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Listening Window Odisha Knowledge Hub Lecture Series 101

LECTURE 15 Government and Philanthropic
Institutions Working Together
for Social Change
Azim Premji

Azim Premji, a graduate in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, USA has been at the helm
of Wipro Limited since the late 1960s, turning what was then a $2 million company into close to
$ 8.5 billion IT company. Premji has been driven by one basic idea – to build an organization deeply
committed to Values, with the firm belief that success in business eventually but inevitably follows.

He has been conferred with Padma Vibhushan in 2011 and the Legion of Honor by France.

Premji firmly believes that business organizations have a social responsibility not only to employ
ethical, fair and ecologically sensitive business practices but also to actively engage with fundamental
societal issues. “Wipro Applying Thought in Schools” (in India) and “Wipro STEM Fellowships” (in the
US) are initiatives deeply involved in trying to improve quality of school education, while the “Wipro
Cares” program engages with local community causes. In 2001, Premji established the Azim Premji
Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, with a vision of enhancing quality and equity in the public
school education system

Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives supports not-for-profits, through financial grants, which work
in areas such as nutrition, local governance, and well-being of vulnerable groups. The mission is to
facilitate a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society.