The Piramal Foundation

The Ajay G. Piramal Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation that is in search of solutions to India's most pressing challenges.

Through the pursuit of practical innovations for India's development, The Piramal Foundation aims to create replicable solutions to some of our nation's most pressing challenges.  Our method is based on a belief that talented young people, challenged to address some of our country's most common development issues, will find innovative solutions that are relevant, cost-effective, and applicable to the nation at large.   

(1) Democratizing Healthcare - making better health accessible to more people than ever before (see Piramal Prize, Piramal E-Swasthya, and Piramal Water).

(2) Engaging Young People - giving talented young professionals real opportunities to contribute to national progress (see Piramal Fellowship for Sustainable Business, Piramal Gandhi Fellowship, Grassroots Development Laboratory) 

(3) Improving Education - finding systemic solutions for the delivery of quality education (see Piramal Gandhi Fellowship and beneficiaries including: Kaivalya Education Foundation, Pratham) 

(4) Rural Employability - creating jobs and providing skills to make the other India an attractive environment (see Piramal E-Swasthya, Piramal Water, Source For Change, Grassroots Development Laboratory) 

(5) Sustainable Solutions - patient resources to create for-profit solutions that drive scale, quality, and unprecedented reach (see Piramal Prize, Piramal E-Swasthya, Piramal Water, Source For Change).

Established in 2006, the Piramal Foundation started by establishing a "Grassroots Development Laboratory" in the ancestral town of the Piramal family: Bagar, Rajasthan.   The GDL's mandate, much like the research and development centers for industrial innovations, is to find solutions to the toughest questions in the development of rural India.   The GDL team works only on issues of national relevance, applying different ideas through innovative trials in a single district.  GDL projects have given rise to Piramal Foundation initiatives such as Piramal Water (Sarvajal), Source for Change, Bagar Employment Institute, Mobile Naukri, Bagar Entrepreneurship Initiative, Bagar Employment Exchange and external initiatives such as Teach For India.

As part of our commitment to preparing India's emerging generation for leadership, the foundation continues to support and grow programs such as the Piramal Gandhi Fellowship (to work directly with rural government school principals on delivery of quality education) and the Piramal Fellowship for Sustainable Business (to encourage future business leaders to develop a foundation in impact-oriented business models).