The founders and family offices of India’s largest conglomerates including HCL Group, Reliance Industries, Bajaj Group, Aditya Birla Group, and Infosys founders found several mentions in the EdelGive and Hurun Philanthropy List 2025.
HCLTech founder Shiv Nadar and his family topped the list for the fourth time in five years, having donated Rs 2,708 crore last year through Shiv Nadar Foundation. Nadar donated a whopping Rs 7.4 crore per day, making him ‘India’s Most Generous.’
Cumulatively, over the past five years, Nadar’s foundation has donated Rs 10,122 crore primarily in the education space.
Reliance Foundation, the philanthropic arm of RIL, is second on the list with Rs 626 crore followed by the Bajaj Group Trust, which donated Rs 446 crore.
Nadar and family dominated the individual philanthropist list too, having personally donated Rs. 2,537 crores. Infosys Co-founder Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini Nilekani were second and third on the list, having reported personal donations of Rs 356 crore and Rs 199 crore respectively. Ranjan Pai and family had donated about Rs. 160 crore.
The top 25 on the list gave away Rs 50,000 crore in just three years — an average of Rs 46 crore every single day.
The 2025 list features 191 philanthropists (12 new entrants) who cumulatively donated Rs 10,380 crore - up by 85% compared to three years ago.
Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher, Hurun India, said, "The threshold to enter India’s Top 10 philanthropists has more than doubled, from Rs. 74 Crore in 2020 to Rs. 173 Crore in 2025. It has grown 12% YoY. Most prioritised sector was education this year, attracting 40% of the contributions. Some tech entrepreneurs are taking up bolder areas like climate change and research in neurosciences, the impact of which may show after their lifetime. Right now, education is preferred because you can see the impact quicker."
CSR Spending
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries had donated the highest in corporate social responsibility (CSR) having donated Rs 1,309 crore to CSR, surpassing the required mandatory spend by Rs 261 crore.
Rungta Sons followed with a CSR contribution of Rs 181 crore, Rs 114 crore above their mandated amount. Similarly, Jindal Steel and Power allocated Rs 267 crore to CSR, exceeding their prescribed spend by Rs 100 crore.
Infosys Co-founders and their families set record — Nandan Nilekani, Kris Gopalakrishnan, K. Dinesh, Rohini Nilekani, and Kumari Shibulal — collectively donated over Rs 850 crore this year, averaging more than Rs 2 crore in giving each day, marking a record for philanthropy stemming from a single company.
Women leading the way
While 24 women featured on the list this year, Rohini Nilekani of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies was India’s most generous woman having contributed Rs 204 crore towards ecosystem building.
Nilekani was followed by Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, who donated Rs 83 crore towards research and development through Mazumdar Shaw Foundation.
Bina Shah donated Rs 69 crore supporting education through Harish and Bina Shah Foundation.
Youngest philanthropists
Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath (39) and Nithin Kamath (46) were among the youngest philanthropists having donated Rs 147 crores through Rainmatter Foundation. The second youngest was Binny Bansal (42) who donated Rs 18 crores this year.
Adar Poonawalla (44), also featured among the top 5 youngest philanthropists. He donated Rs 173 crores through family-run Villoo Poonawalla Foundation.
Professionals who donated personal wealth
Prominent professional managers who solely donated from a personal capacity include former L&T Group Chairman AM Naik (Rs 54 Crores), Amit Chandra and Archana Chandra (Rs 47 Crores), and venture capitalists Prashanth Prakash and Amitha Prashanth (Rs 17 Crores). All of them cumulatively donated nearly Rs 800 Crores in the last 3 years.
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