Azim Premji Commits 34% Of His Shares Valued At Rs 52,750 Cr To Charity
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Wipro chairman Azim Premji, on March 13, committed 34% of his shares in the company for charitable causes. These shares are valued at a whopping Rs 52,750 crore. With this, his overall contribution towards philanthropy stands at Rs 1.45 lakh crore, which includes 67% of economic ownership of Wipro Limited.


Azim Premji and his philanthropic endeavours

The press release by Azim Premji Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation chaired by Azim Premji said, “He has increased his commitment to philanthropy, by irrevocably renouncing more of his personal assets and earmarking them to the Endowment, which supports the Foundation’s philanthropic activities.”

This money will go towards the Azim Premji foundation which works for largely disadvantaged communities across the country. The foundation has supported over 150 organisations engaged in issues like education, nutrition and human trafficking, among others. Anurag Behar, chief sustainability officer at Wipro and the CEO of the foundation said, “For every dollar of profits earned, 67% goes directly towards the community.”

Notably, in India, Premji leads in terms of philanthropic contributions. In recent times, India has seen a rise in individual donations. However, the 73-year-old who is also the second richest man in the country showed his leaning towards philanthropy much earlier. Premji was also the first Indian to sign The Giving Pledge initiative started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Under this initiative, billionaires are required to pledge at least 50% of their wealth to charity.


The Logical Indian Take

Azim Premji is one person whose name pops up on the top when it comes to those engaged in philanthropic activities. His commitment to the foundation and its various endeavours for the upliftment of the marginalised is commendable.

Premji has been greatly influenced by Gandhi’s notion of holding one’s wealth in trusteeship to be used for the betterment of society and not as if one owned it. He had once said, “I am committed to transferring more of my wealth to scale up the endowment of the Foundation. I strongly believe that those of us, who are privileged to have wealth, should contribute significantly to try and create a better world for the millions who are far less privileged.”

The Logical Indian commends Azim Premji and we hope that those who are privileged to contribute money or labour for the upliftment of those downtrodden get inspired by him.


Also Read: Azim Premji Gives Half of His Stake in Wipro For Charity

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Editor : The Logical Indian

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