HCL founder Shiv Nadar tops the Hurun India Philanthropy list with Rs 630 crores donation towards education sector. Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and his wife Sudha Gopalakrishnan came in second with a donation of Rs 313 crores primarily towards healthcare, social development and education.

The Hurun Research Institute has released the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2016, a ranking of the most generous individuals from India. Donations were measured by the value of their cash or cash equivalent from January 2016 to December 2016. This is the fourth year of the list and it follows on from the Hurun India Rich List, a ranking of 339 richest individuals in India, released in September 2016 for the fourth year.

RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani came in third with a donation of Rs 303 crores made towards causes such as education, rural development, sports , health and has also contributed to Swachh Bharat.

CMD, Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw donated Rs 45 crores to healthcare, education and social development.

Accounting for 35% of the donations, education remains the most favoured philanthropic cause. With 10 individuals, Mumbai is home to most of the Hurun philanthropists, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi.

Education remains the most favored philanthropic cause followed by Healthcare and Social Development. Shiv Nadar is the highest Individual contributor for education and his primary objective is to create a measureable impact in the lives of the children and youth.

With initatives such as Digital India, rural electrification, Modi government has been pushing the need for overall societal development. Taking advantage of such schemes, the Indian entrepreuers are investing more into rural areas as part of long term business goals.

Cyrus S Poonawalla’s Clean City vision for Pune has made him contribute INR 130 Crores towards social responsibility and he aspires to make Indian Urban Cities more livable.
 
“My philanthropic efforts are directed towards building a society, where everyone has equal access to quality healthcare irrespective of person’s economic and social status.” - Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD Biocon to Hurun Report India.
 

Source: Hurun Research Institute & Hurun India Rich List 2016