Dr Reddys Seeks To Cure Poverty

Kallam Anji Reddy, son of a turmeric farmer from the rich Krishna delta, has often been described as the "doctor in search of patents". But few realise that while pursuing his vision to turn his Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (DRL) into a discovery-led global pharmaceutical company, Anji Reddy has also stepped off the beaten track to set a new paradigm in business-government-citizen partnership to fight poverty.

His multi crore Foundation for Human and Social Development is a striking example of what a successful corporate can do for society.

The foundation started not so long ago, in 1996, as an innovative experiment in removing poverty, targeted at economically vulnerable children, young people and women who run households. In six years it has grown impressively in terms of its development philosophy, financial size and impact.

 

So much so that now it is attracting support from the best national and international development organisations. The foundation has so far received Rs 7 crore from DRL to meet the needs of core cost and seed support. But perhaps more importantly, development organisations have put in another Rs 5 crore for direct programme costs. The latter would not have come had not the foundation's work been well crafted and executed. This underlines how companies can leverage their own resources and management skills to garner more sources.

Two of the foundation's flagship programmes