Wipro chairman Azim Premji has been crowned the ‘Most Generous Indian’ for the second year in a row. In a ranking of Indian philanthropists put together by China’s Hurun Research Institute, Premji, with a donation of Rs.12,316 crore to the Azim Premji Foundation between April 2013 and October 2014, is way ahead of others.
At No. 2 is Anil Agarwal of London-listed Vedanta Resources, with a donation of Rs.1,796 crore, primarily towards social and rural development.
At the third spot is HCL chairman Shiv Nadar, with a donation of Rs.1,316 crore.
Infosys has the highest number of philanthropists in the top 10, with its founders Nandan Nilekani (along with wife Rohini) and Kris Gopalakrishnan ranked sixth and ninth. Among cities, Mumbai tops the charts with 15 philanthropists in the total of 50, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi with eight and six people, respectively. South Indians are more generous, donating Rs.13,300 crore—five times that by north Indians. This is the second year that Hurun Research Institute has put out a list of those donating at least Rs.10 crore. This year's report shows that 50 philanthropists donated over Rs.10 crore, up from 31 last year. This year's list has 27 new faces. There are new-generation philanthropists like hedge fund manager Ashish Dhawan and cardiologists Vijay and Khushman Sanghvi, and they are seen to be unleashing a new wave of philanthropy in the country .
The total contribution of the top three philanthropists grew significantly by 29% (Rs.3,508cr) over last year. They contributed significantly to education (Rs.15,791 cr), followed by social and rural development (Rs.2,333 cr), healthcare (Rs.1,447 cr) and environmental protection (Rs.12 cr).
Eleven of the top 50 do not live in India. Of these, five donated in India. Thirty-seven of the philanthropists are self -made, up from 21 last year. This year’s list has several women, including Anu Aga, Rohini Nilekani, Zarina Screwvala, Yasmin Gupta, and Savitri Jindal.
Premji, with a net worth of $16.4 billion, has since 2010 transferred more than $4 billion to a trust that controls the Azim Premji Foundation, which works to improve the quality and equity in government school education. The foundation has established Azim Premji University, focused on developing talent and research for education and the social sector.
Premji is quoted as saying: “I strongly believe that those of us who are privileged to have wealth should contribute significantly to try and create a better world for the millions who are far less privileged.” Vedanta’s Agarwal has pledged to donate 75% of his family’s wealth to charity.
Agarwal is estimated to have a personal fortune of Rs.12,316 crore. Nadar has committed $1 billion to his foundation, which focuses on providing high-quality education to children from economically poor backgrounds. He has also started a developmental venture, Samudhay, to accelerate change in rural India.
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