Hurun Philanthropy list: Shiv Nadar most generous; Mukesh Ambani ranks 3rd

Hurun India in association with EdelGive released the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy 2022 list on Thursday. The list includes individuals who have donated ₹5 crore or more between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022. During the year, the cumulative personal donations grew by 50% to ₹3,097 crore, despite a fall in contributions towards philanthropy in 2022. Moreover, donations towards the environment and sustainability surged by 46% to ₹193 crore on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. 

The top 10 in the list cumulatively donated ₹3,378 crore in FY22, as against a combined donation of ₹12,785 crore last year. Of this, Shiv Nadar, the founder of HCL technologies, alongwith his family, topped the list by making a donation worth ₹1,161 crore through his foundation named as ‘Shiv Nadar Foundation.’ His donation fallen 8% compared to 2021. The foundation includes the SSN Institutions, VidyaGyan, Shiv Nadar University, Shiv Nadar School, Shiksha Initiative, and Kiran Nadar Museum of Art. 

Ranking second, Wipro Founder Azim Premji & Family has made an investment of ₹484 crore in the education sector through Azim Premji Foundation India Private Limited. His donations have fallen 95% year-on-year due to share buy-back in 2021. 

The Reliance Industries Chairman, Mukesh Ambani & family, made a donation worth ₹411 crore through Reliance Foundation towards the education sector, thus ranking third in the list. This is 29% less than the donation he made in 2021. 

Anas Rahman Junaid, MD, and chief researcher, Hurun India says, “EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List aims at chronicling the Indian philanthropy landscape and so far the transformation is encouraging. For instance, over the last 5 years, the number of donors who have given more than ₹100 crore has grown from 2 to 15, and over ₹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.” 

Ranked fourth, Kumar Mangalam Birla, the chairman of Aditya Birla group, made a donation worth ₹875 crore towards education. The family contributed ₹75 crore in their personal capacity. However, this year the donation was 36% less as compared to last year. 

Mindtree co-founders Susmita and Subroto Bagchi as well as Radha and NS Parasarathy have been jointly ranked in the fifth position for their combined donation of ₹425 crore to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). This is the first time they have been included in the list. 

Gautam Adani, the world’s third-largest and Asia’s richest man, alongwith his family has been ranked seventh, for their donation of ₹190 crore through the Adani Foundation, towards education. 

Meanwhile, Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal and his family has been ranked eighth for a donation of ₹165 crore. His contribution has increased by 27% as compared to last year. 

Apart from this, Quess Corp Chairman Ajit Isaac, InterGlobe Aviation’s co-promoter Rakesh Gangwal, Happiest Minds Technologies Ashok Soota and Shree Ramkrishna Exports’ Govind Dholakia also debuted in the contribution of ₹115 crore, ₹100 crore, ₹26 crore and ₹15 crore, respectively.