Collectively Reimagining CSR as Investment Capital: 100 Thousand Crores for Transforming India

24 Sept 2025

Ten years after CSR was written into law, India Inc stands at a crossroads. CSR has evolved significantly to become a strategic lever for pressing development challenges. By 2035, CSR spending is projected to treble and exceed ₹1.2 lakh crore annually – making it the largest pool of philanthropic capital in the country. This presents a historic opportunity - to reimagine CSR as investment capital to drive systemic change.

On September 24, The Convergence Foundation (TCF) and its network organisation SCALE launched their report - India Inc. for Building Bharat: How Systemic CSR is Building Enduring Impact for Tomorrow - co-authored with India Impact Sherpas. The event was held at The Quorum in Mumbai, with over 50 corporate and CSR leaders in attendance. The report documents emerging trends in corporate philanthropy, highlighting the rise of catalytic funding directed to organisations which support governments in strengthening public systems. It analyses 13 CSRs/CSR foundations which have adopted systemic giving models by aligning a proportion of their grantmaking or operating strategy. These foundations have created non-linear impact by using approaches which design proof-points for scale, build ecosystems and capacities, and develop public goods or technology platforms.

The launch event, co-hosted by Ashish Dhawan, Founder-CEO, TCF, and Govind Iyer, Independent Director and Chair of the CSR Committee, Infosys, was attended by over 40 prominent corporate and CSR leaders. The event kickstarted with a closed-door roundtable discussion among CEOs and business leaders to set a vision for the next decade of CSR. This was followed by a keynote from Amit Chandra, Chairperson of Bain Capital India Advisors and Co-Founder of ATE Chandra Foundation, who spoke about opportunities for catalytic change and the power of collaboratives.

Ashish Dhawan then shared his personal philanthropic journey, and highlighted the value of envisioning CSR as a long-term investment that can deliver non-linear social returns. The session concluded with a discussion among CSR leaders on the enablers, challenges, and opportunities for systemic and strategic giving.

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