The study of 105 Global Capability Centres highlights broad CSR portfolios, home-state concentration and gaps in outcome measurement.
BENGALURU (India CSR): Education, skilling and environmental action dominate the corporate social responsibility portfolios of Global Capability Centres operating in India, according to SoulAce’s State of CSR in India’s GCCs 2025-26. The study draws on a primary survey of 105 GCCs, supported by secondary research and programme disclosures. It maps themes, geographies, implementation models, flagship programmes and operational constraints. SoulAce says India has more than 2,100 GCCs employing over 2.4 million professionals, making their social-investment choices relevant to the wider development landscape. The report was launched on October 14 by Priyank Kharge, Karnataka’s Minister for Home Affairs, Information Technology, Biotechnology and E-Governance, at the GCC CSR Leadership Forum in Bengaluru. It examines how participating GCCs approach CSR requirements and programme design under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013.
Education Leads Priorities
Education and literacy emerged as the most frequently selected focus area, chosen by 84.6% of surveyed organisations. Skill development and livelihoods, as well as environment and sustainability, followed at 76.9% each. The survey points to a broader portfolio than technology-linked causes alone. Elderly care and disability were identified by 53.8% of respondents, while health and nutrition and digital literacy and technology were each selected by 46.2%. Disaster relief and rehabilitation appeared in 38.5% of responses, followed by women’s empowerment at 30.8%, WASH and rural development at 23.1% each, and agriculture and livestock at 15.4%. The research notes that most participating GCCs work across five or more thematic areas. Since respondents could select more than one theme, the percentages indicate breadth of priorities rather than a single allocation choice by organisations.
| Area | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Study coverage | 105 GCCs surveyed |
| India’s GCC ecosystem | 2,100+ GCC centres and 2.4 million professionals |
| Education and literacy | Priority for 84.6% of surveyed GCCs |
| Skilling and livelihoods | Priority for 76.9% |
| Environment and sustainability | Priority for 76.9% |
| Flagship CSR programmes | 61.6% have one or more |
| CSR only in home state | 46% of surveyed GCCs |
| Monitoring and evaluation gap | Reported by 46.2% |
| Limited internal CSR capacity | Reported by 38.5% |
| Employee volunteering | Around 1.7 lakh employees and 2.3 lakh annual volunteer hours |
Flagship Programmes Emerge
The study found that 61.6% of participating organisations had identified at least one flagship CSR programme. Of these, 38.5% reported one flagship and 23.1% reported more than one. A further 30.8% followed a portfolio approach, while 7.7% were yet to designate a flagship because their programme was less than a year old. The report’s named flagship programme profiles cover education, ecological balance, women’s empowerment and skill development. Their geographic reach ranges from a single city to eight states and 180 districts, while reported programme scale ranges from scholarships for 10 students to integrated village-development interventions reaching more than 2.5 lakh lives annually. Among organisations with flagship programmes, 57.1% worked through external implementing partners and 42.9% used direct programme delivery. The report links larger, multi-state programmes with established, grassroots partner networks.
Home States Dominate
All respondents reported CSR activity in their home state, but programme footprints varied beyond it. Forty-six per cent concentrated their work only in the state where their GCC operates. The remaining 54% extended programmes outside their home state: 31% added one or two states, while 23% worked across multiple states or on a pan-India basis. The report considers the geographic pattern important because GCC activity has clustered around Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and the National Capital Region. It identifies emerging GCC locations, including Kochi, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore and Ahmedabad, as a potential opportunity for wider community investment. The report also notes that programme location should be shaped by local needs, reliable implementation partners and the capacity to monitor outcomes, not only by the presence of a corporate office.
| Growth indicator | FY2021 | FY2026 | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCCs | 1,600+ | 2,110+ | ~32% |
| GCC units | 2,700+ | 3,720+ | ~38% |
Measurement Gaps Persist
Tracking outcomes and measuring impact was the most widely reported operational challenge, cited by 46.2% of respondents. Limited internal CSR-team capacity followed at 38.5%, while 30.8% cited difficulty identifying CSR-1-registered implementing partners. The same proportion identified the non-recognition of employee volunteering towards the 2% obligation as a concern. SoulAce Managing Director Adarsh Kataruka said GCCs could bring the “rigour, innovation and global best practices” of their business operations to communities. He said the next phase of CSR would require well-designed programmes, robust outcome measurement and collaboration. The report observes that beneficiary reach is often more consistently reported than longer-term outcomes. It links this gap to annual budget cycles, lean teams and the difficulty of attributing social change over longer periods, particularly where monitoring frameworks are not built into programme design.
Volunteering Adds Value
Employee volunteering is presented as a channel of community contribution alongside CSR spending. Across the GCCs covered in the study, SoulAce estimates that around 1.7 lakh employees are mobilised annually, contributing approximately 2.3 lakh volunteer hours. The report describes five models: structured CSR-linked, skill-based, time-based, virtual or digital, and employee-driven or ad hoc volunteering. It identifies skills-based engagement as a distinctive opportunity, where professionals apply capabilities in coding, finance, design, data analysis, cybersecurity or mentoring to community needs. However, Section 135 does not recognise employee volunteer hours as qualifying CSR expenditure, even where volunteers contribute to funded programmes. The report says this creates a separation between volunteering and CSR accounting. It suggests that documenting the contribution more systematically could provide a fuller picture of GCCs’ social engagement beyond financial outlays.
Four Pathways Identified
SoulAce identifies four opportunity areas for GCC CSR. The first is collective action, in which GCCs in shared geographies could co-invest through common governance and measurement. The second is skills-based CSR at scale, aligning technical strengths in fields such as artificial intelligence, finance, cybersecurity, engineering or cloud technologies with community needs. A third area is geographic expansion beyond major metropolitan centres as GCCs expand in Tier-2 cities. The fourth is stronger alignment between Indian CSR and global ESG priorities, including data that can support parent-company sustainability reporting. The report says these options are intended to complement, rather than replace, statutory compliance. Collaborations would need strong, credible implementation partners, clear, shared governance and agreed outcome measures. Such conditions are especially relevant where several companies seek to work in the same community.
Findings Require Context
The report’s findings describe participating organisations, rather than serve as statistical estimates for all GCCs in India. SoulAce used purposive sampling because no public sampling frame for GCC CSR exists. The primary survey covered 105 GCCs and was combined with secondary research from NASSCOM, Zinnov, EY, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and public disclosures. The report says FY2024-25 programme activity underpins its thematic, geographic and implementation analysis. Budget figures are self-reported ranges, not audited expenditure, and respondents could choose multiple thematic areas. These limitations are material when interpreting the percentages. Even so, the study provides a consolidated view of a segment often overlooked in wider CSR reporting. Its central finding is that participating GCCs are expanding social-investment work while confronting gaps in measurement, internal capacity, partner identification and geographic reach.
