crore […]
Interview
Bengaluru is not inclusive: Rohini Nilekani
“The city is not inclusive. The elite and the poor have different ideas and their interests often compete with each other, leaving fewer means for them to protest together. That is why we see disparate protests. However, there are some issues like water and mobility that bring all of us together,” writer and philanthropist Rohini […]
Interview
INKtalks: Rohini Nilekani: From Starting Infosys to Saving Water
Philanthropist Rohini Nilekani talks to Lakshmi Pratury about setting up Infosys in the early 90’s, her attempt to encourage children to read more books, and her foundation, Arghyam, which works with water and sanitation issues. My marriage and my family’s journey with Infosys happened almost at the same time, and I think we were so […]
Interview
Special Feature : does philanthropy have too much influence?
Interview – Rohini Nilekani. Rohini Nilekani is one of India’s most prominent and outspoken philanthropists. She talks to Alliance editor Charles Keidan about how she gives and to whom; why, for someone whose philanthropy is very public, she sometimes gives anonymously; the social responsibility of the rich; the need for philanthropy, and, at the same […]
Interview
Make good, affordable books accessible to kids: Rohini Nilekani
BANGALORE: One story was narrated to hundreds of children across the country on Saturday, thanks to the initiative of Pratham Books, headed by Rohini Nilekani. Rohini speaks to STOI on the importance of reading and why it lags among children. View PDF
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 […]
Article
Aqua Dreams – Rohini Nilekani looks with satisfaction as Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh launches India Water Portal
Rohini Nilekani, a philanthropist, journalist, author and social activist, has understood water management with all its complexities, and has channeled her efforts through Arghyam, which she founded. It’s no surprise that in late 2010 Arghyam was requested by the Planning Commission to collate civil society inputs on drinking water and sanitation for the approach paper […]
Interview
Talk Time – Rohini Nilekani in conversation with tanmoy goswami – The Smart Manager
SMART SUMMARY: In 2008, United Airlines allegedly broke a $3500 custom made guitar belonging to Canadian musician Dave Carroll. Following many rounds of fruitless dialog, during which the company’s managers relentlessly cited ‘policy’ and refused to compensate the musician, Carroll made a music video called United Breaks Guitars that had amassed 10 million views on […]
Article
Negotiating Social Harmony – Uncommon ground – Rohini Nilekani
No servant can serve two masters: for either he wall hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” From Biblical times, this has been the conventional wisdom. But humbly correcting the dictum is philanthropist, journalist and activist, Rohini […]
Article
Uncommon Ground – by Rohini Nilekani
The author brings together titans of industry and leaders of civil society to explore eight themes relevant to India’s development. View PDF
Interview
‘Challenge creation of islands in society’
Rohini Nilekani is essentially a philanthropist at heart and passionate about development issues. The fact that she has featured in the Forbes’ list of Asia Pacific’s 48 ‘Heroes Of Philanthropy’ for the second consecutive year proves this. She speaks to Shruti Khairnar on middle class values and corporate social responsibilities. View PDF
Article
Giving Is Easy” – Heroes of Philanthropy
Journalist and novelist. Corporate wife and mother. Now, armed with a fortune from Infosys’ meteoric rise, Rohini Nilekani is intent on helping India’s poor. View PDF
Article
Talk at Seventh Anniversary of Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Environment and Development, Bangalore
This is a talk Rohini gave at the Seventh Anniversary of Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Environment and Development, Bangalore on 19th August, 2008. “Going forward, my job is to ensure that a lot of people know about the organizations I support, working for environmental issues, especially CISED, with its inter disciplinary approach. And to […]
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 […]
Interview
It’s hard to be a working mom
We may know Rohini Nilekani as the wife of one of India’s most successful entrepreneurs and for her tireless good works. But was life always this struggle-free? Here she reveals what being a mother means to her and why she fears for her children’s future. View PDF
Article
Paying women their due on their day
Women’s role important, says Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph. Inaugurating Women’s Day celebrations jointly organised by Department of Women and Child Development and Karnataka Legal Services Authority, in Bangalore, Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph said women have important role in everybody’s life. Special awards for active Stree Shakti self help groups, Kitturu Chennamma awards […]
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 […]
Interview
Smart Philanthropy – The Science Of Giving
Corporate givers like Rohini Nilekani make every buck count. India Inc. and its residents are waking up to the difference between charity and philanthropy. That could, as several works-in-progress demonstrate, result in some good. Thinking woman’s philanthropy: Rohini Nilekani with some of the beneficiaries of the microfinance initiative Sanghamitra, of which she is a part. […]
Interview
Power Women – Stand Alone – Doing it All
Urban Indian Women are making choices and making them work. ROHINI NILEKANI – 46 , S0CIAL WORKER – Stand Alone Role call: Wears many hats in the social sector. A trust fund of Rs 100 crore focuses on access to water while the Akshara Foundation works with over one lakh children under the Pratham network. […]
Interview
Rohini Charms – Inauguration of WellWoman Education Cell – Surana College
Rohini Charms – Inauguration of WellWoman Education Cell – Surana College. Principal KE Radhakrishna felt that the perfectperson to launch the cell would be chairperson Akshara Foundiition Kohini Nilekani, being dynamic and enterprising a woman as she is about social issues. Graciously accepting the accolades, Rohini said. “1 don’t know if I can be called […]
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
Got money, reach out – Sudha Murthy does her thing and Rohini Nilekani does her own.
These days, Rohini reaches out to the less fortunate not through writing, but by donating generously to various causes. She has just taken over as the chairperson of the Akshara Foundation and is bubbling with ideas. View PDF