Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) came into being in 1919 with a sum of Indian currency 8 million. It is under the
ownership
Ownership is the state or fact of legal possession and control over property, which may be any asset, tangible or intangible. Ownership can involve multiple rights, collectively referred to as title, which may be separated and held by different ...
of
Ratan Tata
Ratan Naval Tata, GBE (born 28 December 1937) is an Indian industrialist and former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also the chairman of the Tata Group from 1990 to 2012, serving also as interim chairman from October 2016 through February 2017. ...
. Established in accordance with the will of
Sir Ratanji Tata, the Trust is now one of the oldest grant bestowing foundations in India.
The Trust has, for about a century, been instrumental in development processes, providing grants to institutions in the areas of rural livelihoods and communities, education, health, enhancing civil society and governance and arts, crafts and culture.
The Trust provides grants and partner with organisations that engage in innovative and sustainable initiatives and with the potential to make a visible difference. It also provides grants for endowments, has a separate programme for small grants and gives grants to individuals for education and medical relief.
SRTT is headed by Arun Pandhi (chief development manager and overall in charge of all programmes) and B. S. Taraporevala (secretary and chief accountant and overall in charge of all administrative and financial matters)
The grants offered by the Trust can be broadly classified as:
* Institutional grants
* Endowment grants
* Small grants
* Individual grants
Institutional grants
The bulk of these grants are in the areas of rural livelihoods and communities and
education. Within rural livelihoods and communities the Trust focuses on key initiatives within
two broad areas:
* Land and water development
*
Microfinance
Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...
Educational grants
This programme is currently headed by Amrita Patwardhan.
* Reforming elementary education
* Nurturing education as a discipline
*
Alternative education
Alternative education encompasses many pedagogical approaches differing from mainstream pedagogy. Such alternative learning environments may be found within state, charter, and independent schools as well as home-based learning environments. ...
* Higher education
Health grants
This programme is currently headed by Dr. Vikram Gupta.
* Rural health programmes
* Specialised healthcare services
* Health resources and health systems
* Clinical establishment
* Donate poor patients taking treatment in private hospitals.
Grants for enhancing civil society and governance
This programme is currently headed by Vartika Jaini.
* Citizenship and participation
*
Human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
and governance
* Governance in civil society
Arts, crafts, and culture
Sustaining livelihoods in performing arts
Under this sub-theme, the Trust focuses on revival of the performing arts with a strong emphasis on the livelihoods of performing artists. This will be achieved through support to:
* Promotion of networks of artist communities
* Encouragement of collective learning and self-help
* Cultivating markets and audiences
* Enhancing the artists ability to attract financial support and increased performance avenues
Crafts-based livelihoods initiatives
Through this new sub-theme, the SRTT aim to ensure sustenance of crafts and craft communities. The Trust looks to support initiatives that:
* Provide catalytic training for Indian craft artisans
* Ensure the craft artisans attain financial security and the Indian
crafts
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...
gain market visibility
* Have potential scaling-up possibilities that can impact large artisan livelihoods
Conservation and digitization
Under this sub-theme, SRTT primarily supports projects to devise strategies by which to conserve national art treasures and enhance public use and access to endangered cultural heritage.
Community media and livelihoods
The Trust supports community based media projects that have the potential to add value to the quality of life of communities, especially in the rural areas.
Endowment grants
The Trust has developed and used endowments to sustain mission-driven institutions that influence positive change in society. It has a formal endowment strategy with well-set norms and clearly defined criteria that enable it to identify and appraise deserving institutions. The endowment portfolio includes Professional Assistance for Development Action (New Delhi), National Council of Applied Economic Research (New Delhi), Child Relief and You (
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
), Centre for Science and Environment (New Delhi) and Children's Book Trust (New Delhi).
Emergency grants
Tata Sons
Tata Sons Private Limited is the parent company of the Tata Group and holds the bulk of shareholding in the Tata group of companies including their land holdings across India, tea estates and steel plants. It is a privately owned conglomerate of ...
and
Ratan Tata
Ratan Naval Tata, GBE (born 28 December 1937) is an Indian industrialist and former chairman of Tata Sons. He was also the chairman of the Tata Group from 1990 to 2012, serving also as interim chairman from October 2016 through February 2017. ...
donated 1,500 crore to the
PM CARES Fund
The Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) was created on 27 March 2020, following the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Although it is named for the Prime Minister of India, and uses the State Em ...
to fight against the
COVID-19 pandemic in India
The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...
.
Small grants
The Sir Ratan Tata Small Grant Programme (SGP) was launched in 1998–99. These grants cater to the needs of small, welfare-oriented organisations, and those needing support to implement innovative ideas. It was later amended to accommodate the worthy larger organisations that needed funding for strategic planning, focused research activities, or strengthening internal systems.
SRTT small grants programme
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Individual grants
The Individual Grants Programme of the Trust provides financial help for:
* Meeting medical contingencies
* Scholars pursuing higher education in India and assistance for education-related overseas travel.
References
External links
{{Authority control
Charities based in India
Tata institutions