Bengaluru has public-spiritedness: Nandan Nilekani on HT Dialogues

He pointed out that there are four signatories from the city contributing to Bill and Melinda Gates’ and Warren Buffet’s Giving Pledge.

Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani said on Thursday people in Bengaluru have a streak of philanthropy and have given back to society as they did well for themselves after India’s economy was liberalised and the city saw a boom. Nilekani, while speaking to Hindustan Times’ editor-in-chief Sukumar Ranganathan on HT Dialogues, said there are a considerable number of people who want to contribute further. “A lot of public-spiritedness and volunteerism… all these people are saying we have done well for ourselves and how can we give back,” he said.

“First-generation wealth… I think is easier to give away,” Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani said on HT Dialogues.

Nilekani pointed out that there are four signatories from the city contributing to Bill and Melinda Gates’ and Warren Buffet’s Giving Pledge. Nilekani and his wife Rohini are among the four well-known residents from the city who have pledged half their wealth for the philanthropy. He named Wipro chairman and billionaire Azim Premji, who was the first Indian to be featured in the list, and also talked about Akhil Mazumdar and real estate major Sobha Developers founder PNC Menon.

Watch the session here:

“It is easier to be generous with first-generation wealth because if your wealth is inherited over multiple generations then children will rightly argue that if you didn’t generate the wealth then how can you give it away,” he said. “First-generation wealth… I think is easier to give away,” he argued.

People who have made money in the city are funding think tanks, giving money to art and towards science museums and “all this is a sign of the city scaling up”, he added.

Nilekani also said Bengaluru is his favourite city and feels “this is the best city to live in“It's a unique city, the city of innovation, city of the future and I'm really pleased with how it is and living there is always fun,” he added.