Meet India’s biggest female donor - Rohini Nilekani

Whenever we talk about donators we get answers  which are more often than not males, but who is the female known to be the biggest donor of India. Let us talk about the generous lady who who donated around Rs 1200000000 in 2022 and her annual donations increased to Rs 1700000000 in the year 2023.  

We are talking about the women none other than Rohini Nilekani, the wife of Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani. Rohini Nilekani’s benevolent actions in India have earned her the top spot on the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy Women’s List for 2023. Through the years, Rohini’s outstanding generosity has kept her in the ranks of the most charitable people in the country.  

About Rohini Nilekani

Born in 1960, Rohini Nilekani, she is recognised as the anchor behind Arghyam Foundation, a body striving to remedy water and sanitation crises. Simultaneously, Rohini also heads Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies prominently.

Rohini hails from a modest background and as the daughter of an engineer and a dedicated homemaker, she embraced the ethos of simple living and high thinking. For those who are still unversed, Rohini is the better half of Nandan Nilekani, one of the founding members of the renowned IT giant, Infosys, boasting a mind-boggling market cap of Rs 6,79,000 crore.

While Ms Nilekani was on the 10th spot, Mr Nilekani was 8th on the list topped by HCL co-founder Shiv Nadar.

Nandan Nilekani and six of his fellow software engineers took the entrepreneurial leap in 1981, right after he tied the knot with Rohini. Rohini, as highlighted by Women’s Web, even pitched in with her life’s savings of 10,000 Rs to help establish Infosys. As luck would have it, the company soared to great heights, and in the process, Rohini realized her financial freedom, independent of Nandan.

Apart from being a philanthropist, Rohini Nilekani is also known for her brilliant work as an author and her dedicated efforts towards promoting education and nurturing an environmentally sustainable world. Rohini Nilekani showcases her deep-rooted commitment to giving back to society through her leadership in Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies. She channels her resources through this organization, making meaningful contributions for a better world.

Talking about the education of Rohini, Rohini chose an unconventional path where she pursued French Literature at the well-regarded Elphinstone College. Her professional journey began with the humble role of a reporter at Bombay Magazine in 1980, and she later carried her journalistic aspirations to Sunday magazine in Bangalore.