N. Sethia Foundation

What N. Sethia Foundation does

N. Sethia Foundation is a UK-registered charitable foundation founded in 1995 by Mr Nirmal Kumar Sethia, with parallel Indian operating entities (N Sethia Foundation India and Nirmal Sethia Charitable Trust) headquartered at N. Sethia House, 105 St. John Street, London and with an India office at 40 New C.I.T Road, Kolkata. Its philanthropic roots trace to 1966, when founder's father Sri Sohan Lalji Sethia established the Sona Devi Sethia Girls College in Sujangarh, Rajasthan.

The foundation's portfolio is a diversified mix of healthcare, education, cultural preservation, religious infrastructure, and disaster-relief grants deployed across India and the UK. Healthcare grants include the Chitra Sethia Autism Centre in Cambridge (jointly with CPFT, NAS, and ART), the Chitra Sethia Centre for Robotics & Minimal Access Surgery at UCLH (UK's first robotic training centre with Da Vinci system), the Chitra Nirmal Sethia Surgical Technology Hub at Imperial College London, and the Chitra Nirmal Sethia Floor at UCL's Institute of Immunity and Transplantation. Educational institutions include Sona Devi Sethia PG Girls College (900 students) and Ratan Devi Sethia Senior Secondary Public School in Rajasthan. Cultural and religious projects include the Chitra Collection teaware museum (donated by Mr Sethia), the V&A's Chitra Nirmal Sethia Gallery, Tirupati Balaji Temple in Kurukshetra, the Dhyan Mandir in New Delhi, and the Sheshadri Nagar Guest House for Tirupati pilgrims.

The foundation has no commercial revenue model: it does not sell products or services, holds no patents, and operates through donations and grants. Its pricing model is non-applicable as a charitable entity. Grants are deployed via sole-funded construction projects, recurring sponsorship (e.g., Akshaya Patra mid-day meals since 2010), and one-time donations to UK and Indian charitable institutions (Prince's Trust, Cancer Research UK, Dyslexia Action, Grenfell Tower Appeal, Prime Minister's National Relief Fund, Mukti India, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, among others). Governance sits with Mr Sethia (founder/trustee) and Ms Richa Sethia (trustee), supported by an Honorary Board of Advisors including Lord Darzi, Sir Malcolm Grant, and Sir Robert Naylor.

Name

N. Sethia Foundation

Legal name

N. Sethia Foundation

Website

https://nsethiafoundation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Short description

N. Sethia Foundation is a UK-registered charitable foundation established in 1995 by Nirmal Kumar Sethia, funding healthcare research, girls' education, religious infrastructure, and disaster relief across the UK and India through donations and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Arts, Culture & Humanities Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAJ), Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Charitable foundation
• Philanthropic grants
• Medical research funding
• Educational institution support
• Cultural preservation donations

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

N. Sethia Foundation is a UK-registered charitable foundation that funds and develops philanthropic projects across healthcare, education, religious infrastructure, cultural preservation, disaster relief, and social empowerment in India, the UK, and other countries. It operates primarily through donations and grants to support the construction of healthcare facilities, educational institutions, temples, museums, and community infrastructure, as well as direct disaster relief contributions. The foundation does not sell commercial products or services; instead, it channels charitable contributions from the Sethia family and other sources to named beneficiary projects.

Product overview

N. Sethia Foundation is a charitable organization comprising multiple initiatives across healthcare, education, cultural preservation, and religious projects. The foundation operates through two entities: N Sethia Foundation (UK, founded 1995) and N Sethia Foundation (India) / Nirmal Sethia Charitable Trust. Its portfolio includes medical research facilities (autism centre, surgical technology hubs, robotics centre, immunology institute floor), educational institutions (girls' college, public school), cultural collections (teaware museum, V&A gallery), religious/cultural projects (temples in UK and India, guest houses), and community facilities. The foundation does not offer a unified software product but rather manages a diverse set of charitable projects and facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chitra Sethia Autism Centre, Cambridge A pioneering centre for people with autism providing diagnostic support for adults through the Cambridge Lifespan Asperger Syndrome Service (CLASS) clinic and post-diagnosis support through information, advice and signposting services.
• Chitra Sethia Centre for Robotics and Minimal Access Surgery at UCLH A pioneering institution providing virtual training in robotic and laparoscopic surgical methods, the first robotic training centre in the UK, equipped with Da Vinci Robot System for training surgeons and nurses.
• Chitra Nirmal Sethia Surgical Technology Hub at Imperial College London Part of the Surgical Innovation Centre at St. Mary's Hospital, Imperial College London, featuring UK's first Da Vinci robotic programme for enhanced remote surgery and minimally invasive techniques.
• Chitra Nirmal Sethia Floor at UCL Institute of Immunity and Transplantation Located at Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, conducting research across immune tolerance, immunotherapy, and inherited disease with focus on vaccinations, gene therapy, and cell therapy.
• The Chitra Collection An extraordinary private museum of historic teawares, the world's finest and most comprehensive collection of its kind with almost 2000 objects recording and preserving tea cultures of the past.
• Chitra Nirmal Sethia Gallery at the V&A Museum Gallery within the V&A's Cast Courts featuring exhibits and contextual material detailing production methods of plaster cast reproductions of significant works.
• Sona Devi Sethia PG Girls College, Rajasthan Girls' college founded in 1966, now educating 900 students annually with hostel facilities for 200 girls, affiliated to Maharaja Ganga Singh University.
• Ratan Devi Sethia Senior Secondary Public School, Rajasthan English medium co-educational institute established in 2002 in Sujangarh, Rajasthan, providing education from nursery to higher secondary level.
• Tirupati Balaji Temple, Kurukshetra Temple complex built near Brahma Sarovar, spread over 5.5 acres, the biggest in Northern India, inaugurated in July 2018.
• Tirupati Temple, New Delhi (Dhyan Mandir) Dhyan Mandir Meditation and Information Centre built near Birla Mandir in New Delhi, inaugurated in May 2013.
• Sheshadri Nagar Guest House, Tirupati 36 apartment suites for visiting pilgrims to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, constructed in 1986.
• Sohan Sabhagar Stadium and Auditorium, Rajasthan Stadium and auditorium accommodating more than 2,000 people at Sardarshahar University, named in honour of Nirmal Sethia's father.
• Bharat Nivas (Pavilion of India), Auroville Cultural complex in Auroville housing Sri Aurobindo Auditorium and various cultural facilities promoting human unity.

Quantifiable outcome

• Served over 1.76 million children daily through Akshaya Patra Mid-Day Meal programme
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT)coreOthers · 5 September 2013Joint provision of autism services including diagnostic support through CLASS clinic and post-diagnosis support services. The Chitra Sethia Autism Centre was officially opened by the Countess of Wessex on 5th September 2013.
• The National Autistic Society (NAS)coreOthers · 5 September 2013Joint provision of autism services including drop-in facilities, meeting spaces for local autism support organisations, and awareness raising activities for autism.
• Autism Research Trust (ART)coreOthers · 5 September 2013Joint provision of autism services and research support at the Chitra Sethia Autism Centre, Cambridge.
• University College London Hospital (UCLH)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished the Chitra Sethia Centre for Robotics & Minimal Access Surgery at UCLH, providing specialised training to healthcare professionals and developing cutting edge technologies in surgical arena. The centre uses Da Vinci Robot System.
• Imperial College LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished the Chitra Nirmal Sethia Surgical Technology Hub at Imperial College's Surgical Innovation Centre at St. Mary's Hospital. The centre opened in January 2015 with HRH The Prince of Wales and houses UK's first Da Vinci robotic programme.
• UCL Institute of Immunity and TransplantationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSignificant support for the Institute at Royal Free Hospital resulting in naming of Chitra Nirmal Sethia Floor. The institute conducts research in immune tolerance, immunotherapy and inherited disease. First phase opened June 2013, Pears Building completed June 2021.
• V&A MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupport for the Chitra Nirmal Sethia Gallery at the V&A Museum, renaming the former Central Gallery in Cast Courts. Gallery features exhibits and contextual material detailing production methods of casts.
• Chitra Collection (Newby Teas)minorOthersNirmal Sethia donated The Chitra Collection, an extraordinary private museum of historic teawares totalling almost 2000 objects, to the N. Sethia Foundation. Named in honour of his late wife Chitra.
• Maharaja Ganga Singh University, BikanerminorOthersSona Devi Sethia PG Girls College is affiliated to Maharaja Ganga Singh University, Bikaner. The college aims to prepare young women for challenging opportunities in a competitive global economy.
• AurovilleminorOthersIn 1973, Mr Nirmal Sethia through N. Sethia Foundation funded the construction of Bharat Nivas, also known as The Pavilion of India in Auroville. Centre houses Sri Aurobindo Auditorium and various cultural facilities.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Welspun Foundation: Indian private foundation with programs in education, healthcare, and water/sanitation; comparable as a family/corporate-linked Indian foundation with thematic overlap in education and community welfare.
• Reliance Foundation: India's largest corporate/family-linked foundation, funding education, health, disaster relief, and rural transformation; comparable in scale, family control, and thematic breadth.
• Wellcome Trust: Large UK charitable foundation funding biomedical research and cultural projects; directly comparable given shared UK base and emphasis on named medical research facilities and cultural philanthropy.
• Oak Foundation: International private family foundation funding social and environmental causes across multiple continents; comparable as a private family foundation with global scope and similar sector breadth.
• Tata Trusts: India's largest private philanthropic foundation, family-controlled, funding healthcare, education, and rural livelihoods; directly comparable given shared family-foundation structure and Indian footprint.
• Aga Khan Foundation: International private foundation with cultural, religious, educational, and healthcare programs across South Asia, UK, and Africa; closely comparable given shared cultural/religious emphasis and cross-border scope.
• Leverhulme Trust: UK charitable trust funding research, education, and culture from a family endowment; comparable structure and emphasis on UK academic and cultural partnerships.
• Infosys Foundation: Indian private foundation funding education, healthcare, rural development, and arts; comparable as a founder-led private foundation operating in India with diverse program areas.
• Aditya Birla Foundation: Indian corporate/family foundation supporting education, healthcare, and rural development; comparable given shared Indian footprint, family/corporate control, and multi-sector grantmaking.
• Gatsby Charitable Foundation: UK private foundation funding education, science, and the arts; comparable as a UK-based, family-influenced charitable foundation making large strategic grants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about N. Sethia Foundation