India CSR News Network
MUMBAI: Vijay Chadda is the Chief Executive Officer of Bharti Foundation, the development arm of Bharti Enterprises, one of India’s leading business groups with interests in telecom, agri business, financial services, retail, realty, and communication & media devices.
Bharti Foundation was set up in 2000 with a vision ‘to help underprivileged children and young people of our country realize their potential’. The Satya Bharti School Program was launched as its flagship initiative, aiming to provide quality education, free of cost, to underprivileged children in rural India, with a special focus on the girl child. Continuing on the tradition of contributing towards the nation’s agenda, the Foundation has recently announced ‘Satya Bharti Abhiyan’, an initiative to improve rural household sanitation facilities.
He has led the development of the organization and its education programs at primary, elementary and senior secondary standards. Through his experience, clear vision and strategic thinking, he has also been able to establish a successful and replicable model of Public Private Partnership.
The Satya Bharti School Program provides free quality education to over 42,000 (As of April 2016) [Source: Bharti Foundation] children from marginalized communities in rural areas, through its 254 schools (249 primary/elementary and five senior secondary schools) across six Indian states.
Under Vijay’s leadership, learnings and best practices of the Satya Bharti School Program have been taken to the Government schools, under the aegis of the Quality Support Program, to improve the overall quality of the schooling experience. He has guided the organization to broaden its scope from running its own schools to engaging deeply with the Government and mentoring Government schools to enhance the quality of education through need-based interventions.
In an endeavour to constantly expand Bharti Foundation’s horizons and impact on education, Vijay has led the organisation to participate in a prestigious international initiative through the Satya Bharti Learning Centres Program. Under this, Bharti Foundation has joined hands with Educate a Child, a new global initiative launched by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Doha, Qatar, to bring out of school children back into schools and ensure continued quality education for children. Bharti Foundation has been chosen as one its four global strategic partners.
He is spearheading the ‘Satya Bharti Abhiyan’ initiative, which is under implementation in the focus area of rural Ludhiana. Through this initiative the Foundation aims to improve rural household sanitation facilities and build toilets for girls in government schools in the villages of Ludhiana, where no such facility exists. Till now over 13,000* Individual toilets have been handed over to beneficiaries, and 14 girls’ toilets have been built in government schools in the villages of Ludhiana.
Vijay has over forty years of professional experience in different fields. He has served in the Indian Army for twenty years and has headed some of the leading corporates in the travel and hospitality industry. It was his innate desire to contribute to society in a meaningful and substantive way that drew him from the corporate world to the Foundation. His army background has inspired many processes and events to inculcate a sense of patriotism and integrity within the school program.
A graduate from the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, Pune, India and the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College Toronto, Canada; Vijay has also completed his M.Sc. in Defence Studies from Madras University.
Vijay has served on the board of significant Travel and Tourism Associations and is a part of various National Committees in the area of Education, Skill Development and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). He has represented the organization at various renowned national forums. Vijay is a member of the India – Malaysia CEOs Forum (CII) and is also on the Advisory Committee of leading schools and educational institutions.
