Photo Credit: IICA
Clear Cut Review Desk
New Delhi, UPDATED: Oct 06, 2025 05:56 IST
Written By: Janmojaya Barik
There is something quietly compelling about the notion of companies and communities sitting around a table with each other to discuss futures they share. It’s not the sort of tale that makes big headlines, but one that brings hope that spreads ever so slowly, like roots sinking into water far down in the earth.
On 6 and 7 October 2025, in New Delhi, this is what will happen. The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) is organizing the 2nd National Conference and Exhibition on Corporate Social Responsibility (NCCSR 2025) a national platform where business, government, and society are converging to address one large question: how can corporate responsibility really reach India’s tribal heartlands?
The subject this year is “Leveraging CSR Excellence for Tribal Development.” It’s a subject that infuses warmth and meaning to the business world and challenges organizations to look beyond profit and step into areas where their efforts can impact the greatest depth.
A Meeting of Minds and Missions
The conference is being convened by IICA’s School of Business Environment, along with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region), and the Department of Public Enterprises.
Government, public sector, and private sector senior leaders as well as global participants like the UN Resident Coordinator for India will join the conversation. But more than who and what, the essence of the event is about connection: how does policy, enterprise, and compassion go hand in hand?
The timing is significant too. The event takes place after IICA CSR Day, celebrated annually on 2 October, the birthdate of Mahatma Gandhi. It draws inspiration from his concept of trusteeship that money is not to be accumulated but held in trust for everyone’s benefit.
Bringing Tribal Voices to the Fore
India’s indigenous people are among its most living and enduring culturally rich, wise deep, and intimate with nature. But they are also among the most under-resourced for healthcare, education, and economic opportunity.
The aim of NCCSR 2025 is to turn that around to make tribal development a prime component of the CSR discussion. The conference seeks to demonstrate how businesses can partner with the local communities to drive long-term, sustainable growth.
It’s about hearing tribal voices, honoring traditional knowledge, and developing models that keep people and the planet safe. A successful CSR project, at the end of the day, is one that creates more resilience than reliance.
Detailed Account
The two-day conference will be dynamic, introspective, and rich in learning. It will include:
Six expert panel sessions engaging topics such as inclusive business, sustainability, and indigenous innovation.
- Social Innovation Lab, in which changemakers and young professionals will ideate new social impact ideas.
- Tribal Cultural Showcase, celebrating India’s ancient art, music, and craft heritage.
- CSR Exhibition of approximately 30–35 stalls, wherein top organisations will showcase their best practices and innovations.
- The launch of a National Compendium on CSR Best Practices, featuring projects that have generated sustained social value.
Key contributors are TRIFED, HCL Foundation, UNICEF, IOCL, GAIL, SPARK Minda, Partners in Change, and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham .
A Healthy Idea of Competition
Perhaps the most lovely thing about NCCSR 2025 is its tone. It’s not a question of who’s doing the most and it’s how everyone can do better, together.
In the conference rooms, you may find a business leader debating sustainability with a community-based NGO, or a policy maker hearing from a young social entrepreneur. These encounters do not happen often, but they tend to give birth to partnerships that endure longer than the event.
The IICA, under the guidance of Shri Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh (Director General & CEO) and Dr. Garima Dadhich (Head, School of Business Environment), has ensured that this conference is not a ceremonial exercise but a living platform.
Carrying Gandhi’s Legacy Forward
By organizing the conference mere days after Gandhi Jayanti, IICA reiterates the call for ethical business and responsible development. Gandhiji used to say that wealth consists of service. In a very real sense, CSR when sincerely practiced is that belief translated into action.
As India progresses towards Viksit Bharat @2047, moments like NCCSR 2025 tell us that development is not merely about digital highways or industrial corridors, but also about the unheralded roads that wind through to far-flung villages and tribal hamlets.
The Promise Ahead
When the conference ends, what will be left are not merely reports or resolutions — but stories. A story of a business that chose to construct schools in tribal belts. A story of a social enterprise that imparted skills to young women. A story of a village that discovered new hope through collaboration.
These tales are the true measure of CSR excellence. They demonstrate that business can possess a heart and that when enterprise is guided by compassion, development is inclusive, sustainable, and human.
In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “The future depends on what we do in the present.” NCCSR 2025 is one such present which is an occasion of introspection, synergy, and promise for a more compassionate tomorrow.
