Azim Premji Is The Most Generous Indian

Wipro's Azim Premji donated Rs. 7,904 crore in 2020. That's roughly Rs. 22 crore a day...phew!

Transcript

00:00And I just see wealth as a trustee ship, and therefore I use that wealth as a trustee ship to do philanthropy.

00:08And philanthropy gives one extraordinary joy, and it has lasting values.

00:15And I can see it in my lifetime.

00:17We go back to our constitution. It's very simple.

00:20We hope to contribute to building an equitable, humane, and sustainable society.

00:26Most important, be true to your purpose.

00:29And do it with commitment, do it with honesty, and do it with transparency.

00:34And I just see wealth as a trustee ship, and therefore I use that wealth as a trustee ship to do philanthropy.

01:00And philanthropy gives one extraordinary joy, and it has lasting values.

01:07And I can see it in my lifetime.

01:13Well, I think the major issue was the influence of my mother.

01:17She was a medical doctor, but she never practiced medicine.

01:21At the age of 27, she founded the Children's Orthopedic Hospital.

01:25At that point of time, we were not wealthy enough to finance the hospital.

01:30She had to take government loans from wealthy donations, and it took an enormous amount of work.

01:38But she built a world-class hospital, which was a unique one in the whole of Southeast Asia.

01:43I think, if anything, that was my main motivation.

01:46Second was the influence of Gandhi. How much wealth can one consume?

02:00You know, we go back to our constitution. It's very simple.

02:03We hope to contribute to building an equitable, humane, and sustainable society.

02:09That's really our mission, is what we're trying to do in financing through EPPI.

02:15And we have chosen three major areas where we are focusing our funds to have an impact.

02:22And so far, I think we have done quite well.

02:30I think that two simple tests is something very wrong being done, where we can correct it.

02:36Through funding, through NGOs, through our intervention.

02:41Second is, is it a cause which is really worth it?

02:44Does it bring tears to your eyes in terms of, you know, how much we have invested?

02:50Through funding, through NGOs, through our intervention.

02:53Second is, is it a cause which is really worth it?

02:56Does it bring tears to your eyes in terms of what is really happening to people who are less advantaged or more disadvantaged in our society?

03:05Two fundamental criteria.

03:12Most important, be true to your purpose.

03:14And do it with commitment, do it with honesty, and do it with transparency.

03:19The NGO must have the ambition to scale.

03:22It's very important that who we fund is able to do more going forward.