$2 billion for education, pledged by Premji
Wipro chairman Azim Premji has pledged to give about Rs 8,846 crore ($2 billion) to improve school education in India. 213 million shares would be transferred to a trust.. The transfer would be completed by December 7. This statement was given by Wipro to Bombay Stock Exchange
This philanthropic act is expected to fund the educational activities of the Azim Premji Foundation which is dedicated to work in the area of education in rural India. Premji is India's third richest man with a net worth of $18 billion.
A $2-billion endowment even at a conservative return of 8%- 12% is expected to generate annually returns of $160-250 million (Rs 750-1,150 crore). This will be used to run APF initiatives, including the Bangalore-based Azim Premji University.
The university, offering post-graduate courses in education and development, will start with 200 students in 2011 and scale to 2,000 in 4-5 year.
In a statement issued by Wipro, it was said that good education was the foremost need and requisite for building a just, equitable, humane and a sustainable society.
Whether it is school level of education or university level, major focus would be on the underprivileged sections of the society.
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