INDIACSR News Network
NEW DELHI: Lt Gen Rajender Singh (Retd), is the CEO of DLF Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the DLF Group. Before joining the DLF Foundation in 2009, he was heading the largest arm of the Indian Army as the Director General of Infantry. It was his inbuilt desire and longing to use his expertise and experience for the upliftment of the marginalized societies that made him join the development sector after an extremely distinguished career in the army spanning 40 years.
As a social innovator, Lt Gen Singh wth his strategic vision, social entrepreneurship expertise has been instrumental in expanding the programmes of DLF Foundation from its infancy stage in 2009, to a Foundation with large scale social interventions. Under his patronage CSR initiatives of the DLF were duly recognised when they were conferred the prestigious Golden Peacock Award 2010 for CSR. One of their major programmes relates to Skill Development which aims to train and help employ 1 Million youths pan India in next 10 years by opening 250 Skill Development Centres to impart job linked training. DLF Foundation is also running and supporting 63 schools for the underprivileged in, rural areas of Rajasthan and Haryana.
It has also started a comprehensive village cluster development programme which aims to carry out holistic development of the villages. Besides this, the Foundation has also launched a very innovative Nurturing Talent Programme which targets bright slum dwellers and rural under privileged students and handholds them right from 6th standard to professional colleges.
Before joining the Foundation in 2009, Lt Gen Singh was heading the largest arm of the Indian Army as the Director General of Infantry. A highly decorated professional soldier, who is a recipient of PVSM (Country’s highest distinguished service award) and many other awards for acts of bravery and distinguished services. He was appointed the Force Commander of the UN Peace Keeping Forces in Ethiopia & Eritrea from 2004 to 2006 (One of the only 14 Indians to be given this honour by the UN ever since Independence).
During his tenure, the UN launched a number of developmental programmes for the assistance of war torn community and this campaign was greatly appreciated in the region and helped a great deal in rebuilding lives of the population in the war torn region. A known scholar on security and developmental issues, he is on the Guest Faculty of many institutes and has been delivering talks on issues relating to Peace & Security, Peacekeeping, Leadership and Social Sector issues in a number of forums.
