Seven women philanthropists power their way into the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020. Besides, they also play a role in running the family’s charitable trusts.
Seven women find their place in EdelGiveHurun India Philanthropy List 2020. With a donation of INR 47 crore, Rohini Nilekani of Infosys is India’s most generous woman, followed by Anu Aga & family of Thermax who donated INR 36 crore, and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon who donated INR 34 crore.
In addition to seven women in the list, it is also important to highlight the role played by these women in running the family charitable trusts. For instance, in most of the family-run businesses that are featured in the list, the spouses of the entrepreneurs lead the charitable trusts.
Top women philanthropists in India – 2020
| Rank | Name | Donation (INR Crore) | Primary Cause | Company |
| 1 | Rohini Nilekani | 47 | Environmental Sustainability | Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies |
| 2 | Anu Aga & family | 36 | Education | Thermax |
| 3 | Kiran Mazumdar Shaw | 34 | Education | Biocon |
| 4 | Manju D Gupta & family | 19 | Rural Development | Lupin |
| 5 | Renu Munjal & family | 17 | Education | Hero Motocorp |
| 5 | Leena Gandhi Tewari | 9 | Healthcare | USV |
| 7 | Kavita Yadupati Singhania & family | 5 | Rural Development | JK Cement |
Rank: 1
Name: Rohini Nilekani
Company: Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies
Donation (INR crore): 47
Primary Cause: Environmental Sustainability
Description: Rohini Nilekani is an Indian writer, author and philanthropist. She is the founder-chairperson of Arghyam Foundation, a non-profit that focuses on water and sanitation issues, founded in 2001. She also chairs the Akshara Foundation, which focuses on elementary education. Nilekani serves as the co-founder and director of non-profit education platform, EkStep. Nandan Nilekani and Rohini Nilekani individually donated INR 159 crore and INR 47 crore respectively. In FY 20, they donated more than INR 100 core towards Societal Platform aimed at creating a shared space to solve problems, at scale, speed, and sustainably.
Rank: 2
Name: Anu Aga & family
Company: Thermax
Donation (INR Crore): 36
Primary Cause: Education
Description: Anu Aga & family of Thermax have committed 30% of their dividend income towards philanthropic causes. Anu Aga is on the board of Thermax Limited, the $800 million Indian energy and environment management company. She retired as chairperson in October 2004. She began her industry career in Thermax in 1985. In 1996, after her husband Rohinton Aga passed away she took over as executive chairperson of the Thermax Group and two years later became non-executive chairperson.
Rank: 3
Name: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Company: Biocon
Donation (INR Crore): 34
Primary Cause: Education
Description: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has joined Bill & Melinda Gates and the growing fraternity of the Giving Pledge in their philanthropic efforts to make this world a better place. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is the first woman to sign The Giving Pledge. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw holds 60.68 per cent of the shares of the company. She has committed to giving away half of her income towards philanthropy on an annual basis. In 2004, Mazumdar-Shaw started a corporate social responsibility wing at Biocon, the Biocon Foundation. The foundation focuses on health, education and infrastructure, especially in rural areas of Karnataka which lack healthcare facilities. The Biocon Foundation is involved in numerous health and education outreach programmes to benefit the economically weaker sections of Indian society. In FY 2020 she has contributed INR 34 crore towards the cause of education.
Rank: 4
Name: Manju D Gupta & family
Company: Lupin
Donation (INR Crore): 19
Primary Cause: Rural Development
Description: Dr Manju Deshbandhu Gupta is a Non-Executive Chairman at Lupin Ltd.
She is on the Board of Directors at Polynova Industries, Lupin Holdings, Lupin Investments, Lupin Properties, Novamed Investments, Rahas Investments, Synchem Investments, Visiomed Investments and Zyma Laboratories. She has donated INR 19 crore for rural development. Last year she contributed INR 18 crore for education.
Rank: 5
Name: Renu Munjal & family
Company: Hero Motocorp
Donation (INR Crore): 17
Primary Cause: Education
Description: Renu Munjal is the Managing Director of Hero FinCorp. She also serves as a director on the Board of Easy Bill. She is the former Executive Director of Hero MotoCorp. She has donated INR 17 crore towards the cause of Education and secured 5th rank among the top women philanthropists in India 2020. Last year Renu Munjal contributed INR 10 crore towards livelihood enhancement and ranked 6th.
Rank: 6
Name: Leena Gandhi Tewari
Company: USV
Donation (INR Crore): 9
Primary Cause: Healthcare
Description: Leena Gandhi Tewari is an Indian businessperson and author. She is the chairperson of USV Private Limited, a multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company based in Mumbai. In FY 2020 she donated INR 9 crore for the healthcare sector. Last year Leena Gandhi donated INR 34 crore for education and was at 3rd spot among the top women philanthropists.
Rank: 7
Name: Kavita Yadupati Singhania & family
Company: JK Cement
Donation (INR Crore): 5
Primary Cause: Rural Development
Description: Kavita Singhania, wife of Yadupati Singhania, MD and CEO of JK cements, is Managing Director of Express Avenue Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. Kavita Singhania also lies in the top 7 women philanthropist list of 2020 at 7th rank by giving away INR 5 crore for the cause of rural development.
Related reports:
▪ Philanthropy picks up in India in 2020
▪ Top 10 philanthropists in India – 2020
▪ Top Personal philanthropists in India – 2020
▪ Top 10 popular philanthropic causes – 2020
▪ Top Philanthropic cities – 2020
— With inputs by Mohammad Mujtaba, an intern from Jamia Millia Islamia.