CORPORATE RICHES AID SPORTS EXCELLENCE

Philanthropists are adopting 'sports for development' model as part of their social sector commitments.

- Ajita Shashidhar

PARTH JINDAL, heir to the $23 billion JSW Group and founder of JSW Sport, is a co-franchisee of Indian Premier League’s franchise Delhi Capitals. He also owns football club Bengaluru FC as well as PKL’s kabaddi team Haryana Steelers. But the sports enthusiast, who has represented Maharashtra in squash, is most passionate about his not-for-profit Olympic training institute Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS) in Vijaynagar (Karnataka). The academy, launched in 2017, has trained Olympians Sakshi Malik, Neeraj Chopra and Bajrang Punia and is currently grooming 200 athletes. Jindal wants to spot talent and train them to ensure that India joins the league of top five sporting nations.

Sports For Development, a buzzword in countries such as U.K., Australia and Canada, is fast gaining momentum among Indian corporate philanthropists. Reliance, JSW and Tata Group are leading the pack but there are numerous others as well making an impact at the grassroots.

According to the 2023 edition of the Sports And CSR Report by social sector legal firm Pacta and non-for-profit company Sports And Society Accelerator, sports philanthropy accounts for just 1% of CSR spending in India. However, between FY14 and FY21, it has risen 27% to ₹242 crore. In FY21, Reliance was the biggest spender (₹49 crore). Kotak Mahindra spent ₹17 crore, followed by Tata Steel, which spent ₹16 crore. Jindal Steel (JSW has till date spent ₹200 crore) and Glenmark Pharma spent ₹5 crore each, says the report.