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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.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Time of India
Woman hurt as guard lowers barrier in Chandrika Devi temple in Lucknow
Lucknow: A female devotee of Maa Chandrika Devi temple in Bakshi Ka Talab was injured after a private security guard deployed at the barrier of the road to the temple lowered the bar suddenly, on Saturday. The woman received first aid and a complaint was lodged with local police who took the accused into custody. On Saturday, after conclusion of Shrimad Bhagwat Katha , dozens of devotees reached the temple for immersion of puja material but were stopped at the barrier. Ankur Tiwari, resident of Veerampur in Barabanki, said when he, along with his family, reached the temple in a car, and a guard named Ratan, stopped the car. There was a verbal duel. The dispute escalated further when Tiwari asked why they were being stopped when other vehicles were being allowed to pass. "Ratan misbehaved with us . During this, all of us got out of the car. Ratan suddenly dropped the barrier, due to which family member Seema Tiwari got injured," the complainant said. TNN by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo Lucknow: A female devotee of Maa Chandrika Devi temple in Bakshi Ka Talab was injured after a private security guard deployed at the barrier of the road to the temple lowered the bar suddenly, on Saturday. The woman received first aid and a complaint was lodged with local police who took the accused into custody. On Saturday, after conclusion of Shrimad Bhagwat Katha, dozens of devotees reached the temple for immersion of puja material but were stopped at the barrier. Ankur Tiwari, resident of Veerampur in Barabanki, said when he, along with his family, reached the temple in a car, and a guard named Ratan, stopped the car. There was a verbal duel. The dispute escalated further when Tiwari asked why they were being stopped when other vehicles were being allowed to pass. "Ratan misbehaved with us . During this, all of us got out of the car. Ratan suddenly dropped the barrier, due to which family member Seema Tiwari got injured," the complainant said. TNN
The Hindu
21-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Chief Minister likely to visit Visakhapatnam on April 30 to take part in Chandanotsavam of Simhachalam temple
Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu is likely to visit Visakhapatnam along with his wife Nara Bhuvaneswari and family members to have a special darshan of Lord Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy on the auspicious Chandanotsavam on April 30. He is coming to the city to offer silk robes to the deity on behalf of the State government, according to sources. During the city tour, the Chief Minister is likely to inaugurate some projects like an 11-storey multi-level car parking complex called `Deck' at Siripuram, a UH-3H helicopter museum at RK Beach, and a Ratan Tata Innovation Centre for IT companies on the Deck premises. Before this, the Chief Minister will visit Srikakulam district on April 26, where he will distribute financial assistance to the fishing communities under the Matsyakara Bharosa scheme, at Etcherla Assembly constituency. Speaking to The Hindu, a Cabinet rank (TDP) member said, 'The Chief Minister's visit to Srikakulam is almost confirmed, but we have not received any official communication about the CM's visit to Visakhapatnam as of Monday (April 21). However, we have information that the CM is coming to the city on April 30 for the Chandanotsavam, which is the main purpose of his city visit. On that day, he may formally inaugurate projects like the Deck and the helicopter museum. Otherwise, he may come to the city in the first week of May for the project inaugurations.' On the other hand, Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority (VMRDA) Chairman M.V. Pranav Gopal along with his officials on Monday (April 21) inspected the works of the project Deck. On the occasion, he directed his staff to complete any pending work of the Deck by April 26. The VMRDA also developed the UH-3H helicopter museum at a cost of about ₹4 crore including GST. The helicopter was decommissioned from the Indian Navy in 2024 June after 17 years of service. 'We are not clear about the Chief Minister's schedule, but we have told our staff to complete the pending works of our projects by April 26 and get ready for the inauguration whenever that happens,' said Mr. Pranav Gopal. It may be mentioned that the Deck project was finalised in December 2021 and the work began in January 2022. It was planned to be completed in 18 months from the date of signing the agreement with the contractor, but was delayed due to various reasons, including the 2024 elections. The total cost of the project was ₹87.5 crore including 18% GST. VMRDA has invested the lion's share (about ₹60 crore) of the cost of the project. Built on an area of 1.72 acres, the deck will have space commercial establishments like supermarkets and corporate companies. Five floors (1.90 lakh sq ft) will be reserved for parking 430 cars and 400 two-wheelers. Parking will be on three floors from the ground and two floors above. The remaining six floors (1.64 lakh sq ft) will be for commercial establishments. 'If all the parking spaces are occupied, the monthly revenue from vehicle parking will be ₹60 to ₹65 lakh,' a VMRDA official said.
