PM lauds techie who gives free rides to poor

An IT professional who allots a few hours of his car time to ferry the poor has won the plaudits of the prime minister. Addressing IT professionals by webcast from here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he read a story about a youth in the IT industry in Bengaluru, who drives his car for a few hours a day to ferry the poor around and even drop them at hospital.

Some autorickshaw drivers also carry a notice behind their vehicles, saying they would give a free ride to the hospital, the prime minister mentioned, adding that the auto driver may be poor, but he is still happy to help those in need. This is the generation of “social start-ups”, he said.

Modi began his interaction with various IT giants by conversing with the Bengaluru-based Infosys Foundation’s chairperson Sudha Murthy, who explained how the 2% compulsory
contribution to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in 2014 helped the foundation contribute Rs 1,200 crore.

Sudha spoke about the various CSR activities involving Infosys employees during the weekend and how some of them even take a sabbatical to dedicate their
time fully for social activities.

The prime minister also spoke with Cisco president Sameer Gharde and his team from Bengaluru about their CSR activities.

Modi launched the smartphone app ‘Self4Society’ with the tagline ‘Main Nahi Hum’ to help IT professionals contribute to the country’s development through CSR programmes.