Wipro's founder chairman Azim Premji and his family have topped the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020 with contribution of Rs 7,904 crore.

The founder chairman of HCL Technologies, Shiv Nadar, and his family ranked second, followed by richest Indian Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman of Reliance Industries (RIL), in the third spot. Nadar and his family contributed Rs 795 crore for charitable causes while Ambani and family's contributions stood at Rs 458 crore.

The fourth spot was secured by Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, followed by Anil Agarwal, Chairman, Vedanta Group, in the fifth spot.

Mumbai topped the preferred city of residence for top philanthropists with 36 names from the city making it to the list. Delhi and Bengaluru followed as second and third cities, respectively.

Education remained the biggest cause supported by the donors in India. Healthcare and water conversation witnessed a spike in donations compared to last year.

"Reports of this nature are rare, but give us deep insight into the philanthropic sector and the patterns of giving that are ever-evolving. This year, we also looked at our methodology very closely e ensuring we keep the process transparent and proactively invite leaders of a diverse group to participate in the list," Vidya Shah, Chairperson and CEO, EdelGive Foundation.

Twenty-eight philanthropists entered the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2020 for the first time. The top new additions in the list included S.D. Shibulal of Infosys with a donation of Rs 32 crore, followed by Amit and Archana Chandra of A.T.E. Chandra Foundation who donated Rs 27 crore.

Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher of Hurun India, said: "The preferred cause of India's top philanthropists has been education, although poverty alleviation has grown dramatically to become the second most popular cause this year."

A statement said that Rohini Nilekani, who donates through Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, is India's "most generous" woman, followed by Anu Aga and family of Thermax. Binny Bansal is the only philanthropist under the age of 40 to enter the philanthropy list.

(IANS)