The 2025 Union Budget of India presents a unique opportunity for your philanthropy. This year's focus on human capital, digital infrastructure, rural empowerment, and social security perfectly aligns with many philanthropic priorities. There is increased transparency in charitable fund utilization thanks to tax exemption guidelines. Furthermore there is greater accountability in giving with no tax exemption for anonymous donations. And potentially more disposable income for UHNIs due to reduced surcharges, potentially freeing up more funds for philanthropic causes. This presents an opportune time to move beyond simply funding services and focus on true complementarity–filling gaps, piloting innovative solutions, and strengthening systems. How can you make an impact? The government is pushing innovation with initiatives such as Atal Tinkering Labs and AI Centers of Excellence. You can fuel this by funding cutting-edge solutions, particularly open-source digital public goods, research, and capacity building, ensuring tech advancements are inclusive. The focus on skilling calls for you to bridge the gap between skilling and job creation, helping underserved populations navigate career transitions. In health, while access expands, you can fund preventive programs and patient support. And in rural development, you can support local interventions, financial literacy, and digital inclusion. How can AIP help? AIP

India’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) are uniquely positioned to drive transformative social change. The Wealth with Purpose report by AIP and BCG reveals that if Indian UHNIs allocate just 5% of their annual incremental wealth, their philanthropic contributions could exceed Rs 75,500 crore annually. With 90% of respondents expressing a willingness to increase their giving, the momentum is palpable. Yet, moving from intent to impact presents challenges. Philanthropy in India has evolved from sporadic cheque-writing to more strategic and sustained efforts. However, personal, structural, and cultural barriers often hinder UHNIs from realizing their full potential as changemakers. Here’s a closer look at these barriers and actionable insights for overcoming them. Personal Roadblocks: The Inner Struggle to Give 1. Too Busy to Give Back: For many UHNIs, professional commitments dominate their lives, leaving little room for philanthropy. Their intent to give is often overshadowed by demanding schedules, creating a conflict between ambition and altruism. According to the report, over 30% of UHNIs admitted that their business commitments limit their ability to engage deeply with philanthropy.Successful philanthropists overcome this by integrating giving into their professional lives. As Ajit Isaac (Founder and Chairman Quess Corp) observed, “Kickstart your philanthropy by giving consistently from your

Philanthropy in India has seen a remarkable transformation in recent years, with an increasing number of individuals and organizations stepping up to make meaningful contributions towards societal development. Among the key players in this evolving landscape is Accelerate Indian Philanthropy (AIP). Established with the mission to build a vibrant network of philanthropists and inspire strategic giving, AIP engages Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNIs) at various stages of their giving journey. Backed by 42 extraordinary founders, including key figures like Ashish & Manisha Dhawan, Rohini Nilekani, Amit Chandra, and Vishal Tulsyan, AIP leverages their diverse expertise to drive meaningful philanthropic endeavours. Through its four strategic pillars—engaging philanthropic networks, developing knowledge resources, co-creating bespoke giving plans, and thought leadership—AIP aims to transform the landscape of giving in India. In this exclusive interview with TheCSRUniverse, Radhika Jain, Philanthropy Partner, AIP and Bhavana S. Resmi, Program Manager, AIP delve into the core objectives of AIP, their strategies for enhancing philanthropic impact, and the significant achievements they have made since their inception. We also explore insights from their recent report, "Wealth with Purpose," based on interviews with 100 UHNIs, and discuss the critical gaps that need to be addressed to unlock the full potential

In an interview, Amitabh Jaipuria, CEO, Accelerate Indian Philanthropy, shares how AIP is working with various philanthropists and non-profit organisations, both individually and collectively, to enhance the impact on communities through sustainable models of development, conservation of traditional arts, etc. Excerpts: Q. When you talk about coming together to push forward for the climate cause, is philanthropic funding happening on this front on desired lines? In Accelerate Indian Philanthropy (AIP), we largely focus on philanthropic causes and organizations within India and the diaspora, which donates to causes within India. The Indian philanthropic movement remains very strong. We are finding that there are many philanthropists who are now interested in doing personal philanthropy and following their own pet passions. Climate change, sustainability and issues around sustainability are becoming more important for many philanthropists. Also, personal philanthropy in India continues to be driven by education and healthcare. Those are 2 big ticket items. Now we are finding that climate change is among the top 5 causes along with livelihood and poverty reduction on which Indian philanthropists are focusing on. Q. Do you think philanthropic interventions can help raise awareness and help push the climate change action? Climate change means various things to

According to reports, India is poised to experience a remarkable growth of over 50% in the number of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNIs) within the 5-year span from 2023 to 2028. Income tax data reveals that between 2015 and 2022, there was an average growth of 12% and 14% in the number of individuals earning annual incomes exceeding ₹1 crore and ₹50 crores respectively. But despite this surge in wealth, philanthropic contributions from the wealthiest individuals remain disproportionately low. The median contribution of India’s top 100 richest people stands at a mere 0.02% of their wealth. This raises the question: why aren't more wealth creators engaging in impactful philanthropic endeavours? One barrier hindering greater philanthropy is the structural issue of regulatory hurdles, making it challenging to utilize assets for philanthropic purposes. A good example is the inability to leverage assets such as shareholdings for philanthropy. Inability to leverage assets like shareholding for philanthropic purposes Since wealth is often concentrated in the form of equity stake held in companies, a practical approach for wealth creators to start their philanthropic efforts would be to donate a small part of their shareholding towards philanthropy. However, the prevailing Income-tax Act does not permit

In the ever-evolving landscape of philanthropy, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be a promising avenue for driving social impact. Entrepreneurs, industrialists, business leaders, promoters, and other stakeholders are realising AI's immense transformative potential—from accelerating scientific breakthroughs to optimizing supply, revolutionizing processes, and driving efficiency across various sectors and functions. The promise of AI in philanthropy AI holds the promise of amplifying impact through data-driven insights, predictive analytics, and automation to address pressing social development challenges in India. AI algorithms can analyse beneficiary data to create highly personalised interventions. This means using AI to tailor learning programs based on an individual’s strengths and weaknesses, maximizing their potential. Consider the initiative of the Central Square Foundation (CSF) that is working towards improving the learning outcomes of children from low-income communities. CSF supported the contextualization of three personalised adaptive learning (PAL) solutions—MindSpark, Convegenius, and Funtoot for adoption in Government schools in Andhra Pradesh. These solutions tailored instruction to each child’s learning level supporting the teacher to address the heterogeneity in the classroom. These AI-based solutions can be particularly useful to support remediation and address the issue of multi-level classrooms. The program is now being evaluated by Michael Kremer and his team at the Development

In an era marked by the unrelenting incursion of climate change, with worsening floods, droughts, cyclones, and wildfires, the need for bold and innovative solutions has never been more pressing. While diverse stakeholders rise to answer this need – governments, corporations, and civil society – philanthropy is emerging as the force that can galvanise and bind these actors together. We see this in emerging trends in Indian philanthropy. Past giving trends to traditional development sectors like education, healthcare, and gender indicate a preference for project-based funding; yet our evolving understanding of climate change signals the need for giving that recognises that, as a systemic issue, climate change cannot be solved by one actor alone. Enter collective philanthropy. Characterised by the collective action of individuals and organisations pooling resources and expertise to address a specific societal issue, collective philanthropy offers incredible potential for climate action. Climate change is no longer a siloed sector but a lens spanning India’s development challenges and aspirations – and so philanthropy needs to partner with actors having different expertise and perspectives. While collective philanthropy can herald innovative collaborations across sectors, we are already seeing its success in one promising area. India’s AFOLU sector (agriculture, forestry, and

A balanced and adequate diet is important to ensure the survival, well-being, and growth of children. Children who receive proper nourishment are likely to experience better health and learning outcomes, leading to increased productivity as adults. While the 2022 Global Nutrition Report states India is on course to meet a few of the maternal, infant and young child nutrition targets, malnutrition remains a pressing issue. Nearly 35 per cent of children under the age of 5 are affected. This is higher than the average for the Asia region (22 per cent). Over 15 per cent of children in the same age group are affected with wasting; higher than the average for the Asia region (9 per cent) and among the highest in the world. Progress is yet to be made towards achieving target for wasting—a form of undernutrition. According to the National Family Health Survey (2019-21), over 35 per cent of children under the age of 5 are stunted, nearly 20 per cent are wasted, and over 30 per cent are underweight. The Global Hunger Index 2023 has similar observations. In 2022, reportedly, close to 70 per cent deaths in children under 5 years were due to malnutrition. Furthermore, health

In this era of interconnectedness and shared responsibility, collective philanthropy can be a powerful catalyst, offering a unifying platform for like-minded philanthropists to drive innovative solutions and amplified impact. Beyond traditional models of charity, it represents a dynamic approach that leverages the collective resources, expertise, and passions of individuals, organizations, and communities to solve pressing developmental challenges. The multifaceted dimensions of collective philanthropy include not only a means to expand the circle of influence but also a model for adopting democratic decision-making, transparency, and accountability as the cornerstones for setting strategy and implementation. Collective philanthropy making an indelible impact in higher education Collective philanthropy has emerged as an effective model for establishing institutes of excellence in the Indian higher education sector, pioneered by the Indian School of Business (ISB) in the early 2000s. Propelled by funding from both corporates and affluent individuals, ISB is India’s only B-school to clinch a spot in the Financial Times (FT) Top 50 Global MBA Ranking for 2023. This pioneering spirit is echoed in the founding stories of private universities like Ashoka, Krea, and Plaksha. Spearheaded by Sanjeev Bikhchandani and Ashish Dhawan’s seed funding, Ashoka University has developed into an interdisciplinary academic powerhouse in a

Historically, charitable giving has been an integral part of the Indian culture. Even during the toughest times, Indians have stepped up to help and contribute to be able to make a positive impact on the community. This was particularly evident when the modern world was faced with Covid, an unprecedented era which brought the world together with a wish to save and survive. Even as a country, India made an impact on the international stage by reaching out to help the affected countries around the world. Beyond crisis situations, wealthy Indians have historically made meaningful contributions to important areas like Health and Education by funding the basic needs for the poor in these critical areas. While the traditional focus of philanthropy on solving the immediate and pressing needs of the underprivileged is essential and commendable, the time has come for it to evolve to the next level. As the society becomes more prosperous and aspirational and the philanthropic pie grows larger with increasing wealth creation, philanthropists would do well to start approaching their philanthropy in a more strategic manner which can deliver much higher social returns. One way strategic philanthropy makes outsized impact is by improving effectiveness of existing spend

A strong and vibrant social sector, with companies, communities and the state collaborating to solve social problems, is integral to nation-building. But across Asia, the growth of the social sector is impeded by fluctuating, confusing regulations, funding shortfall and a trust deficit among key stakeholders. This is a key finding in the Doing Good Index 2022 released recently by the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society (CAPS). The report, covering 17 Asian economies, indicates that while there has been a push towards ease of doing business in India, the same cannot be said for the ease of doing good. With changes in the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), obtaining requisite approvals to receive foreign funding has doubled since 2020, often taking as long as two years. FCRA law changes do not, of course, impact domestic philanthropic funding. And in fact, given the phenomenal wealth increase in India, domestic individual and family philanthropy should catalyse funding for the country’s development needs – in 2021 alone, the country’s wealthiest could have added USD 9 billion to the funding pool had they been as generous as their counterparts in the United States. An enabling policy and regulatory environment can help unlock this vast

The world is increasingly moving towards an innovation economy, driven by exponential progress in science and technology (S&T). Countries like China seized this opportunity early in the 1990s, revitalizing their S&T ecosystem through systematic reforms and programs. It is no surprise that today, China rubs its shoulders with and is even ahead of the United States in areas such as artificial intelligence. To be a global leader, India needs to be at the forefront of new science and technological knowledge. We have the economic size, the talent pool, the large market size and a vibrant start-up ecosystem to both invest in research and to translate S&T knowledge into social value. However, at present, we are lagging in research output and intellectual property creation: -India spends a mere ~0.6% of its GDP on scientific R&D, while the average R&D spend of OECD countries, including China, is 2.3%, with countries like Israel and South Korea spending well over 4% of GDP -We rank #9 [https://www.indianphilanthropy.org/blog/hashtags/9] in our research impact (citations), while the US and China rank #1 [https://www.indianphilanthropy.org/blog/hashtags/1] and #2 [https://www.indianphilanthropy.org/blog/hashtags/2], respectively -Our disruptive research output is 17x lower than the US’s and 7x lower than China’s -There is only one Indian

I returned to India after business school in the late 1990s. While it is no small feat that our gross domestic product (GDP) has grown from about $420 billion to $3 trillion, and the poverty rate has dropped to around 10%, we are still far from becoming a developed country. Considering our rapid growth since 1991, India will reach a per-capita income of some $15,000 by India@100 in 2047. What role can philanthropy play in accelerating economic growth that is both inclusive and sustainable? India’s rich giving history: Philanthropy has long been embedded in the fabric of Indian society and contributed heavily to the creation of modern-day India. Pre-industrial India saw business families giving away a proportion of their income to local charities. Industrialization and the freedom struggle in the 19th and 20th centuries morphed giving into what we consider modern-day philanthropy. Industrialization enabled rapid wealth creation; business leaders like Sir Jamsetji Tata voiced their opinions on using wealth for social good, donating vast amounts to create exemplary institutions. As India’s Independence movement began, Mahatma Gandhi encouraged businessmen to contribute their wealth for the betterment of society. Industrialists like Jamnalal Bajaj and G.D. Birla supported Mahatma Gandhi’s initiatives during the