For new economy industries, 2010 has been a refreshing year. The economy bounced back and export-led companies recovered to post strong results from the gloom and doom of the year ago. Employment, expansion, mergers and acquisitions were back with a bang. 2010 was also the season of gifts, the sort that has unmasked a new face of corporate India.

The year will largely be remembered as a year when corporate bigwigs from the IT industry played Santa Claus?they made endowments to foreign universities, contributed to social causes, and to foundations that work on improving the quality of education in the country.

Corporate philanthropy in India always existed; they did in pockets, in small amounts, largely restricted to a few traditional business houses like the Tatas and the Godrejs. The size of the endowments changed remarkably this year, making the world sit up and take notice. Leading the way was Wipro czar Azim Premji who gifted nearly $2 billion to his foundation. First generation entrepreneurs from Infosys, HCL, Mahindra and Mahindra, MindTree, TCS and Applied Materials among others all made significant contributions during the year.

This could be the beginning of a new trend, corporate watchers feel. It also holds lessons in social responsibility for the vast number of companies who give back little to the systems that helped them grow. According to a report published this year on Philanthropy in India by Bain & Company, individuals and corporations contribute only 10% of total giving in India. A Bain analysis of 30 high-net-worth individuals in India showed that they contribute, on average, just around one-fourth of 1% of their net worth to social and charitable causes.

Much of corporate India is run by family-owned groups. Among the top 40 business groups, about 70% are family-owned or controlled enterprises. It is likely that some families and individuals view corporate responsibility initiatives as extensions of their own giving. And that may curb their interest in making personal donations, the report said.

However, there are exceptions like IT czar Azim Premji. Earlier this month, the chairman of India?s third largest IT services firm Wipro transferred nearly $2 billion worth of equities to a trust for fueling the expansion of Azim Premji Foundation?s social initiatives and kick start the Azim Premji University. Premji announced that he will transfer 213 million equity shares, held by certain entities controlled by him and valued approximately at Rs 8,846 crore, to an irrevocable trust. The Foundation, started in 2001, has worked on the quality of education with various state governments focusing on the underprivileged. The University is being seen as the foundation?s next growth phase.

The endowment will serve the long term financial commitment required for scaling the Foundation?s activities. ?The organisation would significantly increase its field activities. Its programmes have already touched over 25,000 schools and 2.5 million children,? says Anurag Behar, co-chief executive, Azim Premji Foundation.

Premji University, when it rolls out next year in Bangalore, is aiming to create education experts and people who can design education policy for systemic reforms in the sector. Starting with about 250 odd seats in mid-2011, the university will offer post-graduate and post-doctoral programmes? Masters in Education Policy, Masters in Assessment Methods, Masters in Philosophy of Education and M.Phil in the Philosophy of Education among others.

Infosys Foundation has been working with partners and organisations for the underprivileged sections of the society. The Foundation focuses on four key areas of rehabilitation and rural uplift, learning and education, healthcare, arts and culture. The grant made by Infosys Technologies to the foundation this year amounted to Rs 31 crore.

Raja Shanmugam, CEO, MindTree Foundation, says that foundations donating money have been there for a while but the concept of individual endowments have gone up this year, which is a global trend. ?We have seen Bill Gates and Warren Buffet donating huge amounts for social causes, which has inspired Indian corporates,? he notes.

In April this year, Infosys? NR Narayana Murthy?s family donated $5.2 million to Harvard University and its press to establish a publication series on the literary heritage of India. Last year Sudha Murty, wife of Narayana Murthy, sold Infosys shares worth Rs 430 crore to build up a corpus for the venture capital fund Catamaran Investment. The fund was set up by the couple to promote entrepreneurship in India.

HCL founder Shiv Nadar sold about 2.5% stake in the company to raise Rs 585 crore. Nadar announced that the money will be donated for philanthropic initiatives in the Indian education sector. The Shiv Nadar Foundation set up in 1996 focuses on education, arts, environment and community development in India. Nadar has already invested $400 million towards the Shiv Nadar Foundation. The Foundation?s global partnerships include the likes of Carnegie Mellon University that offers its MSIT degree at the Foundation?s SSN School of Advanced Software Engineering.

As ongoing charity measures, HCL Technologies CEO Vineet Nayar also divested a part of his stake in the company. Nayar sold a million shares in HCL Technologies worth Rs 43 crore to raise fund for his charity SAMPARK, a non profit organisation, which works for children?s education.

Among other major philanthropic initiatives this year, Anand Mahindra donated $10 million to support the humanities centre at the Harvard University. Industry experts say that it is important for corporates to understand their social responsibility. It is about who they are and how they can bring their competency for a social change. Mid-tier IT firm MindTree runs a foundation that support the cause of people with disabilities. The foundation leverages the technological capabilities of the company to work in the area of assistive technologies for the physically challenged. ?We want to be a socially engaging organisation. We are trying to build affordable technology for the physically challenged. As a corporate, we have to do something which is socially relevant,? says Raja Shanmugam of the MindTree Foundation. ?To do something, you don?t need to be rich. You just need to be rich at heart. Organisations can run their business in a socially responsible way. Instead of just serving customers you also need to serve the society,? he adds.

Lot of people would be hoping that the new-age Santas don?t fade away in 2011. India, and the world, would need them even more in the coming years.