VOA英语2010年-Philanthropy Grows Slowly Among India's Weal

An Indian billionaire's pledge to donate nearly $2 billion to fund education programs has raised hopes that more of the country's super-rich will follow his example. Rapidly growing wealth in India contrasts sharply with the widespread poverty in the country.

Software tycoon¹ Azim Premji's decision to transfer shares valued at around $2 billion in his IT company Wipro to a new charitable trust is the largest philanthropic donation by an Indian.

The money will go to a new charitable trust that funds rural education and other development programs. Premji, India's third richest man, said in a statement that he wants to contribute toward building a better society. Nearly one third of India's one point two billion people are illiterate².

The donation has raised hopes that other wealthy Indians will follow in his footsteps.

Experts say Indians have a long culture of giving, but much of it goes to household staff, the immediate³ community or the local temple.

They say a culture of organized, charitable giving by rich Indians and corporations has been slow to develop, even though the number of super-rich is growing rapidly as the economy races ahead.

India has 52 billionaires and over 125,000 millionaires. But philanthropy expert Priya Vishwanath, says barring a handful, large-scale giving has lagged among the wealthy.

"If you consider high-net worth giving either the way it is practiced in the United States, or United Kingdom, I think India has a long way to go....for instance there are serious doubts whether the kind of pledges that Bill Gates or Warren Buffet⁴ have made, whether that kind of giving can actually take place in India," said Vishwanath. "But having said that, the examples of Premji are all encouraging signs of high net-worth individuals engaging with philanthropy."

In India, individual and corporate⁵ donations made up 10 per cent of all charitable giving in 2009, compared to 75 per cent in the United States, according to a study by global consultancy Bains.

Experts say since India's wealth has mostly been created in the past decade, many of the rich may not yet be ready to part with their money. But they say a changing mindset to philanthropy will happen sooner rather than later.

There have been growing calls for India's wealthy to do more for poor people, whose lives have not been touched by the economic boom. Nearly 500 million people live on less than two dollars a day. Millions of children are malnourished and out of school.

1 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

2 illiterate   

adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲

参考例句：

• There are still many illiterate people in our country.在我国还有许多文盲。
• I was an illiterate in the old society,but now I can read.我这个旧社会的文盲，今天也认字了。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 buffet   

n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台

参考例句：

• Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐？
• Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗？

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。