Azim Premji retains ‘India’s Most Generous’ title, donates Rs 9,713 cr in FY21

Software exporter Wipro’s Azim Premji donated Rs 9,713 crore or Rs 27 crore a day to retain his top rank among Indian philanthropists in FY21.
Premji, the founder chairman of the company, increased his donation by nearly a fourth during the pandemic year, as per the Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021, which had HCL’s Shiv Nadar at second place with contributions of Rs 1,263 crore towards upliftment causes.
Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, India’s richest man by a distance, came third on the list with a Rs 577 crore contribution and was succeeded by Kumar Mangalam Birla with Rs 377 crore. The second richest Indian Gautam Adani is eighth on the givers’ list with a donation of Rs 130 crore towards disaster relief.
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s ranking improved to fifth with a Rs 183 crore donation with “societal thinking” being identified as the primary cause.
“At present, most of the money is going to fundamental aspects like education and healthcare because of the requirements on the ground. Nilekani has indeed made interesting contributions, and in 10 years, we will have broader civil society issues feature as primary causes,” Hurun India’s managing director and chief researcher Anas Rahman Junaid said. He said as the age profile of the givers shifts to those under-40, and many of them being self-made ones also presents a hopeful picture.
There are a few new entrants into the list, including the largest stocks investor Rakesh Jhunjunwala, who donated a fourth of his overall earnings or Rs 50 crore in FY21 with efforts on education. Jhunjunwala, who recently had a private meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is among the backers of Ashoka University, as per a statement.