The founders and family offices of India’s largest conglomerates, including Reliance Industries (RIL), HCLTech, Bajaj Group, and Aditya Birla Group, have been prominently mentioned in EdelGive Hurun India’s Philanthropy List for 2024.
HCLTech founder Shiv Nadar tops the list for the third time in five years, with Shiv Nadar Foundation Institutions donating Rs 2,153 crore in the financial year 2024, which translates to Rs 5.9 crore a day.
Reliance Foundation, the philanthropic arm of RIL, is second on the list with Rs 407 crore followed by the Bajaj Group Trust, which donated Rs 352 crore.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries topped the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) list with a contribution of Rs 900 crore. Reliance was followed by Naveen Jindal-led Jindal Steel and Power which allocated Rs 228 crore, going Rs 50 crore beyond the prescribed CSR spend.
Among personal donations, Nadar again topped the list with a contribution of Rs 1,992 crore followed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani and INDO MIM Tec chairman Krishna Chivukula who donated Rs 307 crore and Rs 228 crore, respectively.
Nilekani’s wife, philanthropist Rohini Nilekani, also entered the top 10 list, having donated Rs 154 crore. She was also the most generous among women philanthropists in FY24.
Four of Infosys co-founders Nilekani, Kris Gopalakrishnan, K Dinesh and SD Shibulal featured among top philanthropists, collectively donating over Rs 563 crore, ranking 6th, 12th, 30th and 35th respectively.
According to the report, the top 10 individuals in the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024 collectively contributed Rs 4,625 crore in FY24, accounting for nearly 53 percent of the total donations on the list.
“The evolving philanthropic landscape in India points to a future where wealth creation goes hand in hand with impactful social change, inspiring a new generation of givers,” Anas Rahman Junaid, founder and chief researcher, Hurun India, said.
Junaid shared that the threshold to enter India’s top 10 philanthropists has doubled, now reaching Rs 154 crore, up from Rs 83 crore five years ago. Additionally, the number of individuals donating over Rs 100 crore has increased to 18, compared to just 9 in 2019.
"This number of Rs 100 crore donors is impressive, considering that China— with nearly twice as many billionaires and a GDP five times larger than India’s—has ‘only’ twenty five philanthropists donating over Rs 100 crore," he added.
Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, 38, has emerged as the youngest 'self-made' philanthropist and donated about Rs 120 crores through Rainmatter Foundation.
Among cities, with 61 individuals, Mumbai is the capital of philanthropy in India accounting for 30 percent philanthropists, followed by New Delhi and Bengaluru at 19 percent and 9 percent respectively.
Disclosure: Moneycontrol is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.
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