Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta flags off a Covid-19 vaccination vehicle at the BBMP head office in Bengaluru on December 15, 2021. | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain
To cover 110 million people in 25 States by June 2022’
Salesforce, a customer relationship management player, and Azim Premji Foundation have entered into a collaboration to introduce VaxIT, an app to help accelerate Covid-19 vaccination in India.
The programme would use VaxIT across 25 States to cover a population of 110 million (11 crore) across over 3,500 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) by June 2022.
The VaxIT app, developed on the Salesforce platform for Azim Premji Foundation and its partners, would capture the status of vaccination to help individuals plan and stay updated on their progress in the healthcare programme.
VaxIT is available on the Android app store and offers multi-lingual, and offline capabilities.
Anurag Behar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation, said, “Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, we have organised ourselves to provide a comprehensive response to the situation – addressing healthcare and humanitarian needs.”
Arundhati Bhattacharya, CEO, and Chairperson, Salesforce India, said, “As we race to deliver one of the largest mass vaccination campaigns in human history, we believe our collaboration with Azim Premji Foundation will help with the safe and equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines across India.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Special Correspondent / Bengaluru – December 22nd, 2021
Wipro’s Azim Premji donated Rs 9,713 crore or Rs 27 crore a day to retain his top rank among Indian philanthropists in FY21.
Indian business tycoon Azim Premji (Photo | PTI)
Mumbai :
Software exporter Wipro’s Azim Premji donated Rs 9,713 crore or Rs 27 crore a day to retain his top rank among Indian philanthropists in FY21.
Premji, the founder chairman of the company, increased his donation by nearly a fourth during the pandemic year, as per the Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2021, which had HCL’s Shiv Nadar at second place with contributions of Rs 1,263 crore towards upliftment causes.
Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, India’s richest man by a distance, came third on the list with a Rs 577 crore contribution and was succeeded by Kumar Mangalam Birla with Rs 377 crore.
The second richest Indian Gautam Adani is eighth on the givers’ list with a donation of Rs 130 crore towards disaster relief.
Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani’s ranking improved to fifth with a Rs 183 crore donation with “societal thinking” being identified as the primary cause.
“At present, most of the money is going to fundamental aspects like education and healthcare because of the requirements on the ground. Nilekani has indeed made interesting contributions, and in 10 years, we will have broader civil society issues feature as primary causes,” Hurun India’s managing director and chief researcher Anas Rahman Junaid said.
He said as the age profile of the givers shifts to those under-40, and many of them being self-made ones also presents a hopeful picture.
There are a few new entrants into the list, including the largest stocks investor Rakesh Jhunjunwala, who donated a fourth of his overall earnings or Rs 50 crore in FY21 with efforts on education.
hunjunwala, who recently had a private meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is among the backers of Ashoka University, as per a statement.
Brothers Nithin and Nikhil Kamath committed USD 100 million (Rs 750 crore) over the next few years to support individuals, organisations and companies working on solutions for climate change and are 35th on the list.
Former chairman of engineering major Larsen & Toubro, A M Naik, is 11th on the list with a donation of Rs 112 crore, it said, adding that he has pledged to give away 75 per cent of his income for charitable purposes.
Others in the top ten givers include the Hinduja Family, Bajaj Family, Anil Agarwal and the Burman family.
Nine women find their place in the list led by a Rs 69 crore donation by Rohini Nilekani of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and, followed by Leena Gandhi Tewari of USV who donated Rs 24 crore, and Anu Aga of Thermax donated Rs 20 crore.
Based on the place of residence, Mumbai led with 31 per cent of the list and was followed by New Delhi 17 per cent and Bengaluru 10 per cent.
The pharma industry has the largest number of philanthropists followed by automobile and auto components and software and services.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Business / by PTI / October 28th, 2021
How Azim Premji expanded his business from vegetable oils to info-tech and put his money where his heart is
The story of a person can be inspiring. The authors have chosen their subject well, for, everyone knows of Azim Premji, but few truly know what makes the man.
A book about such a person, if well-written, may possibly inspire the reader into action. In this case, soon after you read the book, it’s difficult not to look up the Azim Premji Foundation website, to see if it had any volunteering opportunities, even if you have done nothing like it before!
In chronicling any life, it is easy to get mired down with mind-numbing detail that comes your way if you are sifting through 50-odd years’ worth of the protagonist’s hits and misses. The authors have done well to stick to the most interesting parts of Premji’s life. Two things stand out across events and across time: his integrity and a penchant for frugality.
Zest for austerity
His insistence on paying for personal calls made on his office phone is legendary. His friends know of his love for cars but also about his unwillingness to spend fanciful amounts on one.
He once wanted to buy a Fiat that was registered in Wipro’s name. He got the finance department involved in the discussion as he wanted to play by the rules and pay for the purchase. But with depreciation, the car’s value was zero to the company. The transaction did not go through.
At one point, his friends were agog with excitement at his purchase of a Mercedes, but it was… hold your breath… a second-hand one!
At another time, when his team was preparing to welcome clients on a visit to headquarters, and took Premji over the arrangements that included meals from a five-star hotel, he quipped, “If our cafeteria is good enough for our employees, it should be good enough for clients too!”
It’s probably the same zest for austerity that had him pleased while on a U.S. visit, when two of his senior-most executives bought lunch for the three of them at a Burger King outlet for less than $7.50! And, this was a man who didn’t bat an eyelid when an employee of the vegetable oils business lost ₹25 lakh in a year in a trading position.
A long journey
The book chronicles the journey of Wipro from the time the Premjis put down roots in Mumbai. It throws light on the man’s spirit of entrepreneurship, as the company cautiously experimented with opportunities — expanding from vegetable oils to engineering products, computer hardware, tech services and consumer care and lighting. It also does not shy away from some of Wipro’s missteps such as the investment in financial services, a business which withered away despite the group’s entry into the space after much thought and preparation.
His management style
While doing justice to the man’s talent for perseverance, the authors have touched upon his management style that many say cramped some CEOs under his chairmanship. His taking over as CEO in 2005 after the abrupt exit of Vivek Paul, said to have been primed for the post, or his decision to have a joint CEO structure soon after, at a time when competitors were blazing ahead, had raised eyebrows in the world of IT services at the time.
The reader may get the sense that the authors occasionally sound deferential when talking about the man or his family. But, it’s difficult not to be overawed by someone who has never sold a single share in his company but who chose to give away $21 billion worth of wealth to his foundation, leaving his two sons with shares valued at about ₹65 crore. How can one give away so much wealth and still, on the morning the news about the latest transfer to the foundation breaks, irritably ask an employee — who speaks of congratulatory messages overwhelming social media — “What’s all the fuss about?” ?
This book is a must-read for anyone who can read English.
Azim Premji: The Man Beyond the Billions; Sundeep Khanna, Varun Sood, HarperCollins, ₹699.
bharatkumar.k@thehindu.co.in
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books> Reviews> Profile / by K Bharat Kumar / January 16th, 2021
Wipro Limited Chairman Azim Premji receives the highest French civilian distinction, Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour), from Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler, in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Azim Premji, philanthropist and Chairman of Wipro Limited, on Wednesday received the highest French civilian distinction, Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (Knight of the Legion of Honour) from Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler.
Speaking on the occasion at the Wipro campus, Ziegler said the award was bestowed on Azim Premji for his outstanding contribution to developing the information technology industry in India.
“Also, for his economic outreach in France, and his laudable contribution to society as a philanthropist through the Azim Premji Foundation and Azim Premji University,” he said.
TheLegion d’Honneur , instituted in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, is the highest civilian award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipients.
The President of the French Republic is the Grand Master of the Order of the Legion of Honour.
In his acceptance speech, Premji said he is extremely honoured by the award bestowed on me. “The vibrancy of the French democracy and its diversity is an inspiration to all across the world,” he said.
Wipro’s association with France spans over 15 years and the company enjoys a close relationship with several French organizations. Nearly 65% of Wipro’s employees in France are locals.
France is a key market for Wipro and the company is committed to continues investments there. Large French digital companies already have a strong footprint in India, employing over 1.3 lakh people at their R&D centres and facilities.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Business> Business News / by N.V. Vijayakumar / DH News Service, Bengaluru / November 28th, 2018
