24.Mr C.K. Ranganathan, Chairman and Managing Director, CavinKare Pvt Ltd

C K Ranganathan was born in Cuddalore to parents with primary interest in education. He took up his Bachelors in Chemistry and after a short stint in the family business,  he set up “Chik India”.  The Company began its journey as Chik India and was renamed CavinKare Pvt. Ltd (CKPL) in 1998 with a starting investment of Rs. 15, 000/-
The Company manufactures and markets many products under the brand of Spinz, Fairever, Meera, Nyle, Karthika, Indica, Tex, Ruchi, Chinnis, Maa, and Cavins’s etc both in domestic and international markets.
The Company has pioneered the concept of 'Family Salons' in India with its specialist brands - Limelite, and Green Trends and hence started Trends In Vogue Pvt. Ltd a Group Company which has a clear-cut focus providing personal styling and beauty solutions to everyone in the family. 
Ranganathan has conferred the prestigious “Entrepreneur of the Year award” by the Economic Times in 2004. He has been elected as Chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry, Tamil Nadu State Council for the year 2009/10. He is the past President of Madras Management Association.
Ranganathan is one of the founder-members of the Ability Foundation - an NGO working towards the rehabilitation of the disabled. He also instituted CAVINKARE ABILITY Awards to celebrate the exemplary spirit of rare breed of individuals who have risen above their physical limitations to display that attitude is everything.

23.Venu Srinivasan ,TVS Motor Chairman

Venu Srinivasan (Tamil: வேணு ஸ்ரீனிவாசன்) is an Indian industrialist; the Chairman and Managing Director of Sundaram Clayton Ltd and TVS Motor Company, the third largest two wheeler manufacturer in India. He also served as the President of Confederation of Indian Industry for the year 2009-10. He is the Honorary Consul General of Republic of Korea and a Member of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade & Industry. He was also President of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

Career

Venu Srinivasan is the grandson of the TVS Group's founder, T. V. Sundaram Iyengar.[2] After graduating as an engineer from the University of Madras, he completed a Master's Degree in Management from Purdue University in the USA.

He became the Managing Director of Sundaram Clayton Ltd. in May 1979. He went on to become Chairman of TVS Motor Company in July 2002.

In the late 1980’s, Srinivasan scripted a turnaround of the company, which was then mired in labour trouble and was sinking into the red. Srinivasan dealt with the situation sternly and shut the factory down for three months, forcing the unions to relent. He then re-structured operations by upgrading plant machinery, investing in new technologies and implementing Total Quality Management practices. He also brought in Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya of the University of Warwick as a consultant to provide guidance.In 2001, TVS Motor Company split with Suzuki and started manufacturing on its own.  TVS Motor Company re-entered contention by successfully launching Victor, India’s first indigenously built four stroke motorcycle. The slew of launches that followed propelled TVS Motor Company to become the third largest two wheeler manufacturer in India.

Srinivasan later brought in Professor Yasutoshi Washio of Japan, a Deming Application Prize Winner and globally renowned expert in Total Quality Management and Japanese Quality Management Guru Prof Yoshikazu Tsuda as mentors to strengthen the TQM processes within the company.

Under his leadership as the Managing Director, Sundaram Clayton's brakes division won the Deming Prize in 1998 for having "achieved distinctive performance improvements through application of company-wide quality control". In 2004, TVS Motor Company also won the Deming Prize, becoming the first two-wheeler company in the world to do so.

Srinivasan holds several other positions:

    Director, Lucas-TVS

    Director, T V Sundram Iyengar & Sons Limited

    Director, Southern Roadways Limited

    Director, Sundram Fasteners Limited

    Director, Cummins India Limited

    Director, TATA Coffee Limited

    Director, Oriental Hotels Limited

    Director, TVS Energy Limited

    Chairman, TVS Credit Services Limited

    Chairman, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Government of India

    Vice Chairman, State Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, Government of Tamil Nadu, India,

    Past President, Confederation of Indian Industry, Delhi.

    Past President, Automotive Research Association of India.

    Past President, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

22.Kanimozhi

 Smt. Kanimozhi

Name	Smt. Kanimozhi
Father's Name	Shri Karunanidhi
Mother's Name	Shrimati Rajathi Karunanidhi
Date of Birth	05/01/1968
Birth Place	Chennai (Tamil Nadu)
Maritial Status	Married
Spouse Name	Shri G. Aravindan
No. of Children	One Son
State Name	Tamil Nadu
Party Name	Dravida Munnetra Kazagham
Permanent Address	14-1, First Main Road, CIT Colony, Mylapore, Chennai. 600004 Telephone : {044}24670606, Mobile: 0944498197
Present Address	C-601, Swarna Jayanti Sadan, Dr. B.D. Marg, New Delhi 110001 Telephone : 23795057, 23793646, Mobile:             9868181967
Email id	kanimozhi[at]sansad[dot]nic[dot]in
Educational Qualifications	M.A. ( Economics)
Profession	Politician, Poet, Journalist
Positions Held	July 2007 Elected to Rajya Sabha Aug. 2007 onwards Member, Committee on Health and Family Welfare Sept. 2007 onwards Member, Committee on Rural Development Aug. 2008 onwards Member, Committee on Empowerment of Women May 2008 onwards Member, Parliamentary Forum on Children Member, Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Human Resource Development
Freedom Fighter	No
Books Published	In Tamil: (i) Karuvarai Vaasanai, (ii) Agathinai, (iii) Paarvaigal and (iv) Karukkum Marudhani; her literary works have been translated into various languages like English, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu by the Dravidian University
Social and Cultural Activities, Literary, Artistic and Scientific Accomplishments and other Special Interests	Has organised Tamil folk art festivals called Chennai Sangamam-Thiru Vizha, Namma Theru Vizha (Our Street Festival) showcasing Chennai's long-lost traditional art forms (the only Festival of India that belongs to people of all religions, as well as to the non-believers), the harvest festival of Tamil antiquity - the Pongal re-discovering itself as urban thanksgiving. Chennai Sangamam had a successful third edition in January 2009; scripted a dance drama called 'Silapathigaram, the woman of substance';also interested in the welfare of differently-abled people and the transgenders
Sports, Clubs, Favourite Pastimes and Recreation
Countries Visited	Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Australia, France, U.S.A., Thailand and Germany
Other Information	Has organized Job Fairs in various districts of Tamil Nadu which began as an experiment in June 2008 at Kariyapatti, a village in Virudhunagar District; by December 2008, job fairs held in rural areas had provided jobs to about 50,000 unemployed youth spread across four districts, namely Nagercoil, Vellore, Udhagamandalam and Virudhunagar; plans to conduct similar job fairs all over Tamil Nadu

21.Indu Jain

Indu Jain

Indu Jain belongs to the Sahu Jain family and is the current chairperson of India's largest media group, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., which owns the Times of India and other large newspapers. She is widowed with two sons.[

Indu Jain is Chairperson of The Times Group. She is a spiritualist, an entrepreneur, an educationalist, a humanist, a patron of art and culture. In her capacity as Chairperson of The Times Group, Indu has since infused new energy into the growth of India's largest media house.

The Times Foundation, which she founded and carefully guides, has garnered international acclaim for its, often pioneering, activities in the field of development. A humanist to the core, under her direction, The Times Foundation runs Community Services, Research Foundation and Times Relief Fund for disaster reliefs like floods, cyclones, earthquakes and epidemics. Indu's championing of women's causes is also well known. She actively supports women's rights and the encouragement of entrepreneurship.

Indu Jain is also founder President of the Ladies wing of FICCI (FLO). A patron of literature and culture, she is Chairperson of the Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust, which awards India's most prestigious and highest literary award, the Jnanpith award and supports endeavours in the field of literature in every major Indian language.

She addressed the United Nations in 2000 at the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders, a speech in which she stressed the need for oneness among faiths and went on to chair a special session of the conference.

A successful business magnate, she is also an accomplished Hindi author and poet. Among her noted compositions, she has penned the lyrics of critically acclaimed movies like Chashme Baddoor, Sparsh and Katha. Earlier, she had also conducted interviews and talk shows for Doordarshan.

Ms Jain is also the guiding force behind The Oneness Forum, formally launched by the President of India in 2003. The Forum recently awarded the Mahatma-Mahavira Awards to outstanding individuals from all of walks of life and is involved in several activities that seek to bring, and highlight, a sense of Oneness in the world.

Ms Jain has 2 sons – Samir Jain and Vineet Jain.

Spreading the message of Peace Within First, Indu Jain spear heads a movement to spread the principles of peace globally.

20.Dr.Kumar Mangalam Birla

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla

Chairman, The Aditya Birla Group

Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla (44) is the Chairman of the US$35 billion multinational Aditya Birla Group, which operates in 36 countries across six continents. Over 60 per cent of its revenues flow from its operations outside India.
 Mr. Birla chairs the Boards of all of the Group's major companies in India and globally. Among its clutch of companies globally feature Novelis, Columbian Chemicals, Aditya Birla Minerals, Aditya Birla Chemicals, Thai Carbon Black and Alexandria Carbon Black among others. In India, he chairs the Boards of Hindalco, Grasim, Aditya Birla Nuvo, UltraTech, Idea, Aditya Birla Financial Services and Aditya Birla Retail.
The Group's businesses are spread across a swath of industries. These include aluminium, copper, cement, textiles (pulp, fibre, yarn, fabric and branded apparel), carbon black, insulators, natural resources, power, agribusiness, telecommunications, financial services, IT/ITeS, retail and trading.
 Business record
Mr. Birla took over as Chairman of the Group in 1995, at the age of 28, after the untimely demise of his father. As Chairman, Mr. Birla has taken the Aditya Birla Group to an altogether higher growth trajectory. In the 17 years that he has been at the helm of the Group, he has accelerated growth, built a meritocracy and enhanced stakeholder value.
 In the process he has raised the Group's turnover from US$ 2 billion in 1995, to US$ 35 billion today. Mr. Birla has restructured the businesses to emerge as a global/national leader in the sectors in which the Group operates. He has made 22 acquisitions in 17 years in India and globally, the highest by an Indian multinational in India.
 The acquisition of Novelis, a global metals major, in 2007, the second largest acquisition ever by an Indian company, led to a new found respect for Indian companies and stoked a higher level of interest in the country as well. Recently, the acquisition of Columbian Chemicals, a US based company and the world's 3rd largest carbon black manufacturer positioned the Group as the No. 1 player in this sector, given its own sizeable carbon black operations today. Likewise, the acquisition of Domsjö Fabriker, a leading Swedish speciality pulp manufacturer enables the Group's pulp and fibre business to further consolidate its global position.
 Besides these, over the years Mr. Birla has acquired manufacturing plants in Canada, China, Indonesia, plantations in Laos, and mines in Australia, set up new plants in Egypt, Thailand and China. Alongside, he has expanded capacities in all of the Group's manufacturing units.
 In India as well, he has made major acquisitions, the most notable being the cement division of Larsen & Toubro; Indal from Alcan; Madura Garments from Coats Viyella and the chlor alkali division of Kanoria Chemicals.
 Under his stewardship, the Aditya Birla Group enjoys a position of leadership in all the major sectors in which it operates. Over the years, Mr. Birla has built a highly successful meritocratic organisation, anchored by an extraordinary force of 133,000 employees belonging to 42 different nationalities.
 In key responsible positions on various regulatory bodies
Mr. Birla holds several key positions on various regulatory and professional boards. He is a Director on the Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India. Earlier, he was Chairman of the Advisory Committee constituted by the Ministry of Company Affairs and also served on The Prime Minister of India's Advisory Council on Trade and Industry.
 As the Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Committee on Corporate Governance, he authored the first report on corporate governance titled "Report of the Kumar Mangalam Birla Committee on Corporate Governance". Its recommendations were path breaking and became the basis of corporate governance norms. Furthermore, as the Convener of the Prime Minister's Task Force on administrative and legal simplifications, the extensive recommendations made by him in his report, have been implemented in totality. Mr. Birla also served as Chairman of SEBI's committee on insider trading, which formulated corporate governance principles for Indian corporates.
 He is on the National Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Apex Advisory Council of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.
 On the board of educational institutions
Mr. Birla is deeply engaged with educational institutions. He is the Chancellor of the renowned Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS), with campuses in Pilani, Goa, Hyderabad and Dubai.
 He is a Director of the G. D. Birla Medical Research & Education Foundation.
 He serves on the London Business School’s Asia Pacific Advisory Board and is a Honorary Fellow of the London Business School.
 Accolades conferred on Mr. Birla
Mr. Birla has won recognition for his exemplary contribution to leadership processes and institution/systems building. A selective list:
                 NASSCOM's 'Global Business Leader Award' 2012.
                'CNBC-TV18 India Business Leader Award 2012' for "taking India abroad".
                'GQ Business Leader of the Year Award - 2011' from Condé Nast India, an affiliate of Condé Nast Global.
                'CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2010 - Business' for being the most outstanding business person and making a success out of most of the businesses including the sunrise sector.
                The All India Management Association's (AIMA), Managing India Awards 'Business Leader of the Year' 2010.
                The 'AIMA-JRD Tata Corporate Leadership Award' 2008.

                The Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science (honoris causa) in 'recognition of his invaluable contribution in the field of business administration' by the G. D. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, 2008.
                "For the development of technology and also for the involvement in the field of industries in bringing the country at par with other countries in the field of industries", the SRM University in Tamil Nadu conferred the Degree of Doctor of Literature, 2008.

                The Asia Pacific Global HR Excellence 'Exemplary Leader' Award, 2007.
                'The Global Indian Leader of the Year' by NDTV Profit in their Business Leader Awards category, 2007.
                The Lakshmipat Singhania – IIM Lucknow National Leadership Award, Business Leader, 2006.
                Represented India at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Award in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June 2006, where he was inducted as a Member of the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Academy.
                'The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year' Award, 2005.
                'Young Super Performer in the CEO Category' by Business Today, 2005.
                Chosen by the World Economic Forum (Davos) as one of the Young Global Leaders, 2004.
                'The D. Litt (honoris causa) Degree' by the Banaras Hindu University, 2004.
                'Honorary Fellowship' by the All India Management Association, 2004.
                'The Business Leader of the Year', The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence 2002-2003.
                'Business Man of the Year - 2003' by Business India.
                'The Rajiv Gandhi Award' for "business excellence and his contribution to the country" by the Mumbai Pradesh Youth Congress, 2001.
                The National HRD Network, 'The Outstanding Business Man of the Year', 2001.
                The Institute of Directors' 'Golden Peacock National Award for Business Leadership', 2001.
                The Hindustan Times', 'Businessman of the Year', 2001.
                The Bombay Management Association's 'The Management Man of the Year 1999-2000'.
                'Among the 10 super stars of corporate finance' - Global Finance, 1998.
                'Among the top 10 of India's most admired and respected CEOs and the top CEO of the coming millennium', Business World, 1998.
Beyond business: Reaching out to the marginalised sections of the society
A firm practitioner of the trusteeship concept, Mr. Birla has institutionalised the concept of caring and giving at the Aditya Birla Group. With his mandate, the Group is involved in meaningful welfare driven activities that distinctively impact the quality of life of the weaker sections of society, surrounding hundreds of villages that are among the poorest in India, Thailand, Philippines and Egypt.
 In India, the Group is engaged in 3,000 villages, reaching out to seven million people annually and making a difference to their lives through meticulously conceived projects focusing on healthcare, education, sustainable livelihood, infrastructure and social causes. For instance, the Group runs 42 schools, which provide quality education to 45,000 children. Of these, over 18,000 children receive free education. Additionally, over a 100,000 youngsters benefit from bridge educational programmes and vocational training.
 Educational background
A commerce graduate from the Mumbai University, Mr. Birla is a chartered accountant. He earned an MBA from the London Business School.
 Personal details
Born on June 14, 1967, in Kolkata, Mr. Birla was raised in Mumbai. Mr. Birla and his wife, Mrs. Neerja Birla have three children, Ananyashree, Aryaman Vikram and Advaitesha.

19.Shashi and Ravi Ruia

Shashi and Ravi Ruia

Shashi and Ravi Ruia are the Indian Billionaires. They are the founders of the Essar Group, the multinational conglomerate in Steel, Power, Energy, Communications and Construction Business.

The head quarter of Essar Group is in Mumbai. They have founded Essar Group in 1969 and today it has $ 15 Billion of Annual Revenue (2009).

Both of them are the India’s Top 10 Richest persons having net worth of around US $ 6-8 Billion. They are also the Forbes Billionaires.

Essar Steel is India’s largest exporter of Flat Steel. And the Company is world’s one of the largest company of steel. Essar Steel is the largest steel producer in western India, with a capacity of 10 MTPA at Hazira, Gujarat. The Essar Steel complex at Hazira in Gujarat,India has a complete infrastructure setup, including a captive port, lime plant and oxygen plant. The company is building a 1.5 MTPA plate mill and a 0.6 MTPA pipe mill in Hazira.

Essar Oil is a fully integrated oil & gas company of international scale with strong presence across the hydrocarbon value chain from exploration & production to oil retail.It has a portfolio of onshore and offshore oil & gas blocks worldwide, with about 70,000 km2 available for exploration

History of Essar Group and Shashi & Ravi Ruia -

Shashi and Ravi Ruia are the born entrepreneurs. They have founded Essar group in 1969 and after that migrated from Rajasthan to Mumbai.

Ruia is a Marwari Family. And the Business is in their blood. The History of Essar Group is not new. Their Family business was since 1800.

In 1969, after the death of their father, Nand Kishore Ruia, both the brothers Shashi & Ruia have took over the group and started expanding. And within just 3 decades they have transformed a small family business into a multinational diversified corporation in the areas of Energy, Steel, Power, Communications and Construction.

Today Essar Group is the fourth largest house in India according to Asset wise.

Ravi is the Chairman of the Essar Group. Extended steel business into North America with acquisitions of Minnesota Steel and Canada's Algoma Steel. Wedding bash for Ravi's daughter Smiti drew 4,000 guests, including family friend Richard Branson.

Recently in April 2010, Ruia brothers have made literally billions of dollars by floating Essar Energy on London Stock Exchange.

Ruia Brothers consider 13 to be their lucky number and will not fly together. Essar Energy is just part of the Ruia's huge steel-to-retail conglomerate and the brothers are only floating 25% of the firm.

For years the brothers shared an office, sitting at "opposite ends of a long room [decorated] with mahogany wall panelling and paintings", and they always get together when India plays cricket.

Business runs in the Ruias' veins, says the FT. They are members of the Marwari community from Rajasthan  –  renowned for its commercial acumen and drive. The bones of their empire was a shipping and exports business founded by their father, Nand Kishore Ruia, in 1956. He named it Essar after the first letters of his sons' names – S and R. The brothers moved into port and deep-sea pipeline construction. Their big break came in 1990 when they took advantage of India's liberalising economy to move into sponge iron, "an unglamorous but essential raw material for steel".

In 2000, they struck a deal with Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing to form Hutchison Essar. When Li Ka-shing sold out to Vodafone in 2007, the value of the Ruias' 33% stake soared. The combined company is currently India's third-largest operator.

18.Azim Hashim Premji

Azim Hashim Premji

Born      24 July 1945 (age 66)

Bombay Presidency, British India

Residence           Bangalore, India

Nationality          Indian

Ethnicity               Kutchhi

Alma mater        Stanford University (dropped out 1966, completed 1999

Occupation         Chairman of Wipro

Net worth           US$ 15.9 billion (2012)

Religion                Islam

Spouse Yasmeen

Children-Rishad, Tariq

Azim Hashim Premji (born 24 July 1945) is an Indian business tycoon and philanthropist who is the chairman of Wipro Limited, guiding the company through four decades of diversification and growth to emerge as one of the Indian leader in the software industry. According to Forbes, he is currently the third wealthiest Indian, and the 41st richest in the world, with a personal wealth of US$15.9 billion in 2012.In 2000, he was voted among the 20 most powerful men in the world by Asiaweek. He has twice been listed among the 100 most influential people by TIME Magazine, once in 2004 and more recently in 2011.[6] Premji owns 79 percent of Wipro and also owns a private equity fund, PremjiInvest, which manages his $1 billion personal portfolio.

 Early life and career

When Azim Premji took over as its head, Wipro dealt in hydrogenated cooking fats and later diversified to bakery fats, ethnic ingredient based toiletries, hair care soaps, baby toiletries, lighting products, and hydraulic cylinders. Thereafter Premji made a focused shift from soaps to software. The Amalner-based vanaspathi manufacturing company, the Western India Products later became Wipro Products Ltd and Wipro Limited subsequently. Under Premji’s leadership Wipro embarked on an ambitious phase of expansion and diversification. The Company began manufacturing light bulbs with and other consumer products including soaps, baby care products, shampoos, powder etc.

In the 1980s Wipro entered the IT field, taking advantage of the exit of IBM from the Indian market in 1975. Thus, Wipro started manufacturing computer hardware, software development and related items, under a special license from Sentinel. As a result, the $1.5 million company in hydrogenated cooking fats grew within a few decades to an over $6 billion diversified, integrated corporation in services, medical systems, technology products and consumer items with offices worldwide. The company’s IT division became the world's first to win SEI CMM level 5 and PCMM Level 5 (People Capability Maturity Model) certification, the latest in quality standards. A large percentage of the company’s revenues are generated by the IT division. Wipro works with leading Fortune 500 companies. Wipro also has a joint venture in Medical Systems with General Electric company.

Wipro Consumer Care launched brands like Santoor and the Wipro Shikakai in 1986; Santoor Talc and Wipro Baby Soft in 1991; Santoor Facewash,Wipro Sanjeevani Honey and Wipro Safewash in 2004; Santoor Handwash in 2006; Wipro Sweet 'n' Healthy and Chandrika Handwash in 2007 and Santoor Deo in 2010.

Wipro Consumer Care acquired brands like Glucovita in 2003; Chandrika in 2004; North West  in 2006; Unza in 2007; Enchanteurand Romano in 2008 and Yardley in 2009 and Aramusk in 2011.

Azim Premji founded Wipro Lighting and Wipro GE Medical Systems in 1991; Wipro Net in 1999; netKracke in 2000; Wipro Water in 2008; and Wipro EcoEnergy in 2009.

Personal life

Azim Premji is married to Yasmeen.The couple have two children, Rishad and Tariq. Rishad is married to Aditi and is currently the Chief Strategy Officer of IT Business, Wipro.

Honours and awards

Premji has been recognized by Business Week as one of the Greatest Entrepreneurs  for being responsible for Wipro emerging as one of the world’s fastest growing companies. In 2000, he was conferred an honorary doctorate by the Manipal Academy of Higher Education.

In 2006, Azim Premji was awarded Lakshya Business Visionary by National Institute of Industrial Engineering, Mumbai.

He was awarded a Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.), an honorary degree, from the Aligarh Muslim University on the 18th of June 2008 on the occasion of 58th Convocation Ceremony of the University.

In 2009, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut for his outstanding philanthropic work.[31] In 2005 the government of India honored him with the title of Padma Bhushan for his outstanding work in trade and commerce.

In 2011, he has been awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award by the Government of India.

Philanthropy

[edit]Wipro Equity Reward Trust

In 1984, Azim Premji established the Wipro Equity Reward Trust[33] to allow employees to acquire stake in Wipro's success and growth. The WERT, which is administered by a Board of Trustees is designed to give eligible employees the right to receive restricted shares and other compensation benefits at the stipulated times and conditions. Such compensation benefits include voluntary contributions, loans, interest and dividends on investments in the WERT and other similar benefits. Shares from the WERT are issued in the joint names of the WERT and the employee until such restrictions and obligations are fulfilled by the employee. After a four-year period, complete ownership of the shares is transferred to the employee.

If employment is terminated by death, disability or retirement, his or her restricted shares are transferred to the employee’s legal heirs or continue to be held by the employee, as the case may be, and such individuals may exercise any rights to those shares for up to 90 days after employment has ceased.

Azim Premji Foundation and university

In 2001, he founded Azim Premji Foundation, a non-profit organization, with a vision to significantly contribute to achieving quality universal education that facilitates a just, equitable, humane and sustainable society. The Foundation works in the area of elementary education to pilot and develop 'proofs of concept' that have a potential for systemic change in India's 1.3 million government-run schools. A specific focus is on working in rural areas where the majority of these schools exist. This choice to work with elementary education (Class I to VIII) in rural government-run is a response to evidence of educational attainment in India. In December 2010, Premji pledged to donate $2 billion for improving school education in India. This has been done by transferring 213 million equity shares of Wipro Ltd, held by a few entities controlled by him, to the Azim Premji Trust.[39] This donation is the largest of its kind by any Indian billionaire. The Azim Premji University was established under the Azim Premji University Act 2010 of the Government of Karnataka[38] to run programmes to develop education and development professionals, offer alternative models for educational change and also invest in educational research to continuously stretch the boundaries of educational thinking. Currently the university conducts three degree awarding programmes:

Masters in Development,

Masters in Education,

Masters in Teacher Education

The Continuing Education Programme aims to transform existing talent in the fields of education and development. The programme is facilitated by the University Resource Centre which provides learning content and capacity building programmes for professionals in education and development through short-term certified courses.

The URC is being developed with a view to conduct relevant and meaningful research into the education system, especially in India. These researches shall be in a manner that facilitates proactive reforms to the existing education system.