Billionaire brothers Sudhir and Samir Mehta pledged to donate £500 mn to a slew of social causes on their father and Torrent Group founder’s birth centenary on Sunday. The Mehtas join the ranks of other billionaires who have committed large parts of their wealth for philanthropy. “The contribution will be over and above the statutory CSR contributions of the Torrent Group companies,” a release from the pharmaceutical-to-power enterprise said.
The donation will be managed by the UNM Foundation for bolstering healthcare, education, ecology an darts. The Mehtas draw a chunk of their wealth from Torrent Pharma, the flagship of the $5-billion group.
They will start donating £500 mn to the UNM Foundation from April 1 to five years, the release said. Their father Uttambhai Nathalal Mehta (UNM) founded the group in 1959, the year when Bajaj Auto obtained licence from the Indian govt to manufacture two and three wheelers and when India saw the launch of Doordarshan.
UNM’s journey from being a medical representative for Swiss pharma giant Sandoz to laying the foundation of the Torrent Group is inspiring. Born in a poor family, he lost his mother at the age of two. He weathered many health challenges at the age of 39 due to the side effects of a medicine that was prescribed to him, and being diagnosed with an extremely rare form of cancer at the age of 53. UNM had also failed in his first attempt at setting up a business.
