From Azim Premji To Shiv Nadar - Here Are India’s Most Generous Philanthropists Of 2021

According to Hurun Global Rich List 2021, India added 40 billionaires in 2020 and now India is home to the third-largest number of billionaires in the world, after China and the US.

India is home to dozens of billionaires but much of the county’s 1.4 billion population still lives below the poverty line. With so much wealth disparity, it’s a welcome sight when the country’s most fortunate step up and give back through charitable donations, funding much-needed community projects, or disaster relief.

Azim Premji: Top 10 most generous people in India | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

Indian business tycoon Wipro Founder Azim Premji remains far ahead of the likes of Mukesh Ambani, Shiv Nadar, Nandan Nilekani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Gautam Adani, among others. Azim Premji has retained the top spot among philanthropist billionaires of India and earning him the title of “India’s most generous” for the second year in a row. The founder of software major Wipro made donations worth Rs 9,713 crore during fiscal 2020-21, which comes up to 27 crores per day.

HCL’s Shiv Nadar retained the second spot with an annual donation of Rs 1,263 crore in FY21, marking a 59 per cent rise. Reliance Industries Limited Chairman Mukesh Ambani and his family occupied the third spot on the philanthropy list with an annual donation of Rs 577 crore.

According to Hurun India and EdelGive, there is only one new face on the India Top 10 this year, despite the cut-off being up 54%. Three individuals still make the India Top 10 after five years, led by Shiv Nadar and followed by Mukesh Ambani and Bajaj & family.

Here are India’s most generous philanthropists of 2021 according to the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List.

1. Azim Hashim Premji -  Rs 9,713 crore

Azim Premji: Top 10 most generous people in India | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

Known as the 'czar of the Indian IT industry,' Azim Premji is at the top of the list by a wide margin. He donated Rs 9,713 crore in the education and environmental sustainability sectors.

2. Shiv Nadar - Rs 1263 crore

Shiv Nadar: Top 10 most generous people in India | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

India’s one of the richest men and the founder and chairman of HCL Technologies Shiv Nadar donated Rs 1263 crore for arts, culture and rural transformation.

3. Mukesh Ambani - Rs 577 crore

Mukesh Ambani: Top 10 most generous people in India | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021 | Forbes

Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani is the biggest donor for disaster relief and management giving away as much as Rs 577 crore. He also donated for sports development.

4. Kumar Mangalam Birla - Rs 377 crore

Kumar Mangalam Birla: Top 10 most generous people in India | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

Kumar Mangalam Birla and his family ranked fourth with a donation of Rs 377 crore a 47 per cent rise from FY20. Kumar Mangalam Birla mostly donated to the healthcare sector.

5. Nandan Nilekani - Rs 183 crore

Nandan Nilekani: Top 10 most generous people in India | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

The co-founder of Infosys and part of India's most ambitious digital project Aadhaar has donated Rs 183 crore to help the think tanks in India and also donated for societal platforms.

6. Hinduja Family - Rs 166 crore

Top 10 richest Indians in 2021 | ET

The four Hinduja brothers who run the Hinduja Group made a donation worth Rs 166 crore for water conservation and education.

7. Bajaj Family - Rs 136 crore

Bajaj Family: Top 10 most generous people in India | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

The chairman of the Bajaj group was the biggest donor for livelihood enhancement and his donation was a reported Rs 136 crore.

8. Gautam Adani  - Rs 130 crore

Gautam Adani: Top 10 most generous people in India | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

Adani Group’s Gautam Adani is on the eighth spot with annual donations worth Rs 130 crore to disaster relief.

9. Anil Agarwal - Rs 130 crore

Anil Agarwal: Top 10 most generous people in India | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

Anil Agarwal, the founder and Chairman of Vedanta Resources Limited shared the eighth spot with Gautam Adani by annual donations worth Rs 130 crore.

10. Burman Family - Rs 114 crore

The Burman family that owns Dabur India occupied the 10th spot with a donation of Rs 114 crore.

EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021 top new entrants:

Some big names also made an entry on the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy list 2021. Take a look:

1. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

The 61-year-old Indian marquee investor has donated Rs 50 crore in FY 21 for the education sector in the country.

2. Hasmukh Chudgar and family

Promoters of Intas Pharmaceuticals Hasmukh Chudgar and the family donated Rs 29 crores of the cause of education in the country. Hasmukh Chudgar founded Gujarat-based Intas Pharmaceuticals in 1977 and now has handed over operations to his sons Nimish and Binish Chudgar.

3. Akshay Kumar

Akshay Kumar | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

The 54-year-old Indian actor donated Rs 26 crore to disaster relief in FY21. The Bollywood star has been active in donating to several causes from Covid relief funds to education.

4. Nithin Kamath and Nikhil Kamath

The founders of investment platform Zerodha made a donation of Rs 25 crore to the disaster relief sector in the country. Zerodha Broking Limited is an Indian financial services company offering retail brokerage, currencies and commodities trading, mutual funds, and bonds founded in 2010.

5. Amitabh Bachchan

Amitabh Bachchan | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

Legendary Bollywood actor, Amitabh Bachchan donated a total of Rs 15 crore to the disaster relief sector. Amitabh Bachchan has been doing a lot of charitable work since the covid-19 outbreak.

6. Radha Vembu and Vembu Sekar

Radha Vembu who is an Indian billionaire businesswoman and a promoter of Indian software development company Zoho Corporation donated Rs 12 crore. Another Zoho promoter Vembu Sekar donated Rs 9 crore to disaster relief.

7. Vinod Kumar Agarwal

The managing director of coal importer Agarwal Coal Corporation donated Rs 11 crore to the healthcare sector in FY21.

8. Mangal Prabhat Lodha

Mangal Prabhat Lodha | EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021

The 65-year-old Mangal Prabhat who is a businessman and politician donated Rs 9 crore to the healthcare sector. He is the founder of the Macrotech Developers or Lodha Group, a Mumbai-based real estate developer.

9. Rajiv Kumar and Ravinder Kumar

Rajiv Kumar and Ravinder Kumar from the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry donated Rs 28 crore to the disaster relief sector.

The 8th EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021 has been prepared by Hurun India in partnership with EdelGive Foundation to identify the most generous individuals in India. “This is our attempt to highlight India’s remarkable givers and to capture the growing importance of individual givers in India's philanthropic landscape towards nation-building,” said a release by the EdelGive Foundation and Hurun India.