Draft:Azim Premji Foundation

Overview

The Azim Premji Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Azim Premji, the Indian businessman and philanthropist. Headquartered in Bengaluru, India it was launched in 2001 and is reported to be 10^th wealthiest charitable foundation in the world and its endowment value is reported to be USD 29 Billion as of January 2023. It operates across multiple states in India.

The Foundation works to improve the quality of education in India. It also works in the areas related to public health, nutrition and livelihoods.  

Key individuals of the Foundation include Anurag Behar, the CEO, Dileep Ranjekar – the Founder CEO

According to the India Philanthropy Report 2023 by Dasra and Bain & Co, Azim Premji emerged as the most generous Indian and topped the philanthropy charts.

History

As reported Azim Premji Foundation was established in 2001 as part of Azim Premji’s vision to contribute significantly to Indian society through philanthropy. The Foundation began by working with government schools to improve the quality of education, particularly in rural and disadvantaged regions. Over time, it expanded its scope to include work in health, livelihoods and nutrition.

Work in Education

Education is the central focus of the Azim Premji Foundation. The organisation operates Field Institutes across several Indian states, where it engages with teachers, teacher educators, and education officials to strengthen classroom practices and system-level capacities. Its work includes the development of teaching–learning materials, professional development programmes, and long-term initiatives for teacher capacity building. The Foundation also contributes to national and state-level policy discussions on equity and quality in education.

As of 2025, the Foundation runs Field Institutes in 59 districts across seven states and one Union Territory, employing over 1,700 people. In addition, it operates 263 Teacher Learning Centres within these districts to support ongoing teacher development and collaboration.[citation needed]

Azim Premji University

In 2010, the Foundation established Azim Premji University in Bangalore with the objective of preparing professionals in the fields of education, development, and public policy. The University offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in subjects such as education, development studies, public health, economics, and the sciences. It also undertakes research and publishes educational resources.

The University provides financial aid and scholarships to support students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

In 2023, the University expanded with the launch of a second campus in Bhopal. The Foundation has also announced plans for a third campus in Ranchi.

Health and Nutrition

Work during Covid-19

The Azim Premji Foundation and Wipro jointly worked to support the civil society response and help in responding to the pandemic. Together they committed Rs 1125 crore towards tackling the unprecedented health and humanitarian crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. These resources enabled the dedicated medical and service fraternity in the frontline of the battle against the pandemic and in mitigating its wide-ranging human impact, particularly on the most disadvantaged of our society.

Expansion in Health

The Foundation began its work in health in 2022. The Foundation now works to improve the health of vulnerable communities through initiatives like the Azim Premji Health Equity Fellowship, Creche Initiative (focusing on nutrition for children), Health Grants for not-for-profits, Public Health Education, and research.

The Foundation also plans to set up a Medical College and Hospital at Ranchi by 2027

The Foundation works on the-ground work in both urban low-income settlements and remote villages, collaborating with public health systems and running their own Health Centres to provide accessible healthcare and strengthen existing services.

Creches

The Foundation operates creches that works to improve the nutritional status of very vulnerable children in the age group of seven months to three years. Theses creche provide children access to safe spaces as well as nutritious meals. Currently, 1,100 such creches are operational across the five states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Odisha. More than 16,000 children are enrolled in these creches. This initiative is being implemented in partnership with 25 civil society organisations.

Livelihoods

The Foundation supports rural livelihoods through programmes that strengthen farmer collectives, sustainable agriculture, and community-based enterprises. These efforts aim to improve income security and resilience among marginalized groups, including small and marginal farmers. The work is on going in the central tribal belt, in Raigarh and Gumla districts of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand respectively.

Grants

The Foundation provides financial grants to not-for-profits and civil society organisations that work with vulnerable people like persons with disabilities, women facing violence, adolescent girls and children at risk, the homeless.

Grant to Christian Medical College (CMC)

The Foundation partnered with Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore in October 2024, providing a ₹500 crore grant to establish a new medical college and upgrade an existing hospital into a 422-bed teaching hospital at CMC's Chittoor campus.

Karnataka Midday Meal Program

The Foundation partnered with the Government of Karnataka in July 2024 to support the state's Midday Meal Programme by funding the provision of eggs on all six school days for government and government-aided school students, from grades I to X. The Foundation has committed INR 1,500 crore over three years to this initiative, which aims to improve the nutritional intake of approximately 55 lakh students across Karnataka.

Azim Premji Scholarship

The Foundation is providing higher education scholarships for girls. It provided 25,000 scholarships in 2024 and planning to give 250,000 in 2025, with ₹30,000 paid annually per student.

The scholarship is currently available in the following states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Puducherry.

The Azim Premji Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Karnataka to support access to higher education for girl students from government schools and colleges in the state. Under this MOU, the Government of Karnataka and Azim Premji Foundation announced a Collaborative Scholarship Program – Deepika.

The Deepika program will comprise two scholarships:

• The Azim Premji Scholarship, instituted by the Azim Premji Foundation, will support up to 37,000 Girls who have completed 10th and 12 standard from Government Schools/Colleges and are pursuing higher education.
• A supplementary scholarship, instituted by the Government of Karnataka, will cover the remaining Girl students  who have completed 10th and 12 standard from Government Schools/Colleges and are  pursuing higher education.

Financials and Recognition

Azim Premji has pledged more than two-thirds of his wealth to philanthropy, with over ₹2,35,000 crore committed to the Foundation, making it one of the largest charitable endowments in the world. Reports in The Economic Times, Forbes, and Mint have consistently ranked Premji as one of the most generous philanthropists globally. The Foundation’s work has been acknowledged nationally and internationally for its contribution to public education and development in India.