About
To contribute towards social and environmental development in India, including support for culture, heritage and the arts.
HCL Foundation is the corporate social-responsibility arm of the technology company HCLTech, working on urban and rural development, environment, education and health across India. Within the wider philanthropic ecosystem associated with the Nadar family, whose members have been among India's most significant art patrons through the Shiv Nadar Foundation and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, HCL and its associated bodies have supported cultural and heritage initiatives alongside their large development programmes.
HCL Foundation developed its work primarily around community and environmental development, while the wider Nadar-family philanthropy, led by figures such as Kiran Nadar and Roshni Nadar Malhotra through the Shiv Nadar Foundation, became a major force in Indian art patronage, most visibly through the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. Together this ecosystem represents one of the most significant contributions of the Indian technology sector to culture and the arts.
Founding & Leadership
HCL Foundation was established in 2011 as the CSR arm of HCL Technologies Limited (HCLTech), which was co-founded by Shiv Nadar in 1976. Nadar, born in 1945 in Tamil Nadu, founded HCL with Rs 1,87,000 and a small group of colleagues, building it into a $14.7 billion global technology enterprise with over 227,000 professionals in 60 countries. He is credited as a pioneer of India's computing and IT industry. Nadar stepped down as Chairman of HCLTech in 2021, handing over the chairmanship to his daughter Roshni Nadar Malhotra. While Nadar's broader philanthropic ambitions are channelled through the separate Shiv Nadar Foundation (which funds KNMA, SSN College, and Shiv Nadar University), HCL Foundation was set up to execute HCLTech's statutory 2% CSR mandate, focusing on livelihoods, education, health, and environment rather than arts or heritage.
Statutory CSR from HCLTech; open-call competitive grant (unusual among peer funders, most of which self-identify projects)
HCLTech CSR Board Committee (chaired by Roshni Nadar Malhotra); Executive leadership under Director Dr Nidhi Pundhir
Leadership & Trustees
Initiatives & Portfolio
Digital marketplace programme connecting artisan communities including weavers, craft makers and folk artists to markets. Supports livelihood alongside cultural preservation.
Support for heritage site restoration and conservation in communities where HCL operates.
Community programmes supporting tribal and folk art practitioners in HCL's operational regions.
A separate HCL entity supporting classical and contemporary music concerts and cultural events. See the HCL Concerts institution profile for detail.
Cultural Funding
Cultural verticals
Impact & Metrics
Partnerships & Network
Government partners
Funders & patrons
Credentials & Compliance
CSR-eligible · Schedule VII(v) (crafts/livelihood touch-point only)
HCLTech CSR expenditure publicly disclosed in Annual Report under Section 135 of Companies Act. HCLTech Grant is an open-call competitive programme, unusual among peer CSR funders. No FCRA registration confirmed (operates domestically).
Statutory CSR of HCLTech.
Recognition
One of India's largest corporate CSR bodies (₹1,680 cr cumulative); the open-call HCLTech Grant is a benchmark for transparent corporate grant-making.
HCL and its associated Nadar-family philanthropy represent one of the most significant contributions of India's technology sector to culture, most notably through support connected to the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.
[Atlas Perspective] Profiled as an Institution with the role of Funder. HCL Foundation and the wider Nadar-family philanthropy support development and, through associated bodies, culture and the arts, connecting to the arts ecosystem. Some cultural-funding specifics sit within associated entities such as the Shiv Nadar Foundation.