Shiv Nadar of HCL Technologies has topped the EdelGive-Hurun India philanthropy list for the third time in the last five years by donating ₹2,153 crore this year.
He was followed by Mukesh Ambani and Bajaj family with a donation of ₹407 crore and ₹352 crore. Kumar Mangalam Birla and Gautam Adani came close by giving away ₹334 crore and ₹330 crore.
The EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy list finds 93 new entrants, taking the total to 203 individuals who have donated ₹8,783 crore, up 55 per cent from two years back.
Nikhil Kamath, 38, of Zerodha, was the youngest philanthropist, donating ₹120 crore.
The most generous among the new entrants was Krishna Chivukula, Chairman, Indo Mim, with a donation of ₹228 crore.
Anas Rahman Junaid, Founder and Chief Researcher, Hurun India said the threshold to enter India’s top 10 philanthropists has doubled touching ₹154 crore, up from ₹83 crore five years ago.
Additionally, the number of individuals donating over ₹100 crore has increased to 18, compared to just 9 in 2019.
This number of ₹100 crore donors is impressive, considering that China—with nearly twice as many billionaires and a GDP five times larger than India—has ‘only’ 25 philanthropists donating over ₹100 crore.
The top 10 individuals on the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy list collectively contributed ₹4,625 crore in FY24, accounting for nearly 53 per cent of the total donations on the list.
Six of these top donors have focused their CSR efforts primarily on education, underscoring a strong commitment to enhancing access to quality learning and supporting educational initiatives across India.