Bengaluru :
Wipro’s billionaire chairman Azim Premji, the first Indian to sign the Giving Pledge, has set aside more than half of his wealth for charity by allocating an additional 18% stake in the company to fund philanthropy.
Premji, who will turn 70 this month, controls a 73.39% stake in India’s third-largest software company, which is worth about Rs 99,500 crore ($15.7 billion). In Wipro’s annual report for the year ended March 2015, Premji said he has now allocated the equivalent of 39% of the company’s shares to a trust focussed on philanthropic initiatives, mainly primary education. The additional 18% stake forms the latest tranche of shares Premji has allocated for charity.
The Giving Pledge is an effort to invite the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit half of their wealth to philanthropic causes and charitable organisations. In his pledge in 2013, Premji said he believes that those who are privileged to have wealth should contribute significantly to try and create a better world for the millions who are far less privileged. “Over the past 15 years, I have tried to put this belief into action through my personal philanthropic work. Over these years, I have irrevocably transferred a significant part of the shareholding in WiproBSE -0.03 %, amounting to 39% of the shares of Wipro, to a trust (of which ownership of 21.14% was transferred and for the balance, the trust is entitled to the beneficial interest of dividends and sale proceeds),” Premji wrote in a letter to shareholders.
People close to Premji said he has been quietly and steadily been transferring wealth to fund philanthropy.
“Apart from the Tata Trust, nothing comes close to the commitment made by him on this front,” said a person who knows him well. “And now, he has two engines to carry on philanthropy—theAzim Premji Foundation, and the newly formed Philanthropic Initiatives formed to making grants to NGOs.”
Last year, Premji hired Amnesty India head G Anantha Padmanabhan to build an organization that will offer grants to external agencies.
“The new initiative of making grants to NGOs has just started under what we call Philanthropic Initiatives. We are continuing to look at various areas, e.g., nutrition, water — the only area that we have decided on is support to NGOs working with the most vulnerable people — eg, street children, urban homeless, teenage girls from disadvantaged communities, women at risk of violence,” said Anurag Behar, CEO of Azim Premji Foundation and vice-chancellor of Azim Premji University.
“The Foundation’s work continues to expand and deepen in helping improve public (government) school education across seven states, which have about 350,000 schools. The university that we run also continues to expand. This year, we have launched a Master’s in public policy and governance and also our undergraduate programme,” Behar added.
Philanthropy has been on the rise among the rich in India as Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, the world’s richest person, and business magnate Warren Buffet urged the wealthy to give their fortunes to charitable causes.
According to the Hurun Research Institute, at least 50 individuals donated over Rs 10 crore to philanthropic causes in 2014.
Premji, Anil Agarwal, Shiv Nadar and Ratan Tata were the most generous givers in India, according to the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2014.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Business> India Business / by Pankaj Mishra, ET Bureau / July 08th, 2015