Reference list

Top 100 NGOs in India

One hundred Indian non-profits, profiled with founding year, headquarters, focus area, operational reach and what each is genuinely known for. Search it, sort it, filter it by any of 14 focus areas. Free to use and free to cite.

#▾	Organisation▾	Founded▾	Headquarters▾	Focus▾	Reach	Known for
1	Pratham Education Foundationpratham.org	1995	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Education	23 states/UTs; 60M+ children reached since inception	Runs the ASER national learning survey and pioneered the globally replicated 'Teaching at the Right Level' method.
2	The Akshaya Patra Foundationakshayapatra.org	2000	Bengaluru, Karnataka	Child Welfare	16 states & 3 UTs; 2.35M children daily from 76 kitchens	Operates the world's largest NGO-run school mid-day meal programme.
3	Smile Foundationsmilefoundationindia.org	2002	New Delhi, Delhi	Education	25 states; 1.5M+ beneficiaries a year across 400+ projects	Mission Education and the Smile on Wheels mobile health clinics serve children in urban slums and remote villages.
4	CRY - Child Rights and Youcry.org	1979	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Child Welfare	19 states; 3M+ children through 100+ grassroots partners	India's best-known child rights body, funding and mentoring community projects since 1979.
5	Goonjgoonj.org	1999	New Delhi, Delhi	Rural Development	25 states; 3,500+ tonnes of material channelled annually	Its 'Cloth for Work' model turns urban surplus material into rural development wages; founder won the 2015 Ramon Magsaysay Award.
6	HelpAge Indiahelpageindia.org	1978	New Delhi, Delhi	Elderly Care	26 states; 2M+ elders reached each year	Runs India's largest network of mobile healthcare units for the elderly and the national elder helpline 14567.
7	Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA)sewa.org	1972	Ahmedabad, Gujarat	Women Empowerment	18 states; 2.9M members	World's largest trade union of informal women workers, founded by Ela Bhatt.
8	Sulabh Internationalsulabhinternational.org	1970	New Delhi, Delhi	Water & Sanitation	1.5M household toilets; ~10M daily users of public complexes	Invented the twin-pit pour-flush Sulabh Shauchalaya and freed 240 towns of manual scavenging.
9	Teach For Indiateachforindia.org	2009	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Education	8 cities; 38,000+ students, 4,500+ alumni	Two-year fellowship placing top graduates as full-time teachers in low-income classrooms.
10	Bal Raksha Bharat (Save the Children India)savethechildren.in	2008	Gurugram, Haryana	Child Welfare	16 states; 10M+ children reached	India arm of the global child rights movement, leading on child protection and humanitarian response.
11	CARE Indiacareindia.org	1950	New Delhi, Delhi	Health	15 states; 45M+ people reached annually	Its Bihar Technical Support Programme is one of the largest state health-system strengthening partnerships in the world.
12	PRADANpradan.net	1983	New Delhi, Delhi	Livelihood	9 states, 140 districts; 3.4M households in 42,500 villages	Pioneered the women's self-help group livelihoods model now used across rural India.
13	World Vision Indiaworldvision.in	1958	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	Child Welfare	26 states; 6,000+ communities	Long-running child sponsorship and area development programmes in India's poorest districts.
14	Oxfam Indiaoxfamindia.org	1951	New Delhi, Delhi	Human Rights	16 states	Publishes the widely cited India Inequality Report and runs large-scale humanitarian response.
15	Aravind Eye Care Systemaravind.org	1976	Madurai, Tamil Nadu	Health	8M+ surgeries and 65M+ outpatient visits since 1976	Cross-subsidy model lets it treat over half its patients free while remaining financially self-sustaining.
16	SOS Children's Villages Indiasoschildrensvillages.in	1964	New Delhi, Delhi	Child Welfare	22 states; 32 children's villages, 25,000+ children	Pioneered family-based alternative care for parentless children in India.
17	Magic Bus India Foundationmagicbus.org	1999	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Livelihood	22 states; 1M+ children and youth	Sport-for-development life-skills curriculum paired with a youth livelihoods and placement programme.
18	Ramakrishna Missionbelurmath.org	1897	Belur Math, West Bengal	Rural Development	Nationwide; 200+ centres running schools, hospitals and relief	One of India's oldest service organisations, founded by Swami Vivekananda.
19	Missionaries of Charitymotherteresa.org	1950	Kolkata, West Bengal	Health	700+ homes in India and worldwide	Mother Teresa's order running homes for the destitute, dying, leprosy patients and abandoned children.
20	Barefoot College (SWRC Tilonia)barefootcollege.org	1972	Tilonia, Rajasthan	Rural Development	93+ countries; 3,000+ rural women trained as solar engineers	Trains semi-literate rural grandmothers as 'Solar Mamas' who electrify their own villages.
21	Aga Khan Foundation Indiaakdn.org	1978	New Delhi, Delhi	Rural Development	Gujarat, Bihar, MP, UP, Maharashtra, Telangana	Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India) is a benchmark for participatory watershed and livelihood development.
22	WWF Indiawwfindia.org	1969	New Delhi, Delhi	Environment	State offices across India; work in 15+ priority landscapes	Landscape-scale tiger recovery work in the Terai Arc and the Rivers for Life programme.
23	Azim Premji Foundationazimpremjifoundation.org	2001	Bengaluru, Karnataka	Education	6 states + 1 UT; work with 350,000+ government schools	India's largest privately endowed education foundation, focused on public school system quality.
24	The Akanksha Foundationakanksha.org	1989	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Education	Mumbai and Pune; 26 schools, 10,000+ students	Pioneered India's school-management public-private partnership model.
25	Deepalayadeepalaya.org	1979	New Delhi, Delhi	Education	Delhi NCR, Haryana and Uttarakhand; 1M+ lives touched	One of Delhi's largest operational NGOs for slum and out-of-school children.
26	Project Nanhi Kalinanhikali.org	1996	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Education	14 states; 600,000+ girls supported to date	Sponsorship programme providing academic and material support to underprivileged girls.
27	Salaam Baalak Trustsalaambaalaktrust.com	1988	New Delhi, Delhi	Child Welfare	Delhi NCR; ~5,000 street children a year	Runs 24-hour contact points and shelters for runaway children at Delhi's railway stations.
28	CHILDLINE India Foundationchildlineindia.org	1996	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Child Welfare	600+ districts; tens of millions of calls answered	Created 1098, India's first free 24-hour emergency helpline for children in distress.
29	Wildlife SOSwildlifesos.org	1995	New Delhi, Delhi	Animal Welfare	10+ states; 650+ sloth bears and 36 elephants rescued	Ended the centuries-old 'dancing bear' practice in India.
30	ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment)atree.org	1996	Bengaluru, Karnataka	Environment	Western Ghats, Eastern Himalaya and coastal landscapes	Consistently ranked among the world's top environmental think tanks by the Global Go To Think Tank Index.
31	Sightsavers Indiasightsaversindia.in	1966	New Delhi, Delhi	Health	Work across 15+ states; millions screened each year	Major partner in India's elimination of trachoma as a public health problem.
32	Sankara Eye Foundationsankaraeye.com	1977	Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu	Health	14 hospitals across 9 states; 2.5M+ free surgeries	Runs a 'Gift of Vision' model where free surgeries are cross-subsidised by paying patients.
33	Isha Outreachishaoutreach.org	2003	Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu	Environment	Tamil Nadu and Karnataka; 100M+ saplings planted	Project GreenHands and Cauvery Calling, among the largest citizen tree-planting drives in India.
34	Narayan Seva Sansthannarayanseva.org	1985	Udaipur, Rajasthan	Disability	480 branches in India; 420,000+ corrective surgeries	Free corrective surgeries, artificial limbs and wheelchairs for people with polio and locomotor disability.
35	Samarthanam Trust for the Disabledsamarthanam.org	1997	Bengaluru, Karnataka	Disability	Pan-India plus international chapters; 30,000+ a year	Education, livelihoods and sport (including blind cricket) for visually impaired and disabled people.
36	Amar Seva Sangamamarseva.org	1981	Ayikudy, Tamil Nadu	Disability	Tamil Nadu; 10,000+ children with disabilities served	Village-based rehabilitation model for rural disability, recognised by WHO and NITI Aayog.
37	EnAble Indiaenableindia.org	1999	Bengaluru, Karnataka	Disability	Pan-India; 10,000+ persons with disabilities placed in jobs	Pioneered workplace disability inclusion and assistive-technology training in Indian industry.
38	Bhumibhumi.ngo	2006	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	Education	12+ cities; 25,000+ volunteers annually	One of India's largest youth volunteer organisations, running after-school Ignite learning centres.
39	Educate Girlseducategirls.ngo	2007	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Education	Rajasthan, MP, UP and Bihar; 1.9M+ girls enrolled	Delivered the world's first Development Impact Bond in education, exceeding all targets.
40	Agastya International Foundationagastya.org	1999	Bengaluru, Karnataka	Education	23 states; 25M+ children and 1M+ teachers reached	Mobile science labs and 'lab-on-a-bike' bringing hands-on science to rural government schools.
41	Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracyjanaagraha.org	2001	Bengaluru, Karnataka	Human Rights	National city rankings covering 80+ cities	Annual Survey of India's City-Systems, the benchmark study of urban governance quality.
42	Arghyamarghyam.org	2001	Bengaluru, Karnataka	Water & Sanitation	Grants and programmes across 22 states	Founded India Water Portal and built open groundwater data platforms for community water security.
43	Dasradasra.org	1999	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Child Welfare	Pan-India; ₹1,500 crore+ directed to the social sector	India's leading strategic philanthropy foundation; convenes the 10to19 Adolescents Collaborative.
44	SEEDS Indiaseedsindia.org	1994	New Delhi, Delhi	Disaster Relief	20+ states; 5M+ people in disaster-affected areas	Builds disaster-resilient housing and AI-driven heat and cyclone early-warning systems.
45	Swades Foundationswadesfoundation.org	2013	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Rural Development	Raigad district, Maharashtra; 1M+ rural lives	360-degree rural empowerment model aiming to lift a million people out of poverty every five years.
46	Rural Development Trust (Vicente Ferrer Foundation)rdtfvf.org	1969	Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh	Rural Development	3,700+ villages; 2.5M+ people	One of India's largest integrated rural development programmes, built over five decades in Anantapur.
47	Gram Vikasgramvikas.org	1979	Mohuda, Odisha	Water & Sanitation	1,500+ villages; 600,000+ people	MANTRA model delivering 100% household water and sanitation coverage village by village.
48	BAIF Development Research Foundationbaif.org.in	1967	Pune, Maharashtra	Livelihood	16 states; 5M+ rural families	Cattle breeding and the 'wadi' tree-based farming model that transformed tribal livelihoods.
49	Digital Greendigitalgreen.org	2008	New Delhi, Delhi	Livelihood	India and Africa; 2M+ smallholder farmers	Community video-based agricultural extension, adopted by multiple state governments.
50	Sammaan Foundationsammaan.org	2007	Patna, Bihar	Livelihood	Bihar, UP and Delhi; 100,000+ informal workers	Organised rickshaw pullers and street vendors into dignified, asset-owning micro-entrepreneurs.
51	Snehalayasnehalaya.org	1989	Ahmednagar, Maharashtra	Women Empowerment	Maharashtra; 20,000+ people a year	Rehabilitation of women and children affected by the commercial sex trade and HIV/AIDS.
52	Aarti Homeaartiforgirls.org	1992	Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh	Child Welfare	Andhra Pradesh; 2,500+ girls raised and educated	Cradle Baby scheme rescuing abandoned girl children in a region with acute female infanticide.
53	LEPRA Society Indialeprasociety.org	1989	Secunderabad, Telangana	Health	9 states; 1M+ people screened annually	Frontline work on leprosy, tuberculosis and lymphatic filariasis elimination.
54	Muktanganmuktanganedu.org	2003	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Education	7 Mumbai municipal schools; 3,400+ students	Teacher-education-led model that recruits and trains women from the same communities it serves.
55	Concern India Foundationconcernindia.org	1991	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Education	7 cities; 200+ partner organisations supported	Funds, mentors and audits grassroots development organisations rather than running programmes itself.
56	Udaan India Foundationudaanindia.org	2010	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Education	Mumbai; 5,000+ children a year	Holistic education and life-skills support for children in Mumbai's informal settlements.
57	Aroehanaroehan.org	2006	Mokhada, Maharashtra	Rural Development	Mokhada and Jawhar blocks, Palghar; 200+ villages	Brought child malnutrition deaths in Mokhada tribal block down to near zero.
58	Vision Foundation of Indiavisionfoundationofindia.org	1993	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Health	20 states; 68 associate hospitals, 737,000+ free eye surgeries	Rashtriya Netra Yagna, a large-scale free cataract surgery drive against avoidable blindness.
59	Asha Societyasha-india.org	1988	New Delhi, Delhi	Health	100+ Delhi slum colonies; 1M+ residents	Cut neonatal mortality in its slum communities to 11 per 1,000 births, half the national average.
60	Chintan Environmental Research and Action Groupchintan-india.org	1999	New Delhi, Delhi	Environment	Delhi NCR and 8 states; 10,000+ waste pickers	Won legal recognition and dignified livelihoods for India's informal waste recyclers.
61	Akshara Foundationakshara.org.in	2000	Bengaluru, Karnataka	Education	Karnataka; 1M+ children	Ganitha Kalika Andolana, a state-wide mathematics learning movement in government schools.
62	Room to Read Indiaroomtoread.org	2003	New Delhi, Delhi	Education	12 states; 4M+ children	Builds early-grade literacy libraries and runs a girls' secondary education programme.
63	Kathakatha.org	1988	New Delhi, Delhi	Education	Delhi; 7,000+ children across 96 schools	Story-based pedagogy plus pioneering translation publishing from 21 Indian languages.
64	SPIC MACAYspicmacay.org	1977	New Delhi, Delhi	Arts & Culture	8,000+ chapters in India and abroad	Brings free classical music, dance and craft performances into schools and colleges nationwide.
65	INTACHintach.org	1984	New Delhi, Delhi	Arts & Culture	230+ chapters across India	Listed over 200,000 heritage sites and buildings in the country's largest heritage documentation effort.
66	banglanatak dot combanglanatak.com	2000	Kolkata, West Bengal	Arts & Culture	Eastern India; 15,000+ folk artists	'Art for Life' turned dying folk art forms into sustainable rural livelihoods and cultural tourism.
67	SPARC (Society for Promotion of Area Resource Centres)sparcindia.org	1984	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Human Rights	70+ cities across India	With Mahila Milan and NSDF, pioneered slum-dweller-led housing and sanitation at scale.
68	HAQ: Centre for Child Rightshaqcrc.org	1998	New Delhi, Delhi	Child Welfare	National policy advocacy and legal aid	Pioneered child budget analysis in India and legal support under the juvenile justice and POCSO laws.
69	Commonwealth Human Rights Initiativehumanrightsinitiative.org	1987	New Delhi, Delhi	Human Rights	India, Ghana and Commonwealth countries	Leading advocate for police reform, prison reform and the Right to Information Act.
70	Breakthrough Trustinbreakthrough.org	2000	New Delhi, Delhi	Women Empowerment	UP, Haryana, Bihar and Jharkhand; 1M+ adolescents	The Bell Bajao campaign against domestic violence reached over 130 million people.
71	Jagorijagori.org	1984	New Delhi, Delhi	Women Empowerment	Delhi and Himachal Pradesh	Safe Delhi campaign that put women's safety in public spaces on the national policy agenda.
72	Apnalayaapnalaya.org	1973	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Health	Shivaji Nagar, Mumbai; 100,000+ people	Deep, multi-decade health, education and livelihood work in Mumbai's largest informal settlement.
73	ARMMANarmman.org	2008	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Health	20+ states; 40M+ women and children	mMitra and Kilkari mobile voice services deliver maternal health information to millions of mothers.
74	SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action)snehamumbai.org	1999	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Health	Mumbai informal settlements; 500,000+ people	Integrated maternal, child health and gender-violence programmes in urban slums.
75	SEARCH (Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health)searchgadchiroli.org	1986	Gadchiroli, Maharashtra	Health	Gadchiroli district; model adopted nationally	Its home-based newborn care model became the basis for India's national ASHA worker programme.
76	Jan Swasthya Sahyogjssbilaspur.org	1999	Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh	Health	Central India; 100,000+ patients a year	Low-cost rural hospital and community health programme run by AIIMS-trained doctors.
77	SEWA Ruralsewarural.org	1980	Jhagadia, Gujarat	Health	Tribal Bharuch and Narmada districts, Gujarat	Community health and a rural hospital serving tribal Gujarat for over four decades.
78	Arpanarpan.org.in	2006	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Child Welfare	Pan-India; 8M+ children and adults reached	India's largest organisation working exclusively on child sexual abuse prevention and healing.
79	St. Jude India ChildCare Centresstjudechild.org	2006	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Health	23 cities; 50+ centres, 8,000+ families a year	Free family accommodation for children travelling for cancer treatment.
80	CanKids KidsCancankidsindia.org	2004	New Delhi, Delhi	Health	20+ states; 100+ hospitals partnered	National support network for children with cancer and their families.
81	Population Foundation of Indiapopulationfoundation.in	1970	New Delhi, Delhi	Health	Pan-India policy work and 8 focus states	'Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon' television series on family planning reached 200M+ viewers.
82	Dignity Foundationdignityfoundation.com	1995	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Elderly Care	8 cities; 100,000+ senior citizens	Pioneered active-ageing 'second careers' and dementia day-care services in urban India.
83	Mann Deshi Foundationmanndeshifoundation.org	1996	Mhaswad, Maharashtra	Women Empowerment	Maharashtra; 700,000+ rural women	Set up India's first bank for and by rural women, alongside a business school on wheels.
84	Azad Foundationazadfoundation.com	2008	New Delhi, Delhi	Women Empowerment	6 cities; 3,000+ women trained	Women on Wheels trains women from low-income communities as professional commercial drivers.
85	Preranapreranaantitrafficking.org	1986	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Child Welfare	Mumbai red-light areas; 20,000+ children	First organisation in India to run night care centres for children of women in prostitution.
86	Apne Aap Women Worldwideapneaap.org	2002	New Delhi, Delhi	Women Empowerment	Bihar, West Bengal, Delhi; 20,000+ women and girls	Grassroots anti-sex-trafficking movement founded by journalist Ruchira Gupta.
87	Aajeevika Bureauaajeevika.org	2004	Udaipur, Rajasthan	Livelihood	Rajasthan, Gujarat, MP; 100,000+ migrant workers	Built India's first dedicated service and legal-aid infrastructure for seasonal migrant labour.
88	Seva Mandirsevamandir.org	1968	Udaipur, Rajasthan	Rural Development	700+ villages in southern Rajasthan; 70,000+ households	Long-running village institution-building, forest commons and tribal education work.
89	MYRADAmyrada.org	1968	Bengaluru, Karnataka	Rural Development	Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh; 20+ districts	Pioneered the self-help affinity group model that became India's national SHG-bank linkage programme.
90	Tarun Bharat Sanghtarunbharatsangh.in	1975	Alwar, Rajasthan	Water & Sanitation	1,200+ villages in Rajasthan; 11,000+ johads built	Revived five dead rivers through traditional johad water harvesting; founder called India's 'Waterman'.
91	Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR)wotr.org	1993	Pune, Maharashtra	Rural Development	9 states; 4,700+ villages, 2M+ people	Large-scale participatory watershed development and climate-resilient agriculture.
92	Centre for Science and Environmentcseindia.org	1980	New Delhi, Delhi	Environment	National policy influence; Down To Earth magazine	Its research drove India's move to CNG public transport in Delhi and national air quality reform.
93	Wildlife Trust of Indiawti.org.in	1998	Noida, Uttar Pradesh	Environment	20+ states; 30+ conservation projects	Secured India's first elephant corridors and runs large-scale wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.
94	Nature Conservation Foundationncf-india.org	1996	Mysuru, Karnataka	Environment	Himalaya, Western Ghats, oceans and high-altitude India	Snow leopard and community-based conservation science recognised globally; runs Early Bird and Bird Count India.
95	Bombay Natural History Societybnhs.org	1883	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Environment	Nationwide; India's oldest conservation body	Led the vulture conservation programme that reversed India's catastrophic vulture decline.
96	WaterAid Indiawateraidindia.in	1986	New Delhi, Delhi	Water & Sanitation	14 states; millions reached with WASH services	Key civil society partner on the Swachh Bharat Mission and urban sanitation worker safety.
97	Doctors For Youdoctorsforyou.org	2007	Mumbai, Maharashtra	Disaster Relief	20+ states; 3M+ people in emergencies	Frontline medical relief in floods, cyclones and COVID-19, running field hospitals across India.
98	Habitat for Humanity Indiahabitatindia.org	1983	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	Disaster Relief	20+ states; 500,000+ people housed or served	Large-scale disaster-resilient housing and post-disaster reconstruction.
99	Blue Cross of Indiabluecrossofindia.org	1959	Chennai, Tamil Nadu	Animal Welfare	Chennai and Tamil Nadu; 100,000+ animals a year	One of India's oldest and largest animal welfare bodies; pioneered the Animal Birth Control programme.
100	People For Animalspeopleforanimalsindia.org	1992	New Delhi, Delhi	Animal Welfare	26 states; 165+ units, shelters and ambulances	India's largest animal welfare organisation network, founded by Maneka Gandhi.

Ordering is a composite editorial judgement of scale, reach and public recognition — there is no single official ranking of Indian NGOs. Profiles are compiled from each organisation's own published reporting and cross-checked against sector listings. Reach figures are as most recently reported by the organisation. Corrections are welcome: tell us what is wrong.