HCL's Shiv Nadar Donates Rs 5.6 Crore Per Day; Wipro's Azim Premji Follows With Rs 4.9 Crore Per Day Donation

Not the Tatas or Ambanis, but HCL Technologies' founder, Shiv Nadar is the most generous philanthropist in India for the third time in a row, as per the Edelgive Hurun's Philanthropy List 2023. Azim Premji of Wipro follows at second rank, and stock broking firm Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath becomes the youngest philanthropist in the Hurun's list.

Nadar who founded HCL in the mid-1970s makes a generous donation of Rs 5.6 crore per day, totalling Rs 2,042 crore annually. His company's rival Wipro's founder Azim Premji takes the second spot with a donation of Rs 4.9 crore per day which results in Rs 1,774 crore annually.

Hurun's list said Nadar, 78 years old, has retained the 'India's Most Generous' title for the third time in 5 years. While Azim Premji, also 78 years old, took the second spot.

However, Hurun also added that the biggest increment in donation -- by donating Rs 1,290 crore more than compared to last year, Azim Premji has given the amounts of incremental donations. He is followed by Shiv Nadar who donated more Rs 881 crore compared to last year.

In the list, the richest man in India, Mukesh Ambani and his family take the third spot with a donation of Rs 376 crore annually. Meanwhile, Aditya Birla Company's Kumar Mangalam & Family, and Adani Group's Gautam Adani take the fourth and fifth rank in the list with an annual donation of Rs 287 crore and Rs 285 crore respectively.

Furthermore, the Bajaj family was at sixth rank with a donation of Rs 264 crore annually, Vedanta's Anil Agarwal & Family at seventh with Rs 241 crore donation annually, and Infosys' Nandan Nilekani at eighth rank with Rs 189 crore donation. Lastly, Serum Institute of India's Cyrus S Poonawalla & Adani Poonawalla at the ninth spot with a Rs 179 crore donation annually, and Rohini Nilekani with a donation of Rs 170 crore annually held the tenth spot.

Compared to last year, in percentage terms, Premji donated the most in 2023 with a rise of 267% in his donation amount, followed by Bajaj Family with a 234% jump in donation value. Nadar and Poonawalla witnessed a 76% and 60% rise in donation amounts from last year. Mukesh Ambani was the only philanthropist in the 2023 list to record a decline in donation amount by 8% from last year.

Moreover, Nikhil Kamath, 37 years old, is the co-founder of Zerodha along with his brother Nithin and the youngest philanthropist in the Edelgive Hurun list. The Kamath brothers together donated Rs 110 crore this year.

Also, L&T's AM Naik, who is India's most generous professional manager, donated Rs 150 crore and maintained eleventh for a third consecutive year. However, Hurun's list also said that if were to consider just the personal donations, AM Naik would rank fifth in the list.

Meanwhile, Rohini Nilekani emerged as the most generous woman on the philanthropist list followed by Anu Aga, and Leena Gandhi Tewari who donated Rs 23 crore each.

Commenting on the list, Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India said, "This year is a record year for big philanthropy. In the past 5 years, the number of donors contributing over Rs 100 crore has surged from 2 to 14, and those donating over Rs 50 crore has risen from 5 to 24. "

Overall, in 2023, Hurun's list finds that 119 philanthropists together donated a whopping Rs 8,445 crore, rising by 59% from the previous year and up by 200% compared to 3 years ago. This year, 25 new entrants made the list with Infosys co-founder K Dinesh, at age 69 years, being the most generous new entrant with a donation of Rs 47 crore annually.

Given, India's potential for wealth creation and assuming a continued commitment to philanthropy by billionaires, Rahman added, "I anticipate these figures to potentially double over the next 5 years. The EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy list serves as a comprehensive record of India's philanthropic endeavours, reflecting a positive transformation. I hope the stories of these philanthropists can tell the story of philanthropy in India and encourage more individuals to donate effectively."