ToI | Rohini Nilekani Urges Indian Philanthropy to Embrace Risk, Patience

Kolkata: Indian philanthropy must move beyond merely increasing the amount of money being given and become more willing to take risks, exercise patience and think strategically to create lasting social change, philanthropist Rohini Nilekani said in Kolkata on Friday.

Speaking as the chief guest at Setu 2026, the annual platform of SVP India Kolkata chapter, Nilekani said philanthropy in India was at an important crossroads. While corporate social responsibility and philanthropic giving were growing, she said the focus must now shift to the quality and long-term impact of the capital being deployed.

“In my 35 years, I have found that it takes anywhere between 10 to 15 years to actually achieve sustainable social change. It’s the most difficult thing in the world,” said Nilekani, chairperson of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, co-founder and director of EkStep, and founder and former chairperson of Arghyam.

She said philanthropists need to ask whether they are willing to support initiatives over the long term rather than expect quick and easily measurable results.

“Many businessmen and businesswomen have told me it is much easier to build a business and achieve success because there is one clear marker of success which is the bottom line. But social change has been their most difficult journey, yet most rewarding,” Nilekani said.

Nilekani also reflected on the larger purpose of wealth creation, arguing that material prosperity should come with a responsibility towards society. “Great wealth comes with even greater responsibility, which is to make the world a little better than you found it,” she said.

Asked about her greatest fear and hope for India, Nilekani said her encounters with organisations working on the ground gave her reason for optimism. “When I go out into the field and see the commitment with which some of the organisations are working at the grassroots, it gives me immense hope,” she said and added, “some of our youngnetas are working without any baggage. They are thinking differently. They are coming up with very institutional ways of addressing problems.”

Her biggest concern, she said, was that India should not lose sight of what has long defined its culture.  “Its diversity, its inclusivity, its ability to learn, its ability to constantly be vibrant, its ability to reflect, to be spiritually inclined. If we lose that, we will lose our biggest treasure,” she said.

First Published in The Times of India