IndiaMART wins Mahatma Award 2026 for education CSR

IndiaMART has received the Mahatma Award 2026 for its corporate social responsibility work in education. The award recognises the company's long-running programmes under its "Leaving No Dreams Behind" initiative.

The recognition focuses on projects in education, skill development, and rural school infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. These efforts have included school upgrades, technology-led learning, teacher training, and entrepreneurship education.

IndiaMART says it has supported more than 60 schools and improved learning environments for over 26,000 students in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh. In Karnataka's MM Hills region, its education programmes have reached more than 6,000 children across over 44 schools and more than 19 kindergartens, with support including computer centres, scholarships, and learning materials.

Another part of the programme has focused on digital learning in regional languages. Through a partnership with Khan Academy, IndiaMART says it has extended technology-led learning to more than 96,000 students in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya and social welfare schools across Uttar Pradesh.

Skills focus

The company has also expanded into entrepreneurship and skills training through its work with Udhyam Learning Foundation. IndiaMART says these efforts have reached 10 lakh students across more than 1,900 schools. More than 2,000 teachers have been trained, and 1,46,580 students have taken part through Startup Stormers.

The Mahatma Award is backed by the Aditya Birla Group and was instituted by philanthropist Amit Sachdeva. It recognises organisations and individuals for work in areas including social responsibility, sustainability, the environment, social service, and public affairs.

IndiaMART says it has put monitoring systems in place for its social projects to measure effectiveness and sustainability. According to the company, a dedicated CSR team conducts field visits and works with students, teachers, parents, local communities, non-governmental organisations, and government officials.

Implementing organisations also submit regular progress and fund-use reports. IndiaMART then conducts internal reviews to assess longer-term indicators, including school retention, career outcomes, and household income trends.

The award comes amid growing scrutiny of how listed companies in India use CSR budgets, particularly in education, where companies are increasingly backing projects that combine infrastructure, digital access, and employability. IndiaMART's programme reflects that broader pattern, with spending spread across physical school facilities, learning technology, and entrepreneurship teaching.

Brijesh Agrawal, Co-founder of IndiaMART, said: "Talent and ambition are distributed far more equally than opportunities. Education is the strongest foundation of equal opportunity. The promise of a developed India will be realised when a child's postal code no longer decides the ceiling of their ambition. Where they are born, what their parents earn, or their gender should not determine their possibilities. A developed India will be one where opportunity finds everyone. We are working in mission mode to create those opportunities on the ground for every child. This recognition is a humbling validation of our efforts, and we will continue to scale them and contribute meaningfully toward nation building."