AMM Foundation - A Century of Service
Welcome to interactive presentation, created with Publuu. Enjoy the reading!
AMM Foundation
Sriram V
A Century of Service
The AMM Foundation is an autonomous
charitable trust known for its community
friendly initiatives in the domains of
Education, Healthcare and Special Projects.
The Foundation is the CSR arm of the
Murugappa Group—the well-known Indian
business conglomerate. Currently, the
Foundation manages 5 hospitals, 4 schools and
1 polytechnic college. It also supports initiatives
in research, medical and educational outreach
programmes, environment and sports.
The origins of the Foundation can be traced to
1924 when the AMM Hospital was set up in
Pallathur by Dewan Bahadur AMM Murugappa
Chettiar, the founder of the Murugappa Group.
Since then, his sons, and his descendants
have carefully tended to the growth of the
Foundation even as they have taken care of the
growth of the business. Arm in arm with the
expansion of the latter, the former has grown,
expanding its geographical and functional
footprint. Today, brimming with new ideas
in keeping with a changed world, the
Foundation completes a century and looks
forward to the future.
This book is a chronicle of the activities of
the AMM Foundation in its first century
of existence.
Sriram V
AMM Foundation
A Century of Service
iii
AMM Foundation - A Century of Service
iv
AMM Foundation - A Century of Service
AMM FOUNDA
Foreword vii
Author’s Note ix
INTRODUCTION
1. Magamai: The Art of Giving 7
2. The Beginnings of a Business Conglomerate 15
3. The Foundations of the Foundation 23
HEALTHCARE
4. The ‘Oru-Ruba Hospital’ 39
5. A Healthcare Haven in the Suburbs 51
6. From Kadayalumoodu to Kakinada: Spreading Healthcare 63
7. Driving Healthcare into Villages 77
EDUCATION
8. Skills for India, Jobs for Indians 93
9. The Transformative Power of Education 107
10. Modern Schooling for a Changing India 121
11. The Wind Under Their Wings 135
12. ‘Can we experiment?’ 147
RESEARCH
13. Research. Invent. Repeat. 163
SPORTS
14. Dreams on the Field 179
NANNEER
15. Bringing Back the Water 195
16. Looking Ahead 205
Bibliography 209
Contents
FOUNDATION
AMM Foundation - A Century of Service
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar Higher Secondary School
Vellayan Chettiar Higher Secondary School
TI School
AMM School
Murugappa Polytechnic College
HEALTHCARE INSTITUTIONS
AMM Hospital
Sir Ivan Stedeford Hospital
Valliammai Achi Hospital
AMM Arunachalam Hospital
Coromandel Hospital
PROJECTS
Murugappa Scholars
Murugappa Youth Football Academy
Mobile Health Van
Murugappa Science Project
Nanneer
AMM FOUNDATION
vii
Foreword
s a third-generation member of the Murugappa family,
the family’s and the Group’s enduring commitment to
philanthropy has been a consistent presence in my life.
My grandfather, Dewan Bahadur AMM Murugappa Chettiar,
and other elders, all lived the principles of serving the community
alongside the pursuit of profit. Observing them embody these
cherished values profoundly influenced me and subsequent
generations.
As the Murugappa businesses grew, social responsibility became
embedded as one of the Five Lights, the articulated values of
the Group. “We believe we can help make a difference to the
environment and change lives for the better. We will do this in
a manner that befits our size and also reflects our humility,” is
how we define it.
The very essence of the AMM Foundation’s endeavours stems
from these principles, and our daily efforts are dedicated to
upholding them. I deem it my good fortune to preside over the Foundation as it celebrates its centenary year.
At the Foundation, and in the Group, we say and believe that our work should be felt, not heard. The true
protagonists in our story are the beneficiaries of our work. While we continue to subscribe to the notion
that our contributions should speak for themselves, the growing emphasis on corporate social responsibility
prompted us to document our initiatives across various fields.
viii
AMM Foundation - A Century of Service
A century of service seems the perfect time to speak about the Foundation’s efforts in several fields. This book
is also a tribute to the dedicated efforts of over a thousand Foundation employees, who work passionately
to meet the requirements of those we aim to benefit. The following pages explore the Foundation’s history,
notable contributions to education and healthcare, and enduring positive impact this work has had on
diverse communities.
We are delighted to have enlisted the expertise of Sriram V to write our story. A historian, an entrepreneur,
and a heritage activist, Sriram has a portfolio of over twenty books on diverse institutions. He has also worked
extensively with the late historian S Muthiah, who wrote the biography of AMM Arunachalam, my father.
With his team—designer Malvika Mehra and photographer Vinay Aravind—Sriram has brought to life the
Foundation’s many facets, capturing the spirit of what we do.
The AMM Foundation has evolved from establishing and running institutions to forming partnerships with
individuals and organisations. This reflects our commitment to expanding our reach and impact, in keeping
with the evolution of the landscape of philanthropy in India. I am confident that future generations of the
Murugappa family, and executives of the Group will build upon this legacy.
M A Alagappan
Managing Trustee
AMM Foundation
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227