Azim Premji pledges more to philanthropy

Joins Bill Gates, Warren Buffet in the 'Giving Pledge' initiative

Azim Premji, chairman Wipro, today said he will contribute more of his wealth to philanthropic activities through the Azim Premji Foundation as they work to improve equity and quality of the primary education system in the country. In the next five years he expects the foundation to grow from the current 800 people to 4,000 - 5,000 people.

Premji also became the first Indian corporate honcho to have committed to 'The Giving Pledge' formed by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates in 2010. According to the release from The Giving Pledge, 12 new pledge signatories joined the cause, some of the prominent names include Azim Premji, Hasso Plattner and Vladimir Potanin, bringing the total to 105 families committed to the pledge which is collectively worth $500 billion.

In a letter to the first international Giving Pledge Group Premji said: "I strongly believe that those of us, who are privileged to have wealth, should contribute significantly to try and create a better world for the millions who are far less privileged. I will continue to act on this belief."

In 2001, the billionaire chairman of Wipro, founded the Azim Premji Foundation, a non-profit organisation, with an aim of working in collaboration with the government to improve the public schooling system in the country.

In 2010, Premji had donated around 8.7 per cent (approximately about $2 billion) of the total stock of Wipro from his personal stock-holding for philanthropy which formed the endowment for the Foundation.

The Giving Pledge which started functioning in 2010 was focused on encouraging the wealthiest in the US to give most of their wealth for philanthropic activities. Earlier, Buffett who is one of the founders of the group had said that they are planning to widen the group's function outside the US to India and China. Recently, Gates had discussions with some of the wealthiest Indians in Bangalore which was co-hosted by Azim Premji and Ratan Tata.

Some of the work done by Azim Premji Foundation

Azim Premji Foundation founded in 2001 to improve the public schooling system

Foundation's works across Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh

It helped 33 per cent improvement in language learning of 56,000 children through its Accelerated Learning Programme

Karnataka-wide school quality assessment organisation instituted

It helped change exam system from classes 1 to 8 in Uttarakhand

Helped 10 per cent improvement in 6,500 schools  in 5 states over 2 years

Has 7 district-level institutions, 3 state-level institutions.

Azim Premji University started operations in 2010

Offers two programmes and has 70 faculty members and 240 students

Scaling up of the AzimPremji Foundation is also something he is focused on. “In 2009, we reviewed our experience and our strategy at the Foundation. As a result, we decided to scale up our work and deepen our support to the public schooling system by creating institutions,” Premji said. In 2010, the foundation established Azim Premji University (APU) in Karnataka, specialising in post-graduate programmes in the area of education and development.

“The developments of the past two years have given me confidence in our scaled up and institutional strategy. Even as we execute this strategy, I am aware that ensuring stable funding source is critical for its success. I am committed to transferring more of my wealth to scale up the endowment of the foundation,” he added