BackWipro’s Azim Premji tops list of Indian philanthropists again
Wipro chairman Azim Premji contributed 80% of total donations made by 36 philanthropists on the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2015
Premium
Bengaluru: Wipro Ltd chairman Azim Hashim Premji, unsurprisingly, was ranked the most generous Indian on the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2015 released on Friday.
Premji, in fact, contributed 80% of the total donations made by 36 Indian philanthropists who gave over ₹ 10 crore to charity.
Premji, 70, donated ₹ 27,514 crore for education through the eponymous Azim Premji Foundation. The foundation works in eight states and has more than 350,000 schools.
China-based Hurun, a leading luxury-lifestyle publisher targeting billionaires, studied 300 rich Indian entrepreneurs and looked at the cash and cash equivalents they pledged in the twelve months from 1 November 2014 to 31 October 2015.
Premji’s donation helped improve the average size of donation to ₹ 900 crore from ₹ 300 crore in last year’s list. But the number of philanthropists itself fell to 36 from 50 in 2014, said the report.
Of the top three givers, two were Infosys Ltd co-founder Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani who donated ₹ 2,404 crore, primarily towards the cause of urban governance, public policy and education, making them the second most generous.
And N.R. Narayana Murthy, another Infosys founder, gave ₹ 1,322 crore during the year. In fact, six of the 36 philanthropists were from Infosys.
Murthy’ son Rohan Murty emerged as the youngest giver among the 36, donating ₹ 35 crore.
The contribution by industrialist Mukesh Ambani, who topped the Hurun India Rich list 2015, dropped. He gave ₹ 345 crore in 2015 towards health care, down from Rs.603 crore in the previous year.
“Despite weak corporate earnings in 2015 compared to last year, the increasing speed of wealth creation seems to promise a bright future for Indian philanthropy", said Anas Rahman Junaid, business head, Hurun Report India.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
