Latest news with #AzimPremjiFoundation
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Learning through experience: Shreejita provides hands-on education for children in rural Odisha
'For example, in the mock bank and shop, children learn to interact with one another in English or Odia, learn to write their names, do basic calculations, plan expenditures, etc. There are no school books involved here but it is all about strengthening their foundational skills which will make it easier for them to integrate the knowledge into their school curriculum,' said Shreejita, who has done her Masters in Chemistry and BEd. She worked in the Azim Premji Foundation for two years from 2017 and was a teaching fellow before deciding to come to Sundargarh to teach students of remote villages for Koru Foundation. That is not all. Shreejita encourages the children to think, write and publish their stories, comics, poems in a monthly wall magazine - Rangeen Patrika. The name of the magazine has been collectively decided by the children. 'The children, who have a lot of indigenous knowledge, are encouraged to think about their own day-to-day experiences and pen them down in the form of stories, poems and comics for the magazine,' she said. But the learning is not confined to the four walls of the community learning centre. Forests around the village also become their classrooms. 'For a long time, many of the children did not wish to come to the centre after a long day at school. Girls, particularly, because they had to also help their mothers with the household chores. Most of them visit the forest to bring forest products,' Shreejita said. This is when she decided to join them in the forests to teach them about plant parts, different types of plants, the forest ecosystem and the environment in general. Shreejita has also created a rubric following the learning outcomes recommended by NCERT, to assess children's progress every six months. 'Every session, there has been a considerable improvement in the learning outcome of these children which is visible in our assessment and their school results. It is a continuous process,' said Shreejita, who is now planning to approach the local government school authorities to implement the practical learning model for better understanding of children.
Mint
22-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
The quiet philanthropists: Premji Foundation, Tata Trusts match social spending of top Nifty companies
Mumbai/Bengaluru: India's top philanthropic organizations are spending money comparable to the social spends of the country's biggest for-profit companies, a trend that has come to light after Bengaluru-based Azim Premji Foundation disclosed its financials for the first time in its quarter-century of existence. As per the reported financials, the eponymous not-for-profit entity of billionaire Azim Premji spent ₹1,528 crore on philanthropy in 2024. That was more than twice the ₹699.31 crore spent by the Tata Trusts in the same year, according to financials filed by the entity. The spends by the two Indian philanthropic organizations are on par with the CSR (corporate social responsibility) expenditures of the country's largest companies, including Reliance Industries Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd, according to aMintreview. Also read: Global engines power order growth for Larsen & Toubro Reliance Industries spent ₹1,592 crore on CSR initiatives in 2024, followed by TCS and HDFC Bank, which spent ₹953 crore and 945.1 crore, respectively. Following them were ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) and Tata Steel Ltd, which spent ₹634.5 crore and ₹580 crore, respectively, in 2024. Infosys Ltd took the sixth spot, spending ₹577 crore. To be sure, unlike philanthropic entities that are not bound by any regulation in terms of amounts to be spent, enterprises are mandated to spend a portion of their profits on CSR initiatives. According to the Companies Act, 2013, companies with a net worth of ₹500 crore or more, turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more, or net profit of ₹5 crore or more, must spend at least 2% of the average profits in the three preceding years on CSR activities. 'There was no particular reason why we decided to share this report," a spokesperson for Azim Premji Foundation said when asked about philanthropic entities sharing their numbers, adding that the financials will be shared 'periodically". The foundation spent ₹594 crore on teacher training in government schools across 60 districts, healthcare, and livelihood, according to the foundation's website disclosure. It also gave ₹934 crore in grants to non-government organizations (NGOs). Also read: Thermax's big test: Can its energy transition bets revive investor confidence? Tata Trusts' two principal trusts, Sir Ratan Tata Trusts & Allied Trusts, and Sir Dorabji Tata Trusts & Allied Trusts, spent ₹575.47 crore and ₹123.84 crore last year. 'Azim Premji Foundation and Tata Trusts are trailblazers in the Indian philanthropic world," said Amitabh Jaipuria, chief executive officer of Accelerate Indian Philanthropy (AIP), a peer network set up by philanthropists to support their giving efforts. Jaipuria said foundations like Azim Premji Foundation and Tata Trusts not only carry out social projects independently, but also make grants to several grassroots organizations to achieve social outcomes. Tata Trusts is an umbrella entity of 15 philanthropic organizations, which own 65.9% of Tata Sons, the principal holding company of the Tata Group. The Shapoorji Pallonji family owns 18.38% of Tata Sons' shares, while nine Tata Group companies own 12.86%. Seven individuals own the remaining 2.87%. After becoming the country's richest businessman at the turn of the century, Premji set up the Azim Premji Foundation in 2001, with an initial corpus of $125 million worth shares of Wipro. Over the past 24 years, according to public disclosures made by Wipro, Premji has given 66% of the shares he owned in the company to the foundation. Premji donated $21 billion, or 92% of his wealth, making him arguably the country's most generous billionaire. Infosys Ltd's co-founder and chairman, Nandan Nilekani, has described Premji as a 'giant figure". Wipro shares with the Foundation were worth $20 billion at the end of trading on Wednesday. Additionally, Premji has transferred the ownership of Premji Invest, his family office with $14 billion in assets under management, to the foundation. Also read: China's restrictions on rare earth magnets could crimp Indian EV rollout Finally, the foundation also owns 20.29% shares of Wipro Enterprises Ltd, the privately held non-IT business of Azim Premji. Valued at $10 billion in 2023, Wipro Enterprises houses the group's consumer care and engineering businesses. This translates to an additional $2 billion holding for the Azim Premji Foundation, which implies its endowment corpus is about $36 billion. The foundation's endowment was valued at $29 billion at the end of January 2023, according to the disclosure made by Azim Premji University, which has two campuses in Bengaluru and Bhopal.
The Hindu
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Watch: Well- Rounded World View: Finding a Place for Liberal Education
The second session on Day 1 of The Huddle 2025 had Dr. Bhavani S. from Christ University, Dr. Jonathan Gil Harris from Ashoka University and Sudheesh Venkatesh from Azim Premji Foundation speak with Srinath Raghavan from Ashoka University. Dr. Bhavani while speaking about liberal education, said, 'Liberal education is that which doesn't have indocrination and encourages free thinking. Learners presume that an education will get them a degree and then a job, but education should be for the purpose of making social meaning. It is more about culture, refinement of the individual and how they perceive the world around them.' Read more: 'Inter disciplinary liberal education is the way forward'
India.com
16-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Meet Indian who has committed Rs 25000000000 for girls' education, not Mukesh Ambani, Shiv Nadar, Narayana Murthy
Azim Premji- File image In a matter of good news for girl students across the country, Azim Premji Foundation announced Azim Premji Scholarship to support girls pursuing higher education after school. As per the Azim Premji Foundation scholarship, selected students will receive Rs 30,000 per year, payable in two instalments. Here are all the details you need to know about the recent step by Azim Premji Foundation, following the footsteps of Ajim Premji, an Indian businessman and philanthropist, who was the chairman of Wipro Limited. Azim Premji Foundation: List of states selected Anurag Behar, Chief Executive Officer, Azim Premji Foundation was quoted as saying in a report carried by news agency PTI that they have decided on 18 states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. 'These states were chosen because we have more partners and more ground presence in these states. Our intention is to expand it to the whole country by next academic year or the year after at most,' said Behar. Azim Premji Foundation: Eligibility criteria The Chief Executive Officer also added that they have really simple eligibility criteria. 'Girls who have done their class 10 and 12 schooling in government schools with admission in a bona-fide higher education institution in a degree or diploma programme,' added Behar. 'After the completion of the year, and once it is verified that they are continuing their education, the next cycle will begin. This will continue until they complete their course,' said Behar. Azim Premji Foundation scholarship: 2.5 lakh students to benefit The CEO also added that they are likely to sponsor nearly 2.5 lakh students in the Azim Premji Foundation scholarship. 'If a girl has completed 10th and 12th from a government school and is admitted to a bona fide college, the child is eligible to get Rs 30,000 every year for the duration of her course,' he added. The Foundation, said Behar, is making a significant commitment to support girls to pursue higher education. 'This will help them gain greater control over their life's trajectory,' he added. The application process for the 2025-26 cycle will start in September 2025. (With inputs from agencies)
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
2.5 lakh girls in 18 states to get Premji scholarship in higher education
Bengaluru: Azim Premji Foundation (APF) will expand Azim Premji Scholarship to 2.5 lakh girl students across 18 states from this year to support them in pursuing higher education. The programme started as a pilot project in 2024-25 was operational in Madhya Pradesh and certain districts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The Foundation hopes it will reach 2.5 lakh girls in the academic year 2025-26. That is a commitment of Rs 750 crore in one year and Rs 2,250 crore in three years. Girls who have completed class 10 and 12 schooling in govt schools and have admission in a bona fide higher education institution, including all govt higher education institutions and select private institutions, are eligible for the scholarship. The scholarship will include Rs 30,000 a year for the duration of the degree or diploma programme. "A girl pursuing a four-year BSc (Nursing) will get Rs 1,20,000 scholarship support in those four years. The money will be transferred in two instalments to the girl's bank account directly every year. She may use the money as needed," stated the foundation. In the pilot project, APF received 1.1 lakh applications and 25,000 were found eligible. A commitment of Rs 75 crore this year was made for those girls. The students have been in college only for a few months now. "In most govt institutions, girls have a tuition-fee waiver. But there's also a lot of other expenses. They end up spending money on clothing, books, and transportation for which she will get this Rs 30,000. There's no restriction that she has to spend it for a particular cause," said Anurag Behar, chief executive officer, APF. "There's nothing complicated in the design of this scholarship. The primary school enrolment percentage of girls and boys is almost equal. But as you progress through primary school to middle school to higher secondary and then college, things change. Among those who come from disadvantaged, vulnerable families, very often it is the girl who sacrifices. It's not as though money is the only reason. But financial issues are one reason because of which a very large percentage of girls do not continue into higher education. Therefore, our hope is that with this kind of scholarship support, many more girls will continue into that also. Higher education, after all, changes life prospects," he said. The scholarship programme is likely to be expanded to the entire country in coming years, he added. This is neither a merit-based scholarship nor is it bounded by family income. "The practical reality is that if you start going into all those kinds of details, it's impossible to handle it. Around 90-95% of the children going to govt school come from relatively disadvantaged families. No rich people's kids go to govt schools these days, unfortunately. We don't want to do any further diligence on that," he said. WHICH ARE THE STATES * Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand * Application process for 2025-26 starts in Sept 2025
