‘Making A Difference’: Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath, Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar Shaw Pledge Rs 50 Lakh to Charity – News18

Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, who is the executive chairperson of Biocon and Biocon Logistics, have announced a whopping donation of Rs 50 lakhs to charity.

Kamath announced the philanthropic act on his podcast, “NK Talks: The Nikhil Kamath Show,” where Mazumdar-Shaw was a guest.

“In this episode, Kiran and I together are grateful to be able to contribute 50 lakhs to charity!” he announced in a Instagram post.

The charity will be democratically decided based on number of votes suggested by users on the podcast’s Youtube comments section. “Your voice matters, and every vote matters. The charity with the most votes wins democratically. So please join us. Let’s show the world the power of unity in making a difference,” he said.

Zerodha’s co-founders, Nithin Kamath and his brother Nikhil Kamath, have recently been included in the Forbes World’s Billionaire list of 2023. Nithin Kamath is ranked 1,104th on the list, with an estimated net worth of $2.7 billion. Nikhil Kamath, who serves as Zerodha’s Chief Financial Officer, has a net worth of $1.1 billion and is ranked 2,405th on the list.

Meanwhile, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw was listed in Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women list in 2021. In 1978, Mazumdar-Shaw, India’s richest self-made woman, founded India’s largest listed biopharmaceutical firm by revenue. The company has successfully entered the lucrative US biosimilars market, attracting investors’ attention. To date, the firm has sold 3 billion doses of insulin and operates Asia’s largest insulin factory in Malaysia’s Johor region.

Biocon is collaborating with US firm Adagio Therapeutics to develop ADG20, an antibody therapy for preventing and treating the Coronavirus and its variants. In September 2021, vaccine billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla’s Serum Institute of India agreed to acquire a 15% stake in Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon.