Small tax benefits restrict growth in philanthropy

India ranks 22nd in terms of tax treatment to individuals who want to donate $10,000 and have an income of $1 mn: Study

The announcement last week of two corporate honchos Nandan Nilekani (with his wife, Rohini) and Sunil Mittal pledging their family wealth to philanthropy has brought into focus the performance as well as the challenges that ultra-rich Indians face in donating.

India’s performance based on the 2016 report by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) shows that the country is still far behind. Charitable giving by individuals constituted 0.34 per cent of our GDP, compared to the US, where it was 1.44 per cent of a much larger GDP. In simple terms the individual contribution to philanthropy in the US is more than 35