New Delhi — Google and Bharti Foundation, the charitable arm of Bharti Enterprises, on Monday announced a social initiative in the field of education, said it has been awarded a $5 million funding by search engine giant Google to upgrade and support its 50 elementary Satya Bharti schools, run by the Bharti Foundation Ltd.
“As part of the alliance, Google will extend financial support of $5 million to upgrade and support 50 Satya Bharti elementary schools, operated by the Bharti Foundation in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh,” Bharti Enterprises Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Rakesh Bharti Mittal told reporters here.
These schools will be named as “Satya Elementary Schools,” the two companies said in a joint statement.
Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises, Rakesh Bharti Mittal (right) and Chief Business Officer, Google, Nikesh Arora during a Press Conference in New Delhi on Monday. Photo: S. Subramanium – Courtesy: (The Hindu)
“Globally, Google donates about $150 million every year to support various initiatives on education, healthcare, etc. This is our first such initiative in India and we hope to continue the good work,” Google Chief Business Officer Nikesh Arora said.
The foundation was established 11 years ago by Bharti Enterprises, a major business empire in India. Its mission is to improve both primary and secondary education in India, particularly in rural areas.
Bharti Foundation extends education to underprivileged children in rural areas. It runs 236 primary schools and one senior secondary school. This Google gift will be spent on the Satya Bharti Schools program, which hopes to ultimately create 500 primary schools and 50 secondary schools in India.
The schools will focus on poor children and particularly girls. The funds will also be used for setting up middle schools and to meet the operational costs to upgrade primary schools to elementary level, they said. Moving forward, an additional 15 primary and four senior secondary schools are scheduled to be opened in the next academic year.
Sunil Bharti Mittal started the company in 1976 making bicycle components. Bharti Enterprises is the parent of Bharti Airtel Ltd., India’s largest telecom provider by users. Twenty years later it moved into telecoms and has since grown to include retail, financial services, insurance, food, real estate, education and other industries.
Google’s donation to Bharti Foundation is part of its global philanthropic program. The U.S.-based search engine giant has given out $184 million in total, including the funds given by Google Grants, Google.org technology projects and product support for non-profit organizations.