Infosys to spend $5 mn on CSR in US

Infosys Ltd. Tuesday announced a $5-million annual outlay for its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in the US through its not-for-profit trust Infosys Foundation.

"We will focus on making computer science education accessible to communities in the Americas," the software major said in a statement here.

The company appointed Sudha Murthy, Vandana Sikka and Sandeep Dadlani as trustees of the foundation in the US.

"The foundation has always supported the cause of promoting quality education and empowering individuals. I am confident that we will leverage its experience in India to impart technical education to enhance employability in the US," Sudha Murthy said on the occasion.

Sudha Murthy is the wife of Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy and Vandana Sikka is the spouse of new chief executive Vishal Sikka, who assumed office Aug 1.

"Through our foundation in the US, we want to ensure that lack of resources, prior skills and STEM proficiency are no longer barriers for individuals, in the Americas, seeking to advance their computing skills," said Vandana Sikka, who is also chairperson of the foundation in the US.

STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

From enabling computer education, to supporting research in computer science and empowering adults with IT training that enhances their employability, the foundation will help bring computing literacy to people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

"Computing literacy is becoming increasingly important for an average person to be more productive and valuable to the economy, while contributing to our future," Vandana Sikka added.

Set up with a corpus of Rs.100 crore ($16 million), contributed by the IT firm, its trustees and co-founders in 2009, the foundation supports many programmes in India, aimed at alleviating hunger, promoting education, improving health, assisting rural development, supporting arts and helping destitutes.

"We plan to deploy about $40 million (Rs.254 crore) towards our various CSR initiatives in India during this fiscal (2014-15)," the foundation said in a statement.