Indian-Americans, a community that has a combined annual income of a whopping $67.4 billion, can play a key role in philanthropy activities in India that could dwarf official U.S. foreign aid to India by 10 times, according to new research, writes Lalit K. Jha. <\/b>(#IndianAmerican, #Siliconeer, #TiE, #TiESV)<\/p>\n
\n
The donations could be to the tune of $1.2 billion per annum, said a report published in ‘Impact India’ – a magazine for philanthropists and social innovators targeting India published jointly by the Bridgespan Group, Dasra, and Stanford Social Innovation Review – that also put the “combined annual discretionary income of Americans of Indian origin” at $67.4 billion.<\/p>\n
The growing Indian diaspora settled in America totals over 1.9 million, the report said, adding that there are another 1.6 million Americans who report having Indian ancestry.<\/p>\n
“If their philanthropic contributions were consistent with those of other U.S. households in similar income brackets, and if they directed 40 percent of their philanthropic giving to India, $1.2 billion per year would flow from Indian diaspora donors to Indian causes,” the report said.<\/p>\n
This sum would dwarf official U.S. foreign aid to India ($116.4 million in fiscal year 2014).<\/p>\n
What’s more, it would represent more than half the entire amount of annual official development aid received by India from all countries – $2.2 billion, on average, from 2005 through 2013.<\/p>\n
Noting that Indian Americans are donating more than ever before to support broad-based social change aimed at reducing India’s inequities, it said the potential for impact is great, but so are the challenges.<\/p>\n
According to the report, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration seems particularly attuned to the upside potential for financial and non-financial support from the Indian American diaspora.<\/p>\n
His focus on bilateral India-U.S. initiatives may be an indicator of his openness to connect with U.S. constituencies, including Indian Americans, who could contribute meaningfully to India’s development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Indian-Americans, a community that has a combined annual income of a whopping $67.4 billion, can play a key role in philanthropy activities in India that could dwarf official U.S. foreign aid to India by 10 times, according to new research, writes Lalit K. Jha. (#IndianAmerican, #Siliconeer, #TiE, #TiESV) The donations could be to the tune…<\/p>\n