Azim Premji, gives IT all away

In arguably the largest philanthropic gesture India has seen, Azim Premji, founder-Chairman of Indian Infotech leader, Wipro, has announced that he will transfer 213 million equity shares (at a current market price valued approximately at Rs 88.4 billion) of Wipro Ltd., held by him to an irrevocable trust. The transfer will be effected by7 December 2010 and the trust will utilize the endowment to fund, various social, not-for-profit initiatives, which are expected to scale significantly over the next few years.
Azim Premji has led Wipro since 1966. Then a USD 2 million hydrogenated cooking fat company, Wipro Limited is today a $ 5 billion revenue IT, BPO and R&D Services organization with presence in over 50 countries. In 2001, Premji established the Azim Premji Foundation, a not-for-profit organization with a vision to significantly contribute to quality primary education for every child, in order to build a just, equitable and humane society. The financial resources to this foundation have been personally contributed by Premji and the latest infusion will also be routed through the Foundation. The current programs of the Azim Premji Foundation engage 2.5 million children in more than 17,000 schools across India. Dec 3 2010