INDIA - Tech mogul to pledge billions to aid education

 Mumbai, India (AP):

In a country where charity more typically goes to helping the household, an Indian tech mogul's pledge to donate nearly $2 billion to fund education programmes for the poor was a bombshell. It could also be a sign of and a nudge to change: India's burgeoning class of super rich might finally be ready to do more for the nation's teeming poor.

Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro Ltd, India's third-largest software services exporter, said Wednesday he would transfer 213 million shares worth 88.4 billion rupees ($1.95 billion) in the company to the Azim Premji Foundation by December 7. The trust is controlled by Premji, and he will continue to retain the voting rights of the transferred shares. Forbes lists Premji as the third richest Indian and the 28th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of more than $17 billion. His gift is the country's largest lump-sum donation in modern times. India is the second-fastest growing major economy after China, but charitable giving has lagged behind. Individual and corporate donations made up only 10 percent of giving in 2009, compared with 75 per cent in the United States, according to a Bain & Company study.