Not Mukesh Ambani or Gautam Adani, this Indian man donates around Rs 6 crore every day, his name is…, he owns…

The EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024 highlights the generosity of Indian billionaires, with a record total donation of Rs 8,783 crore for FY 2023-24, an increase of 4% over last year.

India’s billionaires are far ahead in charity work in which the name of Reliance Industries owner and Asia’s richest person Mukesh Ambani is prominently taken and along with him the name of Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani is also taken. But this time another billionaire is at the top of the list of generous people of India.

With a net worth of over Rs 3 lakh crore, HCL Technologies founder and former chairman Shiv Nadar is not just a businessman but also a philanthropist whose contributions are leaving a significant impact on India’s education sector and beyond. According to the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024, Nadar emerged as the country’s most generous philanthropist in FY 2023-24, donating Rs 2,153 crore. This means he donated nearly Rs 6 crore on every single day of the financial year.

The EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024 highlights the generosity of Indian billionaires, with a record total donation of Rs 8,783 crore for FY 2023-24, an increase of 4% over last year. This represents a remarkable 55% increase over the previous year, reflecting a growing trend of charitable giving among India’s wealthiest individuals.

The majority of donations by philanthropists go towards education, with Rs 3,680 crore allocated for this purpose. Healthcare also saw significant contributions, amounting to Rs 626 crore. The number of philanthropists donating more than Rs 100 crore is set to increase from just two in 2018 to 18 in 2024, reflecting a broader commitment among the wealthy to social issues.

Shiv Nadar’s contribution to philanthropy is unmatched. In FY24, he donated Rs 2,153 crore, which is nearly a quarter of the total donations given by India’s top 10 philanthropists. His philanthropic focus has primarily been on education, a cause that is very close to his heart.

Nadar’s commitment to education began in 1996 when he founded the SSN College of Engineering in Chennai, named after his father Sivasubramanya Nadar. He has continued to make significant contributions to educational institutions, including the creation of VidyaGyan, a network of schools aimed at providing free education to rural children from underprivileged communities. His focus on education extends to his role in supporting institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). In 2011 Nadar donated Rs 80 lakh to his former school and has been actively involved in numerous educational initiatives throughout his career.

Shiv Nadar founded HCL Technologies in 1976 from a small garage with 5 co-founders. Today HCL has become a global IT giant with revenues of $13.4 billion (over Rs 1 lakh crore). Nadar resigned from his role as chairman in 2020 and handed over the leadership to his daughter Roshni Nadar Malhotra. However, despite stepping down from active leadership, Nadar’s philanthropic ventures have continued to flourish, especially through the Shiv Nadar Foundation. The foundation has consistently been at the forefront of his philanthropic efforts. Focuses on education, rural development and more.

While Shiv Nadar’s contribution to philanthropy is unmatched, other notable philanthropists have also made significant donations in FY 2023-24.

Here’s how much some of the top donors donated:

• Mukesh Ambani and family: Donated Rs 407 crore through Reliance Foundation.
• Bajaj family: Donated Rs 352 crore.
• Kumar Mangalam Birla and family: Donated Rs 334 crore.
• Gautam Adani and family: Donated Rs 330 crore.
• Nandan Nilekani: Donated Rs 307 crore.
• Krishna Chivukula: Donated Rs 228 crore to IIT Madras.
• Anil Agarwal and family: Donated Rs 128 crore.
• Sushmita and Subroto Bagchi: Donated Rs 179 crore.
• Rohini Nilekani: Donated Rs 154 crore.