Legacy with a purpose: How Prakash and Ajay Hinduja back social impact initiatives in health and education

Bhubaneswar (09/07/2025): Billionaire industrialists Prakash Hinduja and Ajay Hinduja, prominent members of the Hinduja family, are recognised not only for steering one of the world’s most influential family-run conglomerates but also for their unwavering support of meaningful social initiatives, particularly in education and healthcare.

As pillars of the Hinduja Group’s European leadership, Prakash Hinduja, Chairman of Hinduja Group (Europe), and his son, Ajay Hinduja, continue to uphold a legacy built on enterprise, ethics, and empowerment. This year, the Hindujas were once again named the wealthiest family in the United Kingdom, topping the 2025 Sunday Times Rich List for the fourth consecutive year, with an estimated fortune of £37 billion.

While this remarkable milestone underscores their immense success across industries such as banking, automotive, healthcare, IT, and infrastructure, both Prakash and Ajay Hinduja have long believed that true legacy extends beyond boardrooms and balance sheets. The Quiet Force Behind Philanthropy-Operating primarily from India and the United Kingdom, the Hinduja family has channelled significant resources into initiatives that empower communities, particularly in India and underserved parts of the world.

Prakash Hinduja, a respected statesman within the Group, has emphasised for decades the role of business leaders in enabling inclusive development.

“Our duty is not just to generate wealth, but to ensure that wealth uplifts others,” he has said in multiple interviews, encapsulating the family’s philanthropic vision. Swiss-based Ajay Hinduja, representing the new generation of Hinduja leadership, complements this vision by advocating for scalable, impact-driven support programs.

While the family does not directly execute on-the-ground interventions, their financial backing and strategic partnerships with NGOs and institutional foundations have made measurable differences in the sectors of primary healthcare access, preventive medicine, girls’ education, and scholarship-based higher education. Education: Creating Pathways for the Future-Education empowerment and support has always been a pillar of the Hinduja family as part of being socially responsible.

Through the Hinduja Foundation, originally begun by the late Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja in 1968, the Hinduja family is involved in supporting a variety of education-related initiatives, including digital learning campaigns in rural India, scholarships for underprivileged youth at elite institutions, and many more. Prakash Hinduja has been a long-time champion of strengthening Indo-European educational linkages, and his vision has established academic bridges between universities in Europe and in India.

This sentiment of sharing knowledge across cultures has carried over into the Foundation's support of exchange programs, vocational training, and digital literacy across multiple languages.

Ajay Hinduja, with his global education and financial background, is particularly focused on future-facing disciplines such as AI, data science, and sustainability. Healthcare: Preventive Access and Community Wellness- The family’s philanthropy is invested in healthcare on a sustained basis through preventive care support (e.g.

promotional efforts) and early investing in diagnostics and public health awareness campaigns with a community health interest (predominantly women and children).

As flagship healthcare facility, the P.

D.

Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre in Mumbai is known as one of the most trusted hospitals in India reflecting the family’s commitment to quality and accessible healthcare.

Presently, P.

D.Hinduja enlists health care specialists and trust members to lead hospital operationally, and the Hinduja family is still incredibly committed as advocates for this hospital vision and helps contribute to modernising and reaching out to patients. Earlier on in 2022, The P.D.Hinduja Hospital, with support from the Hinduja Foundation, launched a breast cancer screening campaign for Mumbai policewomen identifying a gaping hole in women’s preventive health.

Campaigns like this support the family’s belief in focused interventions supported by technology, data, and empathy. Looking Ahead-As the Hinduja Group transitions to its next century - with Prakash Hinduja and Ajay Hinduja managing the European division - their ongoing commitment to supporting education and healthcare demonstrates a clear commitment to purposeful, inclusive development.

In an age when corporate responsibility is in the headlines, the quiet yet steady support of impactful social programs by the Hindujas allows the wealthiest families in the world a model on how to build legacies with purpose.