HCL founder Shiv Nadar has recently announced one of the biggest philanthropic initiatives in the Indian society. The IT czar has donated close to Rs 580 crore he earned by selling his 2.5 per cent stake in the company owned by him and his family.

While the businessman raised the whopping funds via the sale of a stake of about 2.5 per cent in software firm HCL Technologies in block deals through HCL Corporation, the money will be used for education initiatives across the country under the Shiv Nadar Foundation.

According to a study by Bain & Co, charitable giving in the Indian market are close to around $7.5 billion (Rs 3,487.12 crore) for the year 2009 and the amount donated by Nadar is surely huge.

It is to be mentioned here that the Tech Mahindra Managing Director Vineet Nayyar donated a third of his shares in the company, worth over Rs 30 crore a few months ago.

In fact, names like Azim Premji, Narayana Murthy, and Nandan Nilekani have also spent millions in the Indian market for the benefit of the society and the process is even on today.