Annu Kumar

Dakshana Foundation

Dakshana is a sanskrit word meaning to give or receive a gift. The Dakshana Foundation is a young philanthropic foundation focused on alleviating poverty. Education is the most powerful and enduring weapon to win the battle against poverty. Thus Dakshana is focused on providing world-class educational opportunities to economically and socially disadvantaged gifted children worldwide. Our initial focus is on providing 1-2 years of world-class IIT-JEE (Joint Entrance Exam) coaching to gifted, but impoverished students in rural India. The Dakshana Foundation is a tax-exempt public charitable foundation approved by the IRS in the United States under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Dakshana India Educational Trust is an approved charity by various government entities in India....More Dakshana was founded by Mr. Mohnish Pabrai and his spouse, Ms. Harina Kapoor. Mohnish and Harina believe in recycling most of their estate back to society. Effective giveback is very hard to do. One is forced to confront problems that have defied solutions for decades on end - after tremendous resources and brain power has been directed by them. Billions of humans still do not have the fundamentals of adequate food, shelter, education, healthcare and a sustainable livelihood. To this end, Dakshana's management is pragmatic. We do not believe we can solve the problems of the world. We do, however, believe that we can make a small dent if we approach charitable giveback with a laser-focus and a business mindset.