In the year 2019, before COVID-19 changed the world order, India ranked 129 of 189 countries in United Nations Human Development Index, moving one notch up from last year according to the UN Human Development Index (HDI). HDI measures key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. Over the last couple of years India took steady measures to expand its social policy measures and economic output, however, the results are still far from average. And with the existing COVID-19 situation, the marginalised section of the society is being pushed to the edge. While this might be true to many countries battling the pandemic crisis, India faces the double challenge of not only containing the virus but sustainably sustaining an economy made of more than one billion people.
To understand why giving is important in India, one needs to understand the socio-economic landscape and its demography. We are a country of over 1 billion people, a size greater than some of the biggest economies of the world. According to a Morgan Stanley report, India has one of the largest Gen Y population in the world, making up for 46% of the country’s workforce. Despite this buoyant force, “73% of the wealth generated in 2017 went to the richest 1%, while 67 million Indians who comprise the poorest half of the population saw only a 1% increase in their wealth, according to another report published by Oxfam. Although India has been enjoying economic prosperity the socio-economic disparities are widening with each day, not only in terms of the concentration of wealth but also pay parity, access to health care, mortality rate etc. India still spends a little over than 1% of its GDP on Health Care, which is way less compared to the average of the BRICS nations and OECD. The pandemic has accentuated this fragility of the public health care system in India.
These are not just bottlenecks but the reality of India. And in order to overcome these blocks of inequalities, there has to be a sustained effort from various stakeholders across the board; the civil society organisations have a big role to play.
India has always been a charitable nation. Owing to an increase in disposable income, the country has experienced a forward trajectory in terms of giving. But even then NGOs are facing challenges both in funding as well as implementing programmes. This grim reality is a reason enough to channelise funds to charitable causes, but there are also practical benefits that a donor can enjoy.
1. Giving is Tax-Saving: Section 80-G of the Income Tax Act in India allows donations made to specified charitable institutions like IndiaDonates, to be deducted from the taxpayer's gross total income before arriving at taxable income. As of February 2020, the Act has been amended to ensure more transparency on the part of the NGOs.
2. Ease of Giving: Even small and mid-sized NGO’s in India have now moved or slowly moving towards digital transactions and e-wallets. Not only has this brought about ease of donation but can also be seen as a contributing factor to increase in charity-giving in India. CAF’s India Giving Report of 2020 shows that giving to charity has risen from 82% in 2018 to 84% in 2019. While 2018 saw 68% of Indians contributing to charity using cash, the number has since seen a significant decline to settle at 54%. Digital transactions and e-wallets, on the other hand, is experiencing an increase from 20% in 2018 to 28% in 2019.
3. Transparency: Transparency propels one to give. India’s Giving Report of 2019 states that 38% of Indians would be motivated to donate more if they knew where their money was being utilized. New-age digital platforms provide ready access to data and information about the campaigns. Impact reports and performance indicators serve as a valuable source of information. In addition, over the years, statutory compliance requirements have increased manifold. Such disclosure requirements, even though argued as burdensome, contributes significantly to maintaining transparency.
4. Support the cause of your choice: As of 2019, India has over 3.4 million NGO’s. These NGO’s work in a variety of fields from disaster relief to advocacy for the most marginalised communities in India. Be it education for all, shelter for the homeless or food for the needy. Owing to the plethora of options, the donor has the freedom to choose the cause they wish to support that will help decrease the inequality between the haves and the have-nots, thereby making a significant change in the overall development of India.
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As a country so deeply entrenched in the ‘culture of giving’ as passed down through generations, it becomes even more imperative that giving to the poor and needy be more than just mere lip service, but something that is deeply acted upon by every individual. One can only ‘experience’ the joy of giving by actualizing it.
