Mukesh Ambani is top Indian philanthropist with Rs437-cr donation
11 Feb 2019
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Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, the richest Indian, is also the top philanthropist in the country by the amount of money donated for social causes, even as the number of people becoming millionaires is increasing every day across the country.
The number of people becoming millionaires is increasing every day across the country. In the Income-tax Assessment Year 2017-18, as many as 61 individuals declared an annual income of over Rs100 crore, according to the latest Hurun India list.
"Hurun Indian Philanthropy List 2018” prepared by the Hurun Research Institute says that as many as 39 Indians donated Rs10 crore or more between 1 October 2017 and 30 September 2018. The number has increased by 12 from the last year.
Mukesh Ambani donated Rs437 crore in the same period, while Ajay Piramal of Piramal Group was distant second with Rs200-crore donation, in the list of top 10 philanthropists.
Manju D Gupta and family is the only woman philanthropist among the top 10 in the list.
The Hurun India Philanthropy List 2018 included 22 self-made and 17 inherited entrepreneurs. Ambani made donations mainly towards education, rural development and healthcare. Piramal also donated towards education and healthcare.
Education received 30 per cent of the donations, while healthcare received a mere 1 per cent of the total estimated donations of Rs1,560 crore during the year.
Average donation per philanthropist stood at Rs40 crore.
“The philanthropic landscape of India is changing and evolving because of the active participation and contribution of the top Indian entrepreneurs. Some of the most amazing global wealth creation stories of this century will be from India. Consequently, in the next 5-10 years, I expect to see an exponential increase in active philanthropy emanating from India,” Anas Rahman Junaid, managing director and chief researcher, Hurun Report India, said while releasing the report.
