Forbes names five Indians as Asia's Heroes of Philanthropy

New Delhi: Five Indians have made it to the Forbes Asia's annual Heroes of Philanthropy list that highlights some of the region's noteworthy givers.

The list, which included 40 philanthropists from 13 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, includes Vineet and Anupama Nayar, founders of the Sampark Foundation; Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India and Pune-based billionaire Cyrus Poonawallas son; Bain India CEO Amit Chandra and his wife Archana Chandra, CEO of Jai Vakeel Foundation.

The Sampark Foundation boasts of a USD 100 million outlay funded entirely by the Nayars and represents more than half of their wealth. It is rolling out kits with child-friendly teaching aids to 50,000 government schools and 3 million students across Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh.

Another notable philanthropist is Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, who pledged USD 15 million last year to clean up Pune city with a fleet of 50 garbage trucks and a crew of 70 people.

Amit Chandra, CEO of Bain India, and Archana Chandra, CEO of Jai Vakeel Foundation, are the other two philanthropists from India.

The husband and wife donate 75 per cent of their earnings each year to causes ranging from education to healthcare. Amit was one of the founding donors to Ashoka University and has funded an upcoming children's hospital in Mumbai that will be the country's largest.

The other notable philanthropist is China's Pony Ma, Chairman and CEO of Tencent Holdings, who pledged 100 million shares of his Internet service provider, worth USD 2.3 billion , to the Tencent Foundation, which supports healthcare, environment protection and new technology.

Taiwanese mogul Terry Gou, Chairman and CEO of Hon Hai Precision, donated USD 6 million in disaster relief after a devastating earthquake struck southern Taiwan in February and claimed 115 lives.

He also pledged in 2013 to give away 90 percent of his wealth, which now totals USD 6 billion.

"The list not only features philanthropists who have made news with their donations in the past year, but recognises people who have compiled a long record of supporting worthy causes," Forbes Asia said