India, Sept. 24 -- India is spending more on social development than ever before. Public spending on the social sector has grown at 13% annually, reaching about Rs.27 lakh crore in FY25 and projected to hit Rs.50 lakh crore by FY30. Alongside, philanthropy and CSR have grown into significant pools of capital for civil society, with private philanthropy reaching an estimated Rs.1.43 lakh crore and CSR exceeding Rs.40,000 crore annually.

Even as much of India's development progress is still driven by public systems, civil society has long played a complementary role: Reaching communities that formal systems struggle to reach, helping people access public services and entitlements, testing new approaches, and helping communities directly pa...