Azim Premji’s journey from taking over his family’s vegetable-oil business at 21 to transforming Wipro into a global technology company is also a story of how business wealth can be directed towards social change. Born on July 24, 1945, in Bombay, Premji returned to India in 1966 after the sudden death of his father interrupted his engineering studies at Stanford University.
He went on to lead Wipro through a major transformation, eventually helping establish it as a global IT services company. Alongside business, Premji built one of India’s most significant philanthropic commitments. In 2019, he committed an additional 34% of Wipro shares, valued then at about $7.5 billion, taking the total value of his philanthropic endowment to approximately $21 billion. The commitment included 67% of the economic ownership of Wipro and was directed towards philanthropic activities through the Azim Premji Foundation.
The Foundation, established in 2001, has made education the centre of its work, with a focus on improving the quality and equity of India’s government school system. Its work today extends across teacher development, curriculum and policy support, scholarships, research, schools and higher education. The Foundation says it works with government school systems in multiple states and runs 11 Azim Premji Schools, while the Azim Premji University has campuses in Bengaluru and Bhopal, with another coming up in Ranchi.
In August 2026, the Foundation is also accepting applications for its 2026 scholarship cohort, offering ₹30,000 annually to eligible girl students from disadvantaged backgrounds for the full duration of their first undergraduate degree or diploma. Meanwhile, Wipro Foundation, established in 2017 as the company’s CSR arm, works across education, healthcare, ecology, disaster response, and cities and public spaces.
From Oil To Technology
When Premji returned to India after his father’s death, he was only 21 and had been studying engineering at Stanford. He had expected a different career path, but circumstances placed him at the head of Western India Vegetable Products Limited, the family enterprise that would later become Wipro. Stanford Magazine records that Premji was just one term away from completing his engineering studies when he received news of his father’s death. He eventually completed the requirements for his bachelor’s degree decades later.
Premji’s leadership changed the direction of the company. Wipro moved beyond its original vegetable-oil business and entered technology, eventually becoming a major global IT services and consulting company. The transformation was not simply about changing products; it involved building an organisation around technology, professional management and global delivery. Wipro’s own account of its history and purpose now places business and social responsibility closely together, describing the company’s guiding belief as one where “our business fuels our purpose and our purpose fuels our business”.
That philosophy has also shaped Wipro’s approach to corporate responsibility. The company says its CSR work is intended to address social and ecological challenges through long-term engagement rather than short-term interventions. Its programmes are implemented through the Wipro Foundation, Wipro Cares and other internal groups. The Wipro Foundation focuses on education, healthcare, ecology, disaster response and cities and public spaces.
The scale of Premji’s personal philanthropic commitment became particularly significant in March 2019. He earmarked the economic benefits from around 34% of Wipro shares controlled by him for philanthropic purposes. The contribution was then valued at approximately $7.5 billion, taking the total value of the philanthropic endowment contributed by Premji to around $21 billion. The figure represented a commitment of wealth, rather than a single cash donation, and is important to understand in that context.
Education As A Long-Term Mission
Premji’s philanthropy has consistently placed education at its centre. The Azim Premji Foundation says its goal is to improve the quality and equity of India’s government school system. Rather than focusing only on individual beneficiaries, the Foundation works with teachers, school leaders, education departments and other institutions, including on curriculum, examinations, teacher education and policy. It says its work extends to school systems across numerous states, in collaboration with state and central governments.
Its approach also includes institutions designed to demonstrate what quality and inclusive education can look like. The first Azim Premji School was established in 2012, and the Foundation now operates 11 schools across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
The schools are free of cost, follow state curricula and focus on foundational literacy and numeracy, while also providing supplementary meals and health check-ups. The Azim Premji University, meanwhile, was established with the aim of building capacity in the education and development sectors. Its first campus opened in Bengaluru in 2010, a second campus was inaugurated in Bhopal in 2023, and a third campus is coming up in Ranchi.
The Foundation’s current work also shows how the philanthropic vision continues beyond Premji’s earlier headline-making commitments. Its Azim Premji Scholarship is aimed at helping girl students from disadvantaged backgrounds continue into higher education. For the 2026 cohort, applications opened in August, with selected students eligible for ₹30,000 per year for the full duration of their first undergraduate degree or diploma. Bihar is among the eligible states for the 2026 cohort.
Wipro’s own social initiatives operate alongside this work. The company says Wipro Foundation represents its CSR initiatives, while Wipro Cares engages employees in community programmes. Recent Wipro sustainability work has continued to connect education with environmental awareness.
At the Wipro earthian Awards 2025, held in January 2026, more than 2,000 submissions were received and 25 winning teams were recognised for projects related to biodiversity, waste and water. Anurag Behar, CEO of the Azim Premji Foundation, and Narayan P.S., Managing Trustee of Wipro Foundation, were among those presenting the awards.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Azim Premji’s story raises a broader question about what society should expect from extraordinary business success. Building a successful company is itself difficult, but the way wealth is used after it has been created can shape communities for generations.
Premji’s philanthropy stands out because much of its focus has been on strengthening systems, particularly public education, rather than treating charity only as immediate relief. The Foundation’s work with teachers, government institutions, schools, scholarships and universities reflects an attempt to address the conditions that influence opportunity over the long term.
There is also an important distinction between personal philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. Premji’s philanthropic endowment is channelled through the Azim Premji Foundation, while Wipro Foundation represents Wipro Limited’s CSR initiatives. Both operate in areas including education and social welfare, but they are separate parts of a wider ecosystem of giving and social responsibility.
For The Logical Indian, the larger lesson is not simply how much money was given, but what happens when resources are directed towards dignity, opportunity and stronger public institutions.
Education can change the course of a child’s life, but improving education at scale requires teachers, communities, governments and institutions to work together. Philanthropy cannot replace public responsibility, nor can wealth alone solve complex social problems. But when used thoughtfully, it can support people and institutions working towards lasting change.
Premji’s journey therefore offers a different measure of success: not only what one builds, but what one chooses to give back and how many lives that contribution can help improve. Should India’s wealthiest individuals and businesses make long-term investment in education and social development a defining part of their legacy?
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