The Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) concluded its national conference and exhibition “Leveraging CSR Excellence for Tribal Development”, marking the second day of the IICA CSR. The event highlighted inclusive, cooperative and sustainable growth through community-based CSR initiatives that brought together policy makers, industry leaders and practitioners to promote tribal development throughout India.
The Valedictory Session of the National Conference and Exhibition on Leveraging CSR Excellence for Tribal Development, which ended on 7 October 2025 in New Delhi. The event was organised by the Institute of Corporate Affairs of India (IICA) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs of the Government of India. The event strongly emphasized collaboration, innovation and inclusive development as key pillars for promoting tribal welfare through corporate social responsibility (CSR).
The two-day national conference, which marked the second annual CSR Day in India to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, gathered more than 400 delegates from governments, industry, universities and civil society to discuss the alignment of CSR strategies with national priorities for tribal development and sustainable livelihoods.
The final night began with a cultural performance with the support of the celebration of Indian tribal heritage, symbolizing the strength of indigenous traditions and their role in shaping sustainable futures.
Shri K. Moses Chalai, Secretary of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) of the Government of India, gave a special speech in which he called on Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) to improve their engagement with tribal communities through long-term, sustainable CSR initiatives. He highlighted the importance of skills development, entrepreneurship and digital inclusion as enablers of self-sustaining tribal economies in accordance with Viksit Bharat 2047. Shri Chalai highlighted the DPE Guidelines on CSR expenditure, calling for clear objectives, measurable objectives and defined milestones to ensure tangible social and environmental impacts. He also stressed effective planning, monitoring and evaluation of results and encouraged CPSEs to cooperate with state and district administrations, companies and civil society. He concluded by urging stakeholders to pursue the tribal development mission with renewed commitment and urgency, making the CSR a catalyst for inclusive national growth.
In her Valedictory Address, Smt. Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, praised IICA for the creation of a collaborative platform that brings together policy makers, industry leaders and community practitioners to advance tribal development. She proposed the creation of an interactive digital platform (revised as the CSR Exchange) to facilitate the convergence between government and corporate efforts, enabling project mapping, identifying collaboration opportunities and sharing best practices and impact stories. She invited volunteers to contribute to the redesign and strengthening of the platform.
Ms. Mukherjee stressed that community participation is at the centre of the long-term sustainability of CSR initiatives and urged practitioners to involve communities from project design to implementation, strengthen local leadership and promote participatory models of community ownership. Highlighting the potential of tribal communities, she called for priority for tribal leadership, independence and culturally sensitive approaches.
Shri Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, Director General & CEO of IICA, elaborated on the conference theme and stressed the importance of a data-driven and result-oriented CSR that coincides with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He emphasized that CSR should go beyond financial contributions to focus on providing technological and managerial expertise and ensure that activities take priority over fund-based routes. Shri Singh pointed out that some regions, particularly the North East, continue to receive limited CSR funding and called for more geographically balanced and need-based interventions. He highlighted the importance of building community capacity and adopting artificial intelligence and analytics for real-time monitoring, and the strength of government and corporate collaboration to drive sustainable and long-term impacts. Furthermore, he called for greater investment in research and innovation, with active participation in the private sector to improve efficiency and address pressing social challenges. Shri Singh advocated a convergence framework that brings together several stakeholders to design impactful CSR initiatives that contribute to Viksit Bharat 2047.
Mr Bo Beiskjaer, Director General of Resource Mobilization & Partnerships at UNICEF India, emphasized that social responsibility is a transformational tool, not a charitable contribution, linking tribal development to human rights and children’s rights. He stressed the need for collaborative and co-created solutions between enterprises, governments and civil society and highlighted UNICEF’s commitment to improving health, education and employment outcomes for tribal children. Mr. Beiskjaer stressed that CSR initiatives must support dignity, equity and inclusion, ensuring measurable contributions to the construction of an inclusive and developed India.
Dr. Garima Dadhich, head of the School of Business Environment at IICA, presented a session-wide report emphasizing that CSR should become a strategic, data-driven and technology-integrated tool for tribal empowerment. She advocated the design of advisory projects that respect socio-cultural contexts, support traditional crafts and products tagged GI to ensure long-term impact.
While giving a vote of thanks, Dr. Dadhich acknowledged the support of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the Ministry of Development of the North-Eastern Region and the Ministry of Public Enterprises, the main partner HCL Foundation, the exhibition partner TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited), other partners GAIL (India) Ltd., Partners in Change, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, UNICEF, Spark Minda Foundation. (Source: PIB)