Philanthropy
Philanthropy is essentially the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by generous donation of money to good causes. Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material gain. Philanthropy is different from charity, though there is some overlap - charity aims to relieve the pain of a particular social problem, whereas philanthropy attempts to address the root cause of the problem. A person who practices philanthropy is a philanthropist.
There is no single central legislation which lays down the law governing "charity" or "charitable organizations" in India. Charitable organizations can be set up under various laws depending on the nature of the entity and the state in which the organization is being set up. Commonly, charitable organizations in India are formed either by a trust, a society or a company.
Philanthropy is essentially the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed especially by generous donation of money to good causes. Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material gain. Philanthropy is different from charity, though there is some overlap - charity aims to relieve the pain of a particular social problem, whereas philanthropy attempts to address the root cause of the problem. A person who practices philanthropy is a philanthropist.
There is no single central legislation which lays down the law governing "charity" or "charitable organizations" in India. Charitable organizations can be set up under various laws depending on the nature of the entity and the state in which the organization is being set up. Commonly, charitable organizations in India are formed either by a trust, a society or a company.
SUBJECT Variables
INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS
- In 2023, there were 1,319 individuals with a personal wealth in excess of ₹1,000 crore. Of these, only 119 individuals donated more than ₹10 crore (1% of their wealth). These figures paint a picture that runs contrary to the general perception - that as our people get wealthier, they are likely to become more generous.
- Shiv Nadar occupies the top spot amongst the highest individual donors in India in 2023 with a contribution of ₹2,042 crore.
Section 80G of the I-T Act allows donations made to specified relief funds and charitable institutions as a deduction from gross total income before arriving at taxable income. The amounts mentioned in the graph reference the total amounts claimed by individuals and HUFs in their annual I-T returns. The exact amount of individual contributions to charitable causes cannot be determined given the variable tax slabs and incentives applicable for each individual.
- ₹1,293 crore is estimated to be spent by Individuals/Hindi Undivided Families (HUFs) contributing in their personal capacity towards charitable causes in 2020-21.
- As per the Doing Business Index 2020 report, the top 2 reasons for the low rate of individual contributions to charity is that individuals prefer to donate directly to religious organizations and that the and tax incentives for donations are not attractive.
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