HCL founder Shiv Nadar topped the Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2022, becoming India’s ‘most generous person’ with an annual donation of Rs 1,161 crore in FY22.
Wipro’s Azim Premji, 77, slipped to the second position with an annual donation of Rs 484 crore. He ruled the ranking at the top for the last two consecutive years. RIL boss Mukesh Ambani and family donated Rs 411 crore, getting the third slot on the list, prepared by research firm Hurun and Edelgive Foundation – the philanthropic arm of the Edelweiss group. The list has been released for the 9th consecutive year.
Kumar Mangalam Birla and family, who donated Rs 242 crore, came in at fourth position. With a combined contribution of Rs 426 crore to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Susmita, Subroto, Radha, and NS Parthasarathy are jointly rated fifth .
Gautam Adani and his family, who donated Rs 190 crore, are ranked seventh on the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2022, while Anil Agarwal and his family, with a donation of Rs 165 crore, are ranked eighth.
Nandan Nilekani co-founder of Infosys has been ranked ninth with a donation of Rs 159 crore. AM Naik, group executive chairman of Larsen & Toubro, is rated tenth with a donation of Rs 142 crore in FY22.
According to the ‘EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2022’ released on Thursday, the donations of India’s top wealthy individuals (who donated over Rs 5crore) was measured by the value of their cash or cash equivalents from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022.
Hurun Research finds 15 individuals in India, who made an annual donation of over Rs 100 crore, 20 over Rs 50 crore, and 43 over Rs 20 crore. The average age of philanthropists on the list is 69 years, which is two years older than last year.
“Over the last 5 years, number of donors who have given more than Rs 100 crore have grown from 2 to 15, and over Rs 50 crore have grown from 5 to 20. Considering the wealth creation potential of India and assuming that the billionaires keep up with philanthropy, I expect these numbers to at least double over the next 5 years,” said Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun India.
“The cohort of senior and young tech entrepreneurs holds the potential to play a crucial role in meeting the country’s social sector fund requirement. For instance, Nikhil and Nithin Kamath and Binny Bansal increased their donations by more than 100% compared to last year. Many such acts from founders of start-ups could kick the Indian philanthropy curve into a higher orbit,” Anas added.
In fact, Nikhil Kamath, 36, is the youngest philanthropist on the list. A total of six women philanthropists feature in the list. With a donation of Rs 120 crore, Rohini Nilekani, 63, is the most generous woman philanthropist on the list. She is followed by Leena Gandhi Tewari and Anu Aga who donated Rs 21 crore and Rs 20 crore, respectively.
Ranked as the 12th most generous Indian, Quess Corp chairman Ajit Isaac debuted in the list with a donation of Rs 105 crore to the Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bengaluru.
Rakesh Gangwal, co-promoter of Indigo Airlines, also debuted in Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2022 with Rs 100 crore personal donation to the School of Medical Sciences and Technology at IIT, Kanpur.
