DUBAI (Khaleej Times), December 13, 2007:A UAE-based business group, headed by a Forbes billionaire, has set a new benchmark in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by adopting two backward panchayats in India for overall development.
P.N.C. Menon, with an estimated networth of $1.3 billion, and has a place on the Forbes’ magazine 2007 super-wealthy list, is to provide healthcare, education, water and employment to 80,000 people of the panchayats in Palakkad, Kerala. Menon, now an Omani national, and originally from Kerala, is Chairman of the Dubai-headquartered Sobha Developers Group.
Menon said he wanted to transform these two panchayats, where some of the poorest families in India live. Major social projects of the Trust include Sobha Hermitage, a home with excellent amenities for senior citizens, widows and children; Sobha Health Care, a primary healthcare centre with high quality amenities; Sobha Academy, an exclusive educational institution for the underprivileged children and social rehabilitation scheme for the people of two backward panchayats.
By Issac John
