Jinal Mehta announcing the donation
The promoter family of the Rs 37,600-crore Torrent Group, which has a presence in the pharmaceutical and energy sectors, pledged an amount of Rs 5,000 crore as donation over the next five years to the UNM Foundation, named after the group's founder , UN Mehta. The Mehtas, the family that promotes Grupo Torrent, celebrated the centenary of the birth of ONU Mehta on Sunday.
The donation of Rs 5,000 crore will be made over the next five years, starting April 1, 2024. The funds will be used for social causes in areas such as healthcare, education, ecology, social welfare and arts and culture.
Recently, several business groups have come forward to show commitments to social causes. On March 22, the Bajaj Group committed Rs 5,000 crore for social impact initiatives over five years, with a strong focus on skill development under 'Bajaj Beyond', the Group's new identity for all its charitable and responsibility programs corporate social (CSR). On March 26, Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group, he and his family pledged Rs 550 crore over the next five years for Mahindra University (MU) and Indira Mahindra College of Education in Hyderabad.
Samir Mehta, Chairman of Torrent Group, said the UNM Foundation will use the funds for social initiatives that benefit the underprivileged, irrespective of their caste, religion, gender or economic status. The foundation will focus on healthcare, education, environmental protection, social welfare, arts and culture.
UN Mehta began his career as a government official in 1944 and worked as a medical representative for the pharmaceutical company Sandoz from 1945 to 1958. Later, in 1959, he founded Trinity Laboratories with Rs 25,000. The company produced specialized medicines. In 1968, he introduced an affordable medication for mental illness, challenging multinational corporations.
This led to the establishment of Torrent Laboratories in 1976. Torrent gained recognition for marketing useful medicines at competitive prices. Today, Torrent is a major player in the pharmaceutical and power generation sectors.
UN Mehta, in the latter part of his life, created the UNM Foundation, a non-profit organization. The Foundation carries out social and philanthropic activities with a focus on community health, education and the improvement of knowledge, arts, culture and well-being.
Under the Community Healthcare initiative, "REACH" (Reach Each Child) focuses on children's health. Offers free comprehensive health services for children. The pediatric camps have screened more than 71,000 children between six months and six years. โJatanโ, a well-equipped pediatric centre, was established in 2017 across four industrial facilities in Gujarat (Sugen, Dahej, Balasinor and Indrad). As of December 31, 2019, more than 230,000 OPDs were carried out, serving children up to 18 years of age.
First published: Mar 31 2024 | 5:54 PM IS
