Wipro turns 80: Rishad Premji shares rare 1945 incorporation record

Wipro chairman Rishad Premji on Tuesday said the company has completed 80 years since its incorporation in December 1945 - two years before India's Independence.

"Wipro turned 80 yesterday, born December 29, 1945. We were founded two years before the independence of India. This is the oldest archival copy of the certificate of incorporation of Western India Vegetable Products, the Wipro of today. Humbled and grateful to be part of this legacy," Premji wrote on X.

Rishad Premji shared a copy of the company's Certificate of Incorporation dated December 29, 1945, showing the firm's original registration as Western India Vegetable Products Limited under the Indian Companies' Act of 1913. Issued in Bombay, the document-signed by the then Registrar of Companies-offers a glimpse into Wipro's origins nearly eight decades ago, long before the company transformed into a global IT services major.

Over eight decades, the group has transformed into a diversified multinational with a dominant presence in IT services and consulting, alongside consumer products and infrastructure engineering through its unlisted businesses.

Today, Wipro operates as a global technology major, delivering digital transformation services across cloud, cybersecurity, data analytics, enterprise applications, and business process services. Its listed arm focuses on IT services and products, while Wipro Enterprises houses interests in consumer care, lighting and infrastructure engineering. The company serves clients across financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and telecommunications markets worldwide.

Reacting to the milestone, former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai congratulated the Wipro leadership and paid tribute to the group’s long-standing values-driven legacy. "Congrats to @RishadPremji @azimpremjiuniv @Wipro. An outstanding company, an outstanding compassionate Industrialist, India’s biggest philanthropist, Azim Premji is a Great Indian and role model. Best wishes Rishad for your future. Now on to 100 years!" Pai said.

Wipro's transformation over the decades was largely shaped by Azim Premji, who took charge of the company in 1966. Serving as chairman from 1968 until 2019, Premji steered Wipro from a small consumer goods business into a pioneer of India's software exports and one of the country's largest global IT services firms.

Under his leadership, Wipro diversified into technology and expanded internationally. In 2019, Azim Premji handed over the chairmanship to Rishad Premji as part of a structured generational transition.