India’s wealthiest donors contributed a record ₹10,380 crore this year, according to the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2025. The list features 191 philanthropists — including 12 newcomers — and shows an 85% jump in total giving over the past three years, signaling a major cultural shift toward large-scale philanthropy.
Shiv Nadar & family, founders of HCL Technologies, retained their position at the top for the fourth time in five years with donations worth ₹2,708 crore. That’s about ₹7.4 crore a day, most of it through the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which focuses on education and the arts.
The top ten donors together contributed ₹5,834 crore, up 26% from last year and accounting for more than half of all giving. Mukesh Ambani & family ranked second with ₹626 crore, followed by the Bajaj family at ₹446 crore. Kumar Mangalam Birla & family placed fourth with ₹440 crore, and Gautam Adani & family followed with ₹386 crore.
New faces in the top ten include the Hinduja family, Sudhir and Samir Mehta, and Cyrus and Adar Poonawalla, who joined the list at seventh, ninth, and tenth respectively.
Rohini Nilekani remained India’s most generous woman philanthropist, donating ₹204 crore through her foundations focused on education and ecosystem building. Nandan Nilekani also featured prominently with ₹365 crore in contributions, reflecting his continued focus on innovation in public goods.
Overall, India’s philanthropic landscape has expanded dramatically. The top 25 donors alone have given ₹50,000 crore over the past five years — about ₹46 crore per day. The threshold to enter the top 25 has climbed 180% since 2014, while the bar for the top ten has more than doubled since 2020.
Eighteen individuals now give over ₹100 crore annually, compared with just two in 2018. Thirty-three gave more than ₹50 crore, and 70 exceeded ₹20 crore, underscoring the growing scale and depth of Indian philanthropy.
Ranjan Pai of Manipal Education and Medical Group crossed ₹100 crore in personal giving this year with donations worth ₹160 crore, entering the top five for individual philanthropy. The Infosys founders collectively contributed more than ₹850 crore, averaging over ₹2 crore a day — a record for a single corporate group.
Professionals and entrepreneurs beyond legacy families are also making a mark. A.M. Naik, Amit and Archana Chandra, and venture capitalists Prashanth Prakash and Amitha Prashanth together contributed close to ₹800 crore over three years.
Regionally, Mumbai dominates with 28% of philanthropists, followed by New Delhi at 17% and Bengaluru at eight percent. Maharashtra continues to lead in CSR allocations. Sector-wise, pharmaceuticals account for 16% of the list, followed by software, automobiles, and chemicals.
Education remains the most supported cause, attracting ₹4,166 crore from 107 donors. Notably, 101 philanthropists are now self-made, up from 65 in 2023, and 24 are women.
Eighty-eight donors channel their CSR through NGOs, while 104 run their own foundations. Shiv Nadar, Mukesh Ambani, and the Hinduja family posted the largest year-on-year increases in giving, while Sanjay and Alpana Dangi saw the sharpest rise in ranking.
Corporate philanthropy also hit new highs. Reliance Industries exceeded its CSR requirement by ₹261 crore with total giving of ₹1,309 crore. Rungta Sons and Jindal Steel & Power also surpassed their mandated spends by ₹114 crore and ₹100 crore respectively.
