Wipro: Azim Premji's Empire

About Wipro

"The company manufactured vegetable and refined oils under the trade name of Kisan, Sunflower and Camel."

In the early days, Wipro was not an IT company. Mohmed Premji incorporated it as "Western India Products" in Amalner in Maharashtra on 29 December 1945. At that time Company manufactured vegetable and refined oils under the name of the trade name if Kisan, Sunflower and Camel. At that time, M.H. Hashem Premji was already an established Rice Merchant, and his son was pursuing Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, United States. But Azim Premji had to leave and return to India in 1966 due to the sudden demise of his father. He came back and took over the Company.

"Wipro not only provides IT Services, Consulting and Business Processes but also manufactures personal care, health care and furniture too."

Wipro now stands high with its headquarter in Sarjapur, Bengaluru, Karnataka. The Company gives employment to thousands of people and is the 9th largest employer in India.

• The total number of employees in Wipro is around two lakhs and more.
• Wipro provides IT Services, Consulting and Business Processes and manufactures personal care, health care, and furniture.
• When Azim Premji returned to India, he was only 21 years old. He took over the Company and expanded the product line and include hydraulic cylinders, soaps, and lighting products. He renamed the Company from "Western India Products" to "Wipro" in 1977.
• The growth of Wipro was mainly due to the diversification of manufacturing products. Oil-based natural ingredients, lamps, medical equipment and IT hardware products such as printers and scanners also started manufacturing in Wipro.

When we dive into the history of Wipro, we can find lots of achievements that made Wipro where it is today. Lots of struggle, planning, strategizing, and hard work was required to build this empire. Azim Premji is the person who guided, developed and nourished Wipro for about 40 years. In the 75 years of its existence, Wipro has become one of the largest IT companies in the world.

Wipro during Covid - 19

"Wipro itself contributed Rs 1,125 crore for pandemic relief support in April 2020. And again, in July 2021, Premji donated Rs 1000 crores."

The above image is of the Pune campus which was converted into a 450 beds hospital during coivd

During covid, Wipro and Azim Premji Foundation made a huge donation for the frontline workers. Azim Premji, an Indian Business Tycoon and Philanthropist, has a huge heart. He is known to make huge donations and takes good care of his employees. 

• When the covid outbreak started to tear down India, Azim Premji, with many other philanthropists, came forward and helped India stand strong with their huge aids. 
• Wipro itself contributed Rs 1,125 crore for pandemic relief support in April 2020. And again, in July 2021, Premji donated Rs 1000 crores. The additional grant will be utilized on universal vaccination.
• Apart from donations for the pandemic in April 2020, Wipro converted its Pune campus into a 450-bed hospital with 150 oxygenated beds, 10 Ventilated beds and ICU Beds. Fifteen doctors and 70 nursing staff were available to treat patients present 24x7.

About Azim Premji:

During the 1980s, after IBM withdrew from India, Azim Premji took this as an opportunity and started focusing on the IT sector. That was the new beginning for India in the technological field.

Wipro started manufacturing microcomputers under a technology-sharing agreement with a US-based company Sentinel Computers. Later, it started proving software solutions too.

"As per Forbes, Azim Premji made the biggest philanthropic contribution of 2019 when he donated $7.6 billion stakes of Wipro Limited to charity." 

• Azim Premji is the first Indian and only third non-American to agree to the Giving Pledge, a commitment taken by the world's wealthiest peoples to donate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. Premji agreed to this in 2013. He has already given away about $21 billion of his wealth.
• Premji is the richest person in India. As per Forbes, Azim Premji made the biggest philanthropic contribution of 2019 when he donated $7.6 billion stakes of Wipro Limited to charity.
• He also founded a non-profit organization, The Azim Premji Foundation, in 2001, aiming to improve primary education in the country. The foundation also set up a university in Bengaluru that works with schools and the government to improve education.
• In a world where unethical behaviour can be found everywhere, Premji built an organization on ethics and maintained its reputation for those. He has put in certain core values in the Company and has worked hard to make a high-performance skilled team.

"He was selected for one of the 30 Greatest Global Entrepreneurs of all time by Business Week named one of the 100 most influential people in the world. "

Azim Premji is India's well-known business tycoon and a great philanthropist who has received many awards, including Padma Bhushan in 2003. He was selected for one of the 30 Greatest Global Entrepreneurs of all time by Business Week, named one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He reshaped Wipro under his wings for about 40 years and made it a conglomerate having multiple businesses into one name, like different branches of a tree with one root. He is one of the pillars for the development of the IT sector of the country and bringing the sector to the global level. 

Premji being humble and generous even after being the richest man of India is a legacy and teaching everyone should learn from. The journey of Wipro from being a home-owned business now to a multinational corporation is a lesson in itself.

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