What Are the Biggest Development Challenges in India Today?
Chrysalis Services
And How Can CSR Step Up to Address Them?
Despite the rapid economic development, growing global stature, and tech-savvy youth, India is far behind in many long-standing development issues. India’s success story is not a story of one-dimensional success but a story of vivid contrast: world-class innovation in urban areas and entrenched underdevelopment in rural areas; billion-dollar companies and kids without classrooms.
This blog addresses India’s most critical development needs and issues:
How can business, through their CSR efforts, contribute in a meaningful way towards filling them?
Educational Inequality: The Persistent Learning Gap That Remains Unresolved.
India has achieved drastic improvements in school-going. But are our children learning?
As per ASER 2023, more than 50% of Class 5 students in rural India are still unable to read a Class 2-level book. Learning loss following COVID-19 has been acute, particularly for first-generation learners. The digital divide persists—only 24% of rural households are connected to the internet (NFHS-5).
CSR Insight: The flagship CSR initiatives now constitute core literacy, EdTech for rural India, and teacher capacity building. Long-term collaborations with NGOs in pedagogy and learning of the mother-tongue are becoming increasingly popular.
Public Health and Sanitation: An Access Crisis, Not an Awareness Crisis
India only spends 2.1% of its GDP on public health—less than half the world average. Though the flagship programs such as Ayushman Bharat are ambitious in nature, last-mile delivery is abysmal. Malnutrition continues to impact more than 35% of children, under-five (NFHS-5). India accounts for about twenty-five percent of the global tuberculosis cases. Sanitation is on the rise, but toilet utilization and hygiene behavior remain irregular.
CSR Insight: CSR efforts targeting community health workers (ASHAs), menstruation hygiene, or mobile health units can be complementary to government efforts—particularly if co-designed with local communities.
Livelihood Insecurity and Skilling Mismatch
India increases the workforce by 12 million annually, but underemployment continues to grow. Only 4.7% of Indian workers have formal skill training (NSSO, 2019). Youth unemployment is over 17% (CMIE, 2024). 23% is the labor-force participation rate of women.
CSR Insight: Most impactful CSR livelihood programs are market-oriented, life skill-oriented, and offer job guarantee after training. E-skills, rural entrepreneurship, or women-led SHGs sponsored programs are also picking up.
Climate Resilience and Environmental Degradation
India is listed among the world’s five most vulnerable countries to climate change (Global Climate Risk Index). 21 major cities will run out of groundwater by 2030 (NITI Aayog). One in every eight deaths in India is caused by air pollution. India loses $9 billion annually due to climate-related disasters.
CSR Insight: Environment-centered CSR is moving towards climate adaptation, community resilience, and biodiversity restoration—away from solar power electrification towards catchment development to indigenous tree planting.
Urban Poverty and Housing Insecurity
India’s urban population will be above 50% by 2047, but infrastructure is not moving as per pace. Over 65 million individuals reside in urban slums. Informal workers do not enjoy social protection, housing, and career development. Urban youth witness underemployment and rising living costs.
CSR Insight: Corporates now sponsor urban-centric CSR—slum upgradation, skilling centers, mobile health centers, and legal assistance to informal workers.
Gender Inequality: Still Holding Back Half the Nation
Despite visible progress, structural gender gaps persist: Just one out of three women completes secondary education. They own 13% of the land but contribute 70% of the agriculture. One in three women in India experiences domestic violence.
CSR Insight: Gender-sensitive CSR is evolving—from menstrual safety and well-being to digital empowerment, economic empowerment, and women’s climate action.
Regional Disparities and the Rural–Urban Divide
Some states like Kerala and Gujarat perform well on development indicators, but the vast majority of eastern India, the Northeast, and the tribal regions lag behind. In Bihar, only 11% of the households own piped water access. Assam: Maternal mortality is 4 times the rate in Kerala. Many aspirational areas lack basic education and healthcare centers.
CSR Insight: Several corporates are currently joining the government’s Aspirational Districts Program, directing CSR to India’s most backward geographies.
Current CSR Trends in the World of Development
This is how CSR is transforming to address India’s development requirements:
1. From Access to Outcomes: Programs are shifting from “how many schools constructed” to “how many kids enhanced learning.”
2. Community-First Design: Co-creation with beneficiaries, rather than setting agendas externally, is the essence of sustainability.
3. Strategic Focus on Underperforming Districts: Corporates are betting on underfinanced geographies—particularly tribal and backward areas.
4. CSR as a Government Program Force Multiplier: Working with public systems ensures wider coverage and better scalability.
5. Companies are investing in 3-5 year projects for deeper transformation.
6. Green Skilling and Future-Ready Livelihoods: CSR is promoting green jobs, digital skilling, and sustainable entrepreneurship.
7. Data-Backed Impact Monitoring: Smart CSR uses dashboards, GIS packages, and independent assessments to show measurable change.
8. SDG-Linked CSR Strategy: CSR is increasingly associated with global development objectives—namely SDGs 4, 5, 6 and 13.
From Intent to Impact: How Chrysalis Enables Meaningful CSR
At Chrysalis, we assist businesses in designing high-impact CSR initiatives that address India’s largest development issues.
From project design to NGO relationships and impact measurement, we ensure your CSR is compliant, credible, and catalytic.
- CSR policy aligned with SDGs
- Needs assessments in underserved geographies
- NGO partnerships
- Real-time reporting and monitoring
- Stakeholder storytelling for influence
Partner with Chrysalis Services to Create CSR Which Makes a Difference.
Which development challenge is your organization best placed to tackle?
You don’t have to do everything. But your CSR can do one thing, get deep into it, and actually make an impact.
India’s next step is not merely a function of its GDP, but of dignity, equality, and access for all its citizens and companies, through intelligent CSR, have an opportunity to co-write that future.
Sources:
ASER 2023 – Annual Status of Education Report
NFHS-5 (2022) – National Family Health Survey
NSSO (2019) – Employment & Skilling Report
NITI Aayog – SDG Index & Vision 2047 Documents
Indian Meteorological Department – Climate Reports
CMIE 2024 – Unemployment and Job Market Data
Lancet & WHO Reports on Air Pollution
Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Skill Development – Government Schemes