Bharti

Bharti Foundation contributes over Rs 3 crores for relief operations in flood affected Bihar and Assam

New Delhi, September 10, 2008: Bharti Foundation, the philanthropy arm of Bharti Enterprises that provides free education to thousands of underprivileged children by running and managing schools under the Satya Bharti schools programme, today made a contribution of over Rs 3 crores to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund for supporting the government's relief work in flood affected areas of Bihar and Assam. The cheque was given today to the Hon'ble Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, by Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman of Bharti Enterprises and Co-Chairman, Bharti Foundation.

Mr. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, said, “The recent floods in Bihar and Assam have affected millions of people and the devastation has been truly unfortunate. In this difficult moment for the affected people in the two states, Bharti Foundation would like to support the Government's relief efforts in a humble but meaningful way, by making a contribution to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.”

Thousands of employees from across the Bharti Group had volunteered to donate one day's salary to support the efforts of the Government in undertaking relief measures in the flood affected areas. This amount has been matched in equal by all Bharti companies and Bharti Enterprises.

About Bharti Enterprises
Bharti Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Bharti Enterprises was set up in 2000, with a vision to help underprivileged children and young people of our country realize their potential. For over eight years, the Foundation has been creating and supporting programs that bring about sustainable improvement in the field of education. Bharti Foundation implements education programs in the field of both primary and higher education. Under the Satya Bharti School program, Bharti Foundation will set up 500 Satya Bharti Primary Schools and 50 Senior Secondary cum Vocational Training Schools in villages across India.

The school program is being implemented through two models – the first being Bharti Foundation setting up its own schools in rural areas and the second being a Public Private Partnership model under which the Foundation is adopting Government Primary schools. Currently 161 Satya Bharti Primary Schools are operational across the states of Punjab , Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh with more than 15,000 children and over 560 teachers. By 2010 Bharti Foundation aims to reach out to more than 2,00,000 underprivileged children across the country on an ongoing basis.

In addition to the above, Bharti Foundation has also initiated and set up Bharti Computer Centres and Bharti Library and Activity Centres across the country. In order to provide education and training opportunities to young people and develop future leaders and entrepreneurs, Bharti Foundation has set up the Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management at IIT Delhi and partnered with IIT, Bombay to set up the Bharti Centre for Communication. The Bharti Scholarship and Mentorship program has also been instituted to support academically brilliant students from financially weak backgrounds.