Top 10 NGOs in India: Transforming Communities and Changing Lives
Several non-profit organizations in India focus on social, economic, and environmental issues. As of 2025, numerous NGOs are doing extraordinary work with far-reaching effects throughout India. At PARD INDIA, we’ve ranked based on our assessment, highlighting the top 10 NGO in India.
These NGOs, driven by dedicated individuals or organizations, work diligently to achieve their objectives, often with minimal or no government involvement. Genuine NGOs in India have developed and matured over the years through their strong dedication to social transformation.
While numerous NGOs have left an impressive impact on society, some have worked tirelessly behind the scenes, constantly creating ways to transform their communities. A few among them have achieved recognition, while others are working tirelessly to be heard for their contributions towards transforming India for the better. This blog provides details regarding the popular NGOs in India and how they are positively contributing to society with their extraordinary work. It contains imperative and detailed insights about NGOs and how they function as non-profit organizations (NPOs).
List of Top 10 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in India 2025
Most top NGOs in India operate in various fields, including education, healthcare, women’s empowerment, children’s rights, environmental protection, elderly care, orphanage homes, food, and more. We have compiled a list of authentic NGOs that work tirelessly to improve our society in India. Our list of the best NGO websites in India is based on the research and efforts of our team.
| Famous NGO In India | Establishment |
| PARD INDIA | 2011 |
| Akshaya Patra Foundation | 2000 |
| Smile Foundation | 2002 |
| Give India Foundation | 1999 |
| CRY (Child Rights and You) | 1979 |
| Goonj | 1999 |
| Nanhi Kali | 1996 |
| Care India | 1946 |
| Pratham | 1994 |
| Helpage India | 1978 |
1. PARD INDIA
PARD INDIA, short for Pragathi Association for Rural Development, was born from a simple yet powerful idea: gifting education through the READ Project to deprived children (V-kids) in rural India. Established formally on January 13, 2011, as a Society in Yernagudem village, Andhra Pradesh, this community-driven NGO began with an “After School Education Program” that provided educational care for 50 children after school as its initial focus. Since then, PARD INDIA has blossomed into a prominent Grassroots NGO in India covering over 80 villages across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states.
The mission of PARD INDIA aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and its core interventions include education, health, environment, skill development, and livelihood creation. With an increasing number of volunteers, the organization has now established itself as one of the leading NGOs in India, making a tangible difference at the grassroots level.
Significant Information About PARD INDIA
| Name | PARD INDIA |
| Types of Registration | Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), registered as a Society. |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Bethala Veera Swami |
| Address | Door No. 8-34, Yernagudem (Post), East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, India, PIN-534313 |
2. Akshaya Patra Foundation
The Akshaya Patra Foundation is a self-sustained charitable trust registered under the Indian Trusts Act of 1882. It has been fighting classroom hunger and malnutrition since 2000 by operating the Government of India’s PM POSHAN Scheme. The foundation runs mid-day meals with nutritious food to school children all over India on each school day.
By using technology and the Public-Private Partnership model, Akshaya Patra has established a huge network of kitchen complexes. It works with the Government of India, state and UT governments, corporates, and philanthropists to tackle this critical social problem on a mass scale and provide improved health and education outcomes for children.
Significant Information About Akshaya Patra Foundation
| Name | Akshaya Patra Foundation |
| Types of Registration | Non-Governmental Organization |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Co-Founder | Chrys Capital Raj P. Kondur |
| Address | Hare Krishna Hill West of Chord Road, Rajajinagar Bengaluru – 560010 India |
3. Smile Foundation
Smile Foundation, founded in 2002 with its headquarters in New Delhi, is one of the top 10 NGO in India that operates in 25 Indian states. It has transformed itself over the last two decades into a self-sustained social institution and has promoted inclusive growth by forming alliances with industries and supporting change through civic leadership. The Foundation adopts cutting-edge programs that relate to education, healthcare, and livelihood, specifically targeting underprivileged children and women.
Major programs are Smile on Wheels (mobile health), Smile Twin e-Learning, and Mission Education. With a distinctive resource-based approach that involves corporate partnerships, Smile Foundation is committed to long-term, meaningful social change.
Significant Information About Smile Foundation
| Name | Smile Foundation |
| Types of Registration | Non-Governmental Organization |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Co-Founder | Santanu Mishra |
| Address | 161 B/4, 3rd Floor, Gulmohar House, Yusuf Sarai Community Centre, New Delhi – 110049 |
4. Give India Foundation
GiveIndia is India’s top-rated non-profit organization that is an online donation platform. The purpose of GiveIndia is to bring donors into touch with certified and trustworthy non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across India. In operating as a connection between the material and virtual world, GiveIndia bridges individuals in India and internationally with philanthropy.
These contributions find their way into the hands of screened NGOs taking up different causes. Because of its open working style and humanitarian efforts, GiveIndia is acclaimed as one of the top 10 NGO in India.
Significant Information About Give India Foundation
| Name | GiveIndia |
| Types of Registration | Non-Profit Organisation |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Co-Founder | Venkat Krishnan |
| Address | 1st floor, Rigel, No. 15-19 Doddanekkundi, Marathahalli Outer Ring Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka-560037 |
5. CRY (Child Rights and You)
Rippan Kapur, an Indian Airlines purser, started CRY in 1979 along with six friends and a mere Rs. 50. Now, after forty-plus years, CRY works with 102 local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in 19 states in India. It has positively impacted the innocent lives of more than 3 million children. India’s most trusted NGO, Child Rights and You (CRY), strives relentlessly to provide happier and healthier childhoods for India’s poor children.
CRY caters to children’s vital needs and requirements of healthcare, nutrition, education and protection from child marriage and child labour by engaging with teachers, parents, communities, district, Anganwadi workers, state governments, and the children themselves. Today, it is among the Top 10 NGO in India. The vision of CRY is to build a society that upholds children’s rights, ensures their health and happiness, and ensures justice and equity for all.
Significant Information About CRY (Child Rights and You)
| Name | CRY (Child Rights and You) |
| Types of Registration | Non-Governmental Organisation |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Co-Founder | Rippan Kapur |
| Address | CRY – Child Rights and You, 189/A Anand Estate, Sane Guruji Marg, Mumbai – 400 011 |
6. Goonj
Goonj is an NGO from Delhi, which was established in 1999 by Anshu Gupta, to tackle poverty with innovative social development programs in 23 states of India. With a strong emphasis on clothing as a fundamental yet overlooked necessity, Goonj started with just 67 clothes and now deals with more than 3,500 tonnes of material every year.
It works actively in the areas of disaster relief, rural development, and humanitarian aid efforts. Anshu Gupta was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2015 and India’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012. Goonj is a registered society under the Societies Act and is certified for tax and foreign donation exemptions under 12a, 80G, and FCRA.
Significant Information About Goonj
| Name | Goonj |
| Types of Registration | Non-Governmental Organization |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Co-Founder | Anshu Gupta |
| Address | J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi-110076 |
7. Nanhi Kali
Nanhi Kali is an Indian nonprofit organization that operates to educate needy girls. Funded in 1996 by Anand Mahindra, it is an initiative of collaboration between Naandi Foundation and KC Mahindra Education Trust, which operates as part of the CSR strategies of the Mahindra Group.
Nanhi Kali seeks to empower girls by providing ten years of quality education, even in far-flung areas such as Darjeeling and highly populated urban slums. More than 500,000 girls in 14 states have been helped through its programs. The project aims at promoting worldwide awareness about the refusal to grant elementary rights to underage girls in India, as put forth by Chairperson Sheetal Mehta.
Significant Information About Nanhi Kali
| Name | Nanhi Kali |
| Types of Registration | Non-Governmental Organization |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Co-Founder | Anand Mahindra |
| Address | K. C. Mahindra Education Trust Cecil Court Near Regal Cinema Mahakavi Bhushan Marg Mumbai 400001 |
8. CARE India
CARE India has been operating in India for 68 years and is one of the top 10 NGO in India dedicated to fighting poverty and social injustice. They work to empower girl children and women from poor and marginalized backgrounds and to enhance their lives and livelihoods. They accomplish this by well-prepared and well-rounded health, education, livelihood, disaster relief, and response projects.
Care India reached 31.5 million people directly by way of 43 projects in 14 states, across over 90 districts. Their resilience, disaster relief, livelihood, education, and health interventions empower marginalized women and girls to enhance communities’ ability to sustainably and holistically empower them.
Significant Information About CARE India
| Name | CARE India |
| Types of Registration | Non-Governmental Organization |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Co-Founder | Lincoln Clark |
| Address | A-12, Bhilwara Towers, Third Floor, Tower-II, Sector-1, Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, India, 201301 |
9. Pratham
Pratham is among the largest non-governmental organizations in India, and it was founded by Madhav Chavan and Farida Lambe. It operates towards the delivery of quality education to poor children in India. Pratham was formed in Mumbai in 1994 to offer preschool education to slum children and has intervened in 23 states and union territories in India and assisted chapters in the United States, Britain, Germany, and Sweden.
Pratham is a trailblazing school that seeks to improve the level of education in India. It was established in 1995 to provide education to needy children from the slums of Mumbai. Pratham has now diversified in reach and programs for children and youth across the country.
Significant Information About Pratham
| Name | Pratham |
| Types of Registration | Non-Governmental Organization |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Co-Founder | Madhav Chavan, Farida Lambay |
| Address | B- 4/58, Safdarjung Enclave 2nd Floor, New Delhi – 110 029 |
10. HelpAge India
HelpAge India, founded in 1978, operates to enhance the status of older individuals, particularly marginal ones. Universal pensions, healthcare, and abuse of the elderly are addressed by the organization, not just involving the government, but also other stakeholders as well. Its efforts are directed towards improving the quality of life of older citizens so that they can lead active, dignified, and healthy lives.
Recently, HelpAge India won the ‘UN Population Award 2020’ as the first Indian organization for its exemplary efforts on aging, COVID-19 relief, and upholding the rights of older persons.
Significant Information About HelpAge India
| Name | HelpAge India |
| Types of Registration | Non-Governmental Organization |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Co-Founder | Mr Jackson Cole, Samson Daniel |
| Address | HelpAge India C–14 Qutab Institutional Area New Delhi – 110016 |
Shape Today & Tomorrow With PARD INDIA!
India’s growth process is primarily the result of NGOs’ steadfast initiatives to transform deprived communities. Whether it’s educating underprivileged children, empowering women, providing skill development to the youth, strengthening rural livelihoods, addressing zero hunger at the grassroots level, or safeguarding elderly citizens, the top 10 NGOs in India, along with all other NGOs, have been continuously shaping the country’s future.
At PARD INDIA, our extensive grassroots connections and commitment to rural development show how national change can be powered by local action. As a donor, volunteer, or advocate, there is a place for everyone in this social movement. If you want to make a positive impact in India at the grassroots level, PARD INDIA is one of the best platforms.
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