Our Journey
Having completed 22 years of operations in 2022, Bharti Airtel Foundation has evolved in scale, depth as well as its approach. Starting as a grant-making organization for the initial few years, the Foundation implemented its own program, retaining education as its key focus to help underprivileged children realise their true potential.
2000-01
- Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management set up in partnership with Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
- Sponsorship to visually impaired children through the National Association for the Blind (NAB).
2001-02
- Support to school run by Kalakar Trust for education, computer centre and mid-day meal.
- Support to Rajiv Gandhi Foundation for one Motorized Triwheelers (MTW) for orthopedically impaired people.
- Monetary Donation towards the infrastructural costs of Vishwambar Dispensary, providing free homeopathic treatment and medicines to patients.
- Support to Udayan Care, an NGO working with orphaned, abandoned and abused children.
- Adopted the Bharti Scholarship Scheme, being run by Bharti Enterprises, to enable meritorious but financially weak students to pursue and complete higher education.
2002-03
- Bharti Centre for Entrepreneurial Initiatives (EDI, Ahmedabad) established jointly by Bharti Airtel Foundation and Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India to encourage and facilitate the youth to become entrepreneurs.
- Establishment of a “Bharti Chair in Telecommunication” at the Institute of Engineering and Technology, Punjab University, in memory of Late Shri Sat Paul Mittal.
- Support towards the setting up of the Bharti Library at the Institute of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE), Delhi.
2003-04
- Mid-Day Meal Program initiated in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh along with Akshaya Patra Foundation, currently catering to 171,624 children.
- Support to Literacy India’s ‘Pathshala’ initiative, providing education to out-of-school children.
- Support to Information Technology Institute for the Tribes of India (ITITI), an institute working with tribal children in Dehradun to help them set up a computer centre.
- Made a donation for two scholarships in perpetuity to Him Jyoti Foundation, the scholarship being awarded each year to two deserving students from economically weak families.
- Support to cancer patients through the Cancer patient Aid Association.
- Support to Sanjivini, a non-profit voluntary organization working in the field of mental health.
- Contributions towards Sapnaa, a social voluntary organization to provide computer training to the destitute and disabled.
- Support to set up the Chintan-Bharti Waste Resource Centre, in partnership with Chintan, a leading NGO in waste management.
2004-05
- Partnership with NGOs Pratham, Kalakar Trust and Adarshila to set up Bharti Computer Centres in 26 Schools across Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
- Support to Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust (NSKT) for construction of the Sat Paul Mittal School in Ludhiana, Punjab and the Bharti Centre for Learning, a computer centre in the school and ongoing support to the Sat Paul Mittal Award.
- Set up the first 12 Bharti Library and Activity Centres in Patna, Bihar in partnership with Pratham.
- The CII – Bharti Woman Exemplar Award introduced in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to recognize the extraordinary efforts made by women community workers.
- Sponsored the construction of a new building for the Association for Social Health in India (ASHI), an NGO dedicated to eradicate the exploitation of women and children.
2005-06
- Formal Inauguration of the Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management, IIT Delhi by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, offering M.Tech., MBA, MS (Research) and PhD courses.
- Additional 92, taking the total to 104, Bharti Library and Activity Centres functional across 11 states in partnership with Pratham, Kalakar Trust and Shanti Sadhna Ashram, in government schools/ government recognized schools run by NGOs.
- Support and corpus donation to the India Music Therapy Trust, Mumbai that enables autistic people to express themselves.
2006-07
- Launch of the flagship initiative, the Satya Bharti School Program
- Launch of the Employee Philanthropy Initiative ‘ACT – A Caring Touch’
- Bharti Scholarship and Mentorship Program re-launched at a larger scale in 20 premier higher education institutes in India to support and mentor academically bright students unable to continue education due to financial constraints.
2007-08
- Partnership with Udayan Care to support the Udayan Shalini Fellowship Program to provide scholarships to 50 deserving girls from underprivileged backgrounds.
2008-09
- Bharti Centre of Communication was set up in association with the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay to promote education and research in communication and technology.
2009-10
- Bharti Airtel Foundation launched Satya Bharti Senior Secondary School Program in partnership with the Punjab Govt.
- Set up the first Senior Secondary School at Chogawan in Amritsar.
2010-11
- Satya Bharti Elementary Schools were initiated to provide continuity in education for students studying in class five.
- 50 primary schools upgraded to elementary level (in partnership with Google)
2011-12
- Set up Bharti Institute of Public Policy at the Mohali Campus of Indian School of Business (ISB) to support students in high quality education and research in the field of policy formulation and implementation.
2012-13
- 2012 World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Award – Transforming Education – Awarded by Qatar Foundation.
2013-14
- Satya Bharti Learning Centre program was launched in partnership with Educate a Child (EAC).
- Launched Satya Bharti Quality Support Program that partners with govt. schools in India to enhance overall schooling experience for students and teachers.
2014-15
- Launch of Satya Bharti Abhiyan (Bharti Airtel Foundation’s Sanitation Program) in Ludhiana, Punjab.
2015-16
- Award for ‘Non Profit Organisation of the Year’ and ‘CEO of the Year’ – 2015 Leaders Award – by 24MRC Network.
2016-17
- Satya Bharti Scholarship Scheme launched for students of Satya Bharti Adarsh Senior Secondary School seeking to pursue further studies.
- Program expanded from 39 schools to 323 schools, from four states to seven; adding Jammu and Kashmir, Telangana and Goa and reaching out to more than 1,00,000 students.
2017-18
- Bharti Airtel Foundation partnered with 231 new Government schools across seven states for integrating the Satya Bharti Quality Support Program with the ongoing curriculum.
2018-19
- In 2018-19, the Satya Bharti Quality Support Program expanded to cover 771 government schools in 14 states from 398 schools in 10 states the previous year. The program effectively engaged school leadership of over 9,500 teachers and more than 2,25,000 students.
2019-20
- Bharti Airtel Foundation partnered with 57 new Government schools across seven states, expanding the Program to 804 schools across 14 states.