 "Jinal Mehta announcing the donation")
The promoter family of the Torrent Group, valued at Rs 37,600 crore, with interests in pharma and power, has pledged a donation of Rs 5,000 crore over the next five years to the UNM Foundation, named after the Group’s founder UN Mehta. On Sunday, the Mehtas, promoter family of Torrent Group, celebrated the 100th birth anniversary of UN Mehta.
The donation of Rs 5,000 crore would be made over the next five years starting April 1, 2024. The funds will be used for social causes in areas like healthcare, education, ecology, social well-being, and arts and culture.
Recently, several corporate groups have demonstrated their commitment to social causes. On March 22, the Bajaj Group committed Rs 5,000 crore to social impact initiatives over five years with a focus on skill development under ‘Bajaj Beyond’ – the Group’s new identity for all its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and charitable programmes. On March 26, Anand Mahindra, chairman of the Mahindra Group and his family pledged Rs 550 crore over the next five years for Mahindra University (MU) and the Indira Mahindra School of Education in Hyderabad.
Samir Mehta, Chairman of Torrent Group, said the UNM Foundation will utilise the funds for social initiatives that benefit the underprivileged, irrespective of caste, religion, gender, or economic background. The foundation will focus on healthcare, education, environmental protection, social well-being, arts, and culture.
UN Mehta began his career in 1944 as a government servant, working as a medical representative for the pharma company Sandoz from 1945 to 1958. In 1959, he founded Trinity Laboratories with a capital of Rs 25,000. The firm produced specialised medicines. By 1968, he introduced an affordable medicine for mental diseases, challenging multinational corporations.
This led to the establishment of Torrent Laboratories in 1976. Torrent gained recognition for marketing useful drugs at competitive prices. Today, Torrent is a major player in pharmaceuticals and power generation.
In the later part of his life, UN Mehta created the UNM Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation. The Foundation carries out social and philanthropic activities with a focus on community healthcare, education and knowledge enhancement and arts, culture and wellbeing.
Under the Community Healthcare initiative, ‘REACH’ (Reach Each Child) focuses on child health. It offers free comprehensive healthcare services for children. Paediatric camps have screened over 71,000 children aged six months to six years. ‘Jatan’, a well-equipped paediatric centre, was established in 2017 at four industrial locations in Gujarat (Sugen, Dahej, Balasinor, and Indrad). Over 230,000 OPDs were conducted until December 31, 2019, catering to children up to 18 years old.
