Hurun India Launches Its EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024
The top 10 individuals in the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024 collectively contributed INR 4,625 crore in FY24, accounting for nearly 53% of the total donations on the list. Krishna Chivukula and Susmita & Subroto Bagchi debuted in the top 10, securing the 7th and 9th positions, respectively. Six of these top donors have focused their CSR efforts primarily on education, underscoring a strong commitment to enhancing access to quality learning and supporting educational initiatives across India.
Shiv Nadar & family, 79, has retained the top spot on the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024, with a significant donation of INR 2,153 Cr. As the founder-chairman of HCL Technologies, Nadar increased his contributions by 5% compared to FY23, reinforcing his strong commitment to philanthropy. Through the Shiv Nadar Foundation, established in 1994, his efforts focus on education and arts & culture, including creating institutions like Shiv Nadar University and VidyaGyan, furthering opportunities for young minds across India.
Mukesh Ambani & family, 67, the driving force behind Reliance Industries, made a notable philanthropic contribution of INR 407 Cr, securing the second position on the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024. The Reliance Foundation's current focus areas include rural transformation, healthcare, education, sports development, disaster management, women empowerment, arts and culture, heritage conservation, and urban renewal.
The Bajaj family has climbed three ranks to secure third place on the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024, making a notable donation of INR 352 Cr, reflecting a 33% increase from FY 2023. To honour the philanthropic legacies of Shri Jamnalal Bajaj and Shri Kamalnayan Bajaj, they established the Jamnalal Kaniram Bajaj Trust and the Kamalnayan Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation. These organisations focus on fulfilling social responsibility through ongoing efforts for the socio-economic development of rural communities, with KBJF initiating numerous projects in over 1,500 villages across the Wardha and Sikar districts since July 2009.
Retaining the fourth position on the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024, Kumar Mangalam & family, 57, have donated INR 334 Cr. Notably, around 30% of this amount comes from personal funds, highlighting their strong commitment to philanthropy. Their philanthropic efforts primarily focus on education, healthcare, women's empowerment, and sports, reflecting a dedication to fostering social development across multiple sectors.
Gautam Adani & family, 62, representing the Adani Group, have made a significant philanthropic contribution of INR 330 Cr, securing the fifth position on the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024. This amount reflects a 16% increase over the previous year. Their charitable initiatives are primarily funnelled through the Adani Foundation, with the largest share of their donation directed towards education, followed by efforts in skill development and community health programs.
Nandan Nilekani, 69, ranks sixth on the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024 with a donation of INR 307 Cr, reflecting a 62% increase from the previous year and demonstrating his strong commitment to philanthropy. Nandan, co-founder of Infosys and chief architect of Aadhaar, leverages his wealth and vision to drive meaningful societal change. Alongside his wife Rohini, a prominent philanthropist, they began their charitable journey 30 years ago.
Krishna Chivukula, 52, Chairman of INDO MIM, has made his debut on the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024, securing the seventh position with a notable donation of INR 228 Cr to IIT Madras. An esteemed alumnus of IIT Madras, his contribution marks the largest in the institution's history. It is intended to support various initiatives, including fellowships for top BTech students, sports programs, and high-risk research projects. This generous act highlights his strong commitment to education and societal progress.
Anil Agarwal & family have secured the eighth position on the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024 with a donation of INR 181 Cr. The Anil Agarwal Foundation serves as Vedanta's philanthropic and CSR arm, guided by its mission to "empower communities, transform lives, and facilitate nation-building through sustainable and inclusive growth." Over the past five years, the Foundation has invested approximately INR 2,000 Cr in socio-economic development initiatives across India, positively impacting around 50 million people in nearly 1,300 villages
Susmita & Subroto Bagchi have entered the top ten of the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024 with a notable donation of INR 179 Cr. Their philanthropic efforts extend to education, exemplified by the establishment of the Bagchi School of Public Health at Ahmedabad University in 2023. Named in their honour, the school aims to revolutionise public health education and research in India.
Rohini Nilekani, aged 65, ranks tenth among the top 10 philanthropists with a remarkable donation of INR 154 Cr. As the Chairperson of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Co-founder and Director of EkStep, a non-profit education platform, she is dedicated to advancing education and social initiatives. In 2017, Rohini and her husband, Nandan Nilekani, signed the Giving Pledge, committing to donate half of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
Fed cuts rates 25 bp, as expected
Nov 7 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Thursday as policymakers took note of a job market that has "generally eased" while inflation continues to move towards the U.S. central bank's 2% target.
"Economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace," the central bank's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee said at the end of a two-day policy meeting in which officials lowered the benchmark overnight interest rate to the 4.50%-4.75% range, as widely expected. The decision was unanimous.
In a press conference after the announcement, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday's election in which Republican Donald Trump was elected president, will have no effects on policy decisions in the near term. He also said some of the downside risks to the economy have diminished amid stronger economic data.
MARKET REACTION:
STOCKS: The S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab extended a gain to 0.81% after the news
BONDS: The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes eased to 4.3355%. The 2-year note yield rose to 4.2139%
Edtech startup Bhanzu nears deal to raise Rs 140 crore from Epiq Capital, others
The funding into Bhanzu comes at a time when investor interest in the larger edtech sector has increased over the past months. A slew of edtechs – such as PhysicsWallah (PW), Eruditus, UpGrad – have all raised money in the past few months, Moneycontrol reported earlier.
Lightspeed-backed math learning startup Bhanzu is in advanced stages to raise Rs 130-140 crore, or around $16-$17 million, in a fresh round as investors make a slow and steady return to India’s edtech scene after remaining on the sidelines for several months.
Bhanzu, founded by the world’s fastest human calculator, Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash, is seeing investor interest due to its focus on a niche space within the larger edtech space.
Bhanzu is in discussions with Epiq Capital and Z3Partners for its latest round and the talks could potentially close in the coming weeks, people aware of the developments told Moneycontrol. The startup is commanding a valuation of around $115-120 million, slightly higher than its previous valuation of about $100 million in September 2022, they added.
Edtech funding is back?
The edtech sector had appeared to have lost its sheen in India, majorly due to the downfall of Byju’s and the return of offline learning in a post-pandemic setting. The beleaguered startup, once the most valued edtech in the world, has disappointed investors and is close to bankruptcy which had made the entire sector unattractive at one point.
However, the sentiment is improving now.
A slew of edtechs – such as PhysicsWallah (PW), Eruditus, UpGrad – have all raised money in the past few months. Others, like Bhanzu, are now lining up to raise fresh capital as investors are convinced that the worst for the sector is now behind them.
The funding into Bhanzu comes at a time when investor interest in the larger edtech sector has increased over the past months. PhysicsWallah (PW) raised $210 million in September. A few weeks after that, Moneycontrol had exclusively reported that executive education startup Erudtius was finalising a $150 million deal with TPG.
Even UpGrad, the higher education company, raised $60 million from Singapore’s Temasek, an existing investor.
The Series B round, once closed, will be the first funding for Bhanzu in the past two years. The company had last raised $15 million in its Series A round led by Eight Roads Ventures in September 2022. In all, excluding the current round, the startup has raised a little over $17 million from investors such as Eight Roads Ventures, Lightspeed, B Capital and others since its inception.
Bhanu: The human calculator
Bhanu is the holder of four world records, is a gold medalist Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO) and has 50 entries in the Limca Book of Records. He also broke records held by Shakuntala Devi and Scott Flansburg.
He founded Bhanzu in 2021 to help students overcome the fear around mathematics and make them enjoy the subject. He now plans to use the money to ramp up operations and tap more students in India and other parts of the world like the US.
The company, on its website, claims to have already crossed 3 million teaching hours for over 30,000 students across 16 countries.
Bhanzu, Epiq Capital and Z3Partners did not immediately reply to Moneycontrol’s queries.
This will be the first time Epiq and Z3Partners bet on an edtech firm. While Epiq has backed notable startups like Lenskart, Zepto and others, Z3Partners has funded companies like MakeMyTrip, BigBasket and more in the past.
Goodbye, Vistara! Airline to fly last flights today; fold up into Air India
Full-service carrier Vistara will fly its last flights on Monday as the airline folds into the Air India Group. The airline will merge with Air India, to reduce the number of full-service carriers in the Indian skies to only one.
Vistara, a joint venture between the Tatas and Singapore Airlines, will also see the Singaporean airline holding 25.1 per cent stake in the merged entity.
In the first month after the merger, more than 115,000 passengers with Vistara tickets will fly under the Air India name. The group has, however, said that the Vistara experience will not change. The airline will now operate with flight codes beginning with ‘2’, such as AI 2955 for the current UK 955 flight.
The airline had announced that the same Vistara product and service experience will still be on offer. There would be help desk kiosks set up at airports to help with the transition. At international airports, signage and information will guide passengers to the correct check-in desks, while the Vistara contact centre will redirect calls to Air India's representatives to ensure continuity.
The loyalty members of Vistara will be migrated to the Air India programme.
VISTARA ORIGINS
When the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government permitted foreign airlines to acquire up to 49% in a domestic carrier in 2012, it led to Jet Airways securing a 24% stake from the Gulf carrier Etihad and the emergence of AirAsia India and Vistara. Vistara was the only full-service carrier to have commenced operations in the past decade in Indian skies.
Over the years, airlines such as Kingfisher and Air Sahara, rebranded as JetLite, shut down operations. Jet Airways, which operated for 25 years, was grounded in April 2019 due to financial issues and is now set for liquidation.
Vistara launched in January 2015. Singapore Airlines held 49 per cent and Tata Group held 51per cent in the airline.
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In bear grip: FPIs pull out Rs 20,000 crore from equities in last 5 trading sessions amid China appeal
The exodus of foreign investments from India’s equity markets have continued without let up, with Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) pulling out nearly Rs 20,000 crore over the past five trading sessions.
This withdrawal has been driven by high valuations of domestic stocks and a shift in FPIs’ allocation toward China. As a result, FPIs have become net sellers in India’s equity market.
Data shows that FPIs recorded a net outflow of Rs 19,994 crore between November 4 and November 8, 2024, following a massive outflow of Rs 94,017 crore in October — the worst monthly outflow on record. Prior to this, FPIs had withdrawn Rs 61,973 crore in March 2020.
The trend of FPI selling is expected to persist in the near term unless economic data suggests a possible reversal. If the Q3 earnings results and leading economic indicators point to a recovery in corporate profits, there could be a shift, with FPIs cutting back on their selling or even turning into buyers. Investors will need to wait for these signals, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
"Looking ahead, the direction of the Indian market in the near term will likely be more influenced by domestic factors such as the Maharashtra assembly election results, corporate earnings reports, and how retail investors react to the downturn in October and early November,” according to Sunil Damania, Chief Investment Officer at MojoPMS.
Since June, FPIs have mostly been net buyers of Indian equities following a significant withdrawal of Rs 34,252 crore in April and May. Overall, FPIs have been net buyers in 2024, except for in January, April, May and October, according to data from depositories.
While concerns over the US presidential election and interest rates have eased somewhat, several factors continue to make foreign flows into Indian equities less favourable. One major reason for the exit of FPIs is their growing interest in China, where valuations are attractive and growth prospects look promising.
Recently, China has introduced a series of stimulus measures aimed at revitalising its economy and attracting foreign capital, noted Himanshu Srivastava, Associate Director at Morningstar Investment Research India.
Abhishek Banerjee, smallcase Manager and founder of Loutusdew, believes the shift towards China is driven by hopes of a “deep value” opportunity, though he cautions that it could turn out to be a value trap.
In addition, the recent appreciation of the US dollar and rising US Treasury yields have prompted FPIs to shift their investments into US assets, betting on a stronger US economy in the future, Srivastava added.
Domestically, despite some recent corrections, Indian equities remain relatively expensive compared to their global peers. Concerns about slower-than-expected corporate earnings have also raised questions about the growth outlook for Indian companies.
However, despite the ongoing outflows, November has seen a surge in new FPI registrations, with around 40-50 new applications, signalling continued interest in the Indian market. This influx is partly due to recent regulatory changes by SEBI, which have relaxed rules for NRIs, allowing them to participate up to 100 percent and facilitating easier entry and operations in India, said Manoj Purohit, Partner & Leader at BDO India.
On the debt market front, FPIs invested Rs 599 crore in the general debt limit and Rs 2,896 crore through the voluntary retention route (VRR) during the same period. So far in 2024, FPIs have invested Rs 1.06 lakh crore in Indian debt instruments.
Asian stocks slide as China stimulus disappoints; bitcoin extends record rally
TOKYO, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks led declines in Asia on Monday after Beijing's latest stimulus fell short of investor expectations, overshadowing Wall Street's record highs from Friday and futures pointing to further strength at the reopen.
Bitcoin climbed to an all-time high as Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election along with pro-crypto candidates being voted to Congress spurred expectations of a light-handed regulatory environment.
The dollar traded not far from last week's four-month peak versus major peers as traders prepared for a key reading of U.S. consumer inflation this week, as well as a parade of Federal Reserve speakers, including Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng (.HSI), opens new tab sank 1.9% as of 0545 GMT, with a sub-index of mainland Chinese property shares tumbling 3.3%.
Chinese blue chips (.CSI300), opens new tab were more volatile, trading 0.2% higher after earlier dipping 1.6%.
Japan's Nikkei (.N225), opens new tab was flat after recovering from small early losses. South Korea's Kospi (.KS11), opens new tab dropped 0.8%.
Australia's share benchmark (.AXJO), opens new tab declined 0.4%, weighed down by commodity stocks, after oil and industrial metals weakened.
On Friday, after Chinese markets had closed, the National People's Congress Standing Committee unveiled a 10 trillion yuan ($1.39 trillion) debt package to ease local government financing strains and stabilise flagging economic growth.
However, the stimulus steps lacked the direct injection of money into the economy that some investors had hoped to see, particularly amid the threat of massive tariffs under the incoming Trump administration.
"The measures announced by China look more like an effort to repair government balance sheets rather than stimulate the economy directly, watering down hopes of a robust recovery," said Kyle Rodda, a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.
The stimulus disappointment overshadowed what should have been a positive lead from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab broke above 6,000 points for the first time before marking a record close slightly below that level.
S&P 500 futures pointed 0.2% higher on Monday.
Pan-European STOXX 50 futures added 0.4%.
The Republican party is edging closer to sweeping both chambers of Congress, taking the Senate on election night and with Edison Research projecting it so far to have 214 seats of the 218 seats needed for control of the House, compared to 205 for Democrats.
Investors expect that Trump's second term in office will bring equities-boosting tax cuts and looser regulations.
Bitcoin , which has been another prominent "Trump trade", extended its record run to mark a fresh all-time high of $81,899.22.
Trump has pledged to make the United States "the crypto capital of the planet".
The dollar index , which measures the currency against six major peers, edged up slightly to 105.06 following Friday's 0.55% climb.
Traders will be watching consumer price data on Wednesday for stickiness that could scupper the chances of an interest rate cut at the next meeting in December.
Markets currently lay about 65% odds for a quarter-point reduction on Dec. 18, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
The dollar rose 0.6% to 153.50 yen , reversing some of the weakness from Friday, when the pair tracked long-term U.S. Treasury yields lower .
Minutes of the Bank of Japan's October policy meetings showed officials were divided on how soon they could raise rates again, though market reaction was muted.
U.S. bond markets are closed on Monday for Veterans Day, although Wall Street will be open.
The euro was flat at $1.0717, sitting not far from a four-month low. Political uncertainty remained a drag as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he would be willing to call a vote of confidence before Christmas, paving the way for snap elections following the collapse of his governing coalition.
Sterling edged down about 0.1% to $1.2914.
Gold declined 0.5% to $2,669.13 per ounce, dropping back further from last month's record high of $2,790.15.
Base metals in Shanghai slipped, with the most-traded December copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) falling 0.9% to 76,570 yuan a ton.
Oil prices extended declines from Friday, when Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) each sank more than 2%. On Monday, Brent futures dropped 0.5% to $73.53 a barrel, while U.S. WTI futures lost 0.6% to $69.99 a barrel.
($1 = 7.1787 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Xbox gets first dose of artificial intelligence –– an AI-powered chatbot
Microsoft is doubling down on Artificial Intelligence (AI) by supercharging the Xbox support chatbot with AI––a move that signals the company’s broader AI vision for its gaming console series.
Called “Support Virtual Agent,” the chatbot can be accessed from within the Xbox console or the Xbox app on smartphones and PCs. According to Microsoft, it is “designed to help Xbox players more efficiently solve their support-related gaming issues.”
The AI agent has the shape of a virtual orb that mimics the Xbox colour scheme. When a user asks a query, the animation is such that it experience feels immersive.
Currently in testing, as reported by The Verge, the AI assistant allows users to resolve questions about Xbox features and products. Although Xbox may not receive a full Copilot integration soon, some of Copilot’s features—like natural language processing—are expected to help users interact with support seamlessly, even if they make minor spelling errors.
Microsoft plans to introduce AI-generated art and game assets to personalise the gaming experience further. This integration follows Microsoft’s recent AI rollouts across its product suite, from Copilot on Windows 11 to AI-enhanced tools in Office, demonstrating the company’s steady commitment to embedding AI across its ecosystem.
While the AI capabilities on Xbox are still developing, they illustrate Microsoft’s long-term ambition to bring AI to all of its platforms and products.