Azim Premji: India’s top philanthropist by a mile

While Mukesh Ambani, Chairman Reliance Industries is the country’s richest man, Azim Premji, Founder-Chairman, Wipro is the most generous person of the country.

The latest EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020 shows that Azim Premji tops the list of philanthropists in India by a mile.

Azim Premji’s total annual contribution towards philanthropic activities was Rs.7904 crore in financial year 2019-20,   ahead of the contribution from other nine billionaires’ put together in the top ten list of philanthropists.

Premji is followed by Shiv Nadar, Founder-Chairman, HCL Technologies and Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group is on the fourth spot followed by Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Group.

Donations were measured by the value of their cash or cash equivalents from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. This is the seventh year of the list and it follows on from the Hurun India Rich List, a ranking of 828 richest individuals in India.

On 1 April 2020, Azim Premji Foundation (Rs 1,000 crore), Wipro (Rs.100 crore), and Wipro Enterprises (Rs.25 crore) have committed Rs. 1,125 crore towards tackling the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. These were in addition to the annual CSR activities of Wipro and the usual philanthropic spending of the Azim Premji Foundation, says the report.

“Azim Premji is a role model for Indian philanthropy and is continuing to inspire other entrepreneurs into giving”, said Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India.

Here are the key highlights of the report:

• HCL’s Shiv Nadar, 75, was second with Rs.795 crore donation; With Rs.458 crore, India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani,63, came third
• With a donation of Rs.27 crore, Amit Chandra,52, and Archana Chandra, 49, of A.T.E. Chandra Foundation are the first and only professional managers to ever enter the Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy list
• Indian philanthropy stats at a record high; no. of individuals who have donated more than Rs. 10 crore increased by 100% over the last 2 years, from 37 to 78 this year
• With 90 philanthropists cumulatively donating Rs.9,324 crore, education the most favoured cause. With 84 donors, healthcare registered a 111% increase in cumulative donation, followed by disaster relief & management, which had 41 donors, registering a cumulative donation of Rs. 354 crore or an increase of 240%
• 3 of Infosys’s co-founders made the list with Nandan Nilekani, S Gopalakrishnan and SD Shibulal, each of them donating Rs.159 crore, Rs.50 crore, and Rs.32 crore, respectively
• With a donation of Rs. 47 crore, Rohini Nilekani,61, was the most generous woman philanthropist in the list; 7 women philanthropists feature in the list
• The average age of donors in the list is 66 years

“Reports of this nature are rare but give us deep insight into the philanthropic sector and the patterns of giving that are ever-evolving. This year, we also looked at our methodology very closely – ensuring we keep the process transparent and proactively invite leaders of a diverse group to participate in the list. I am certain the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List will inspire a lot of new philanthropists towards strategic giving,” said Vidya Shah, Chairperson and CEO, EdelGive Foundation.

Junaid said, “The preferred cause of India’s top philanthropists has been education, although poverty alleviation has grown dramatically to become the second most popular cause this year.  I hope the EdelGive Hurun Philanthropy List can help people understand the mindset of some of India’s most successful entrepreneurs and philanthropists, as well as inspire future generations to give back.”

Top personal Philanthropists in EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020