Friday, 17 May, 2024
Given the polarised times in contemporary India, his announcement has been praised by many while others have dismissed it as a gimmick
Industrialist Gautam Adani, who has emerged as the richest Asian in 2022 according to various institutions and media outlets who track the wealth of billionaires, has just announced that his Adani Foundation has pledged Rs mammoth Rs 60,000 crores or $ 7.7 billion to philanthropic activities-particularly those related to education, skill development and health. This was announced to mark his 60 th birthday that happens to be June 24. With this one single move, Adan has emerged as one of the biggest philanthropists in India along with Azim Premji of the Wipro group who has been admired for years as one of the most generous philanthropists of India. But given the polarised times in contemporary India, his announcement has been praised by many while others have dismissed it as a gimmick. On one side are Indians who admire Adani and fellow Gujarati Mukesh Ambani for their entrepreneurship skills and ability to generate tens of thousands of jobs. On the other side are Indians who think the two are “crony capitalists” who have rigged the system in their favour. That debate will probably go on for some time. But what is more interesting is to look at philanthropists who have been publicly recognised for their gestures of giving back to society some of the wealth they have acquired as entrepreneurs.
Edel-Harun India releases regular reports on philanthropic activities of tycoons and their families in India. According to their report, Azim Premji was miles ahead of fellow tycoons when it came to giving away wealth. As the accompanying chart shows, he was asked the number one in India with donations of about Rs 9700 crores. The second in the list of philanthropists was the founder of another IT company HCL Shiv Nadar who gave away Rs 1268 crores in 2021; a big number but far behind Azim Premji. The other eight in the list of top ten philanthropists had contributions under Rs 1000 crores.
The list, as the accompanying chart shows, is made up of familiar names like Mukesh Ambani, Kumarmangalam Birla, the Bajaj family, Nandan Nilekani and the Burban family who control the Dabur group. In this 2021 list, Gautam Adani shares the eighth rank with Anil Agarwal of the Vedanta group with a contribution of Rs 130 crore each. There is little doubt that Adani will climb up the ladder with his latest announcement and pledge.
The term ‘pledge1” reminds many of what American tycoons Warren Buffet, Bill and Melinda Gates started in 2010 with a Giving Pledge campaign that encouraged billionaires to plan and implement their philanthropic activities in a smart manner. Since the launch in 2010, about 236 wealthy individuals have joined the campaign. Some of the prominent Indian or Indian origin names in that list are Azim Premji, Kiran Majumdar Shaw, Nandan & Rohini Nilekani, Anil Agarwal and Vinod Khosla, among others. Contrary to public perception, Indian tycoons and corporate groups have always “given and shared”. How they do it is changing now.
