Member Profile: Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT)

Drinking Water and Sanitation based initiative of Sir Ratan Tata Trust

Providing potable water and promoting sanitation in order to enhance the health of rural communities forms an integral part of the Trust’s grant making efforts within Himmothan Pariyojana and Kharash Vistarotthan Yojana (KVY), flagship initiatives under the Rural Livelihoods and Communities (RLC) portfolio of the Trust. The former addresses rural development initiatives within Himalayan conditions, whilst the latter focuses on mitigating the ill-effects arising through increasing salinity in the coastal areas of Gujarat.

UTTARAKHAND: Improving community health through drinking water supply and sanitation is one of the key focus areas within Himmothan Pariyojana and the Trust has supported several projects within this initiative since 2002.

GUJARAT: The ongoing field programmes within KVY are broadly divided into four groups of interventions, amongst which, securing access to safe drinking water for the rural communities plays a major role. The Trust is currently supporting two major projects under this focus area.

Set up in 1919, a year after the untimely demise of Sir Ratan Tata at the age of 47, the Sir Ratan Tata Trust is one of the oldest philanthropic institutions in India, and has played a pioneering role in changing the traditional ideas of charity and introducing the concept of philanthropy. Through its grant making, the Trust supports efforts in the development of society, through institutional grants in areas of Education, Health, Arts & Culture, Enhancing Civil Society & Governance and Rural Livelihoods & Communities. Besides institutional grants, the Trust also makes individual grants for education and medical relief. Since inception, the Trust has disbursed over Rs. 5.58 billion to various institutions in the above mentioned themes, besides individuals. The uniqueness of the Trust is characterized by its practice of giving grants to individuals and organisations engaged in developmental and creative activities, rather than undertaking such activities on its own.

Located at Bombay House, in Bombay, the Trust is today an embodiment of the humane ideals of its founder, Sir Ratan Tata, and his desire to contribute to the development of India. It has pursued the goal of constructive philanthropy by supporting institutional solutions to social problems and enhancing human capabilities to overcome them.