Allcargo founder Shashi Shetty donates 3% shares to group’s philanthropy arm Avashya Foundation, ET Infra

MUMBAI: Global logistics conglomerate Allcargo Group’s Chairman Shashi Kiran Shetty has donated 3 per cent of his total shareholding to the group’s CSR arm -Avashya Foundation- through internal transfer of shares to provide sharp focus and financial muscle to philanthropic activities.

The transfer of shares happened on Wednesday, valuing the 3 per cent shareholding at Rs 180 crore going by yesterday’s closing price of Allcargo Logistics. Post transfer, Shetty will hold 65 per cent stake in the company.

Shetty’s move to donate shares to philanthropy underscores a growing trend among India’s business tycoons to share their wealth for public welfare activities. In the recent past, businessmen such as Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, HCL founder Shiv Nadar, etc have contributed wealth for various philanthropic activities.

Shetty founded Allcargo Logistics, which is one of India’s top logistics companies. It runs logistics parks, container freight stations, contract logistics, express logistics, air freight and non-vessel owning common carrier (NVOCC) business.

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The stake transfer will help Avashya Foundation in scaling up its existing activities. While strengthening its focus on education, healthcare and environment, the Foundation will constitute a board of advisors for initiating philanthropic work. It is working towards setting up an international school with IB and CBSE curriculum at Borivali in the suburbs of Mumbai by 2025 in association with the Bunts Sangha Mumbai, sources with knowledge of the plan said.

Avashya Foundation has been working in education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. It has implemented flagship projects in education, environment, and healthcare such as Nipun, Disha, Jeevan – coping with Cancer – and Maitree that aim to uplift underprivileged communities. Under Maitree, over 90,000 lives have been impacted through the planting of 1 million trees. The Nipun-Skill Development program inspired by the Government of India’s Skill India Mission has successfully trained over 7,000 young individuals.

As the Chairman of the Board of Governors, Shetty played a key role in transforming the National Institute for Training in Industrial Engineering (NITIE) into Indian Institute of Management, Mumbai (IIM Mumbai) in 2023. Shetty’s goal, according to sources briefed on the plan, is to work towards making the logistics industry more competitive and also contribute towards skill and managerial talent development.

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