 "Premji transfers Rs 12,300 cr to Azim Premji Foundation")
The transfer which is valued at approximately about Rs 12,300 crores based on current market price, the trust’s shareholding in Wipro will go up to about 19.93%. The Foundation will utilise the endowment to fund, various social, not-for-profit initiatives which are expected to scale significantly over the next few years.
Earlier, in 2010, Premji had donated around 8.7% (approximately about $2 billion) of the total stock of Wipro from his personal stock-holding for philanthropy.
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Azim Premji Foundation set up in 2001 has worked largely in rural India, often in close partnership with various State Governments, to help contribute to the improvement of quality and equity of school education. Currently, the Foundation’s work is spread across Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
Azim Premji who is also the chairman of Azim Premji Foundation is the only first Indian to sign up for the Giving Pledge, an initiative undertaken by wealthiest billionaires to dedicate a majority of their wealth to philanthropy. The Giving Pledge was formed by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates in 2010.
In his first letter to The Giving Pledge this week Premji, had also said that the next five years he expects the foundation to grow from the current 800 people to 4,000 - 5,000 people.
As part of scaling up of the institutional strategy, over the next 4 to 5 years, the number of district level institutions will expand to 50-60, state level institutions to 6-8 and the university will expand to have 3,500 students with 350 faculty members across multiple programmes. The Foundation will also have 50-100 demonstration schools associated with district level institutions.