Started in 2015, the HCLTech Grant is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment by HCL, through HCLFoundation, to strengthen and empower NGOs, engage with them, as well as recognize them for their path-breaking work. Currently focused on rural development, the HCLTech Grant is awarded in three thematic categories, namely Environment, Health, and Education. HCLTech Grant is designed to support breakthrough projects proposed by NGOs that have a proven track record of evident impact, high credibility, and a distinct ability to deliver.

With the launch of Edition XI, HCLTech Grant will now recognize impactful work in four crucial categories: Biodiversity, Water, Health, and Education. The winning NGO in each of these categories will receive a grant of ₹ 5 Crore (~US$0.60 Million) each for a comprehensive four-year project. Additionally, eight runners-up NGOs, each receiving ₹ 50 Lakhs (~US$0.06 Million) for a two-year project. This significant increase in funding and project duration brings the total committed fund for the HCLTech Grant to ₹ 24 Crores (~US$2.9 Million). This strategic shift underscores HCLFoundation dedication to enabling deeper and more sustainable impact on the ground.

HCLFoundation (HCLF) was established in 2011 as the CSR arm of HCLTech. It is a value-driven, not-for-profit-organization, that thrives to contribute towards national and international development goals, bringing about a lasting positive impact in the lives of people, through long-term sustainable programs. 7.5M + lives impacted, 1,45,000+ people Linked with Social Security Schemes, 73,000+ acres of land greened and brought under community management and 3.27M+Saplings planted. For more details, please visit HCLFoundation.

HCLTech Grant is HCLTech’s contribution towards Nation Building and is also one of the flagship programs under HCLFoundation, as part of its initiatives under the Corporate Social Responsibility.

Presently HCLFoundation is implementing five flagship programs, namely  Samuday, HCLTech Grant, Uday, My Clean City and Harit. HCLFoundation also has 3 Special initiatives i.e. My E- Haat, Power of One, HCLFoundation Academy and Sports for Change. For more details on the projects, please visitvisit HCLFoundation.

2015-2016 Edition I
Going to School, Education
Project Title & Geography: Be an Entrepreneur - 21st century entrepreneur skills for adolescents in 4 districts across Bihar and Uttar Pradesh

2016-2017  Edition II
Foundation for Ecological Security, Environment
Project Title & Geography: Informed Collaborative Action for Resilience of ecosystems Conservation for natural resources through common land regime in 6 Districts across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh & Odisha

Child in Need Institute, Health
Project Title & Geography: Creating Community-based Safety-net for better Health and Nutrition Outcomes for children, adolescents and women in 3 Districts of West Bengal

MelJol, Education
Project Title & Geography: Aflatoun – Social and Financial Education Program educate young generation on social and financial aspects of life in 5 Districts of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra & Jharkhand

2017-2018 Edition III
Keystone Foundation, Environment
Project Title & Geography: Hill waters & wetlands for communities and wildlife – Eco restoration & applied ecology and Advocacy in Nilgiri Biosphere reserve, Tamil Nadu

Eleutheros Christian Society, Health
Project Title & Geography: ECS Life Connect, Integrated approach to improve healthcare access and prevent maternal and child death in 3 Districts of Nagaland

Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind (Sightsavers India), Education
Project Title & Geography: Inclusive Education for Children with Visual Impairment in 5 Districts across Rajasthan, Bihar & West Bengal.

2018-2019  Edition IV
Wildlife Trust of India, Environment
Project Title & Geography: Connecting Landscapes, Empowering People and Protecting Elephants- An initiative to secure the Baghmara - Balpakram Elephant Corridor and protect the wildlife habitats of Garo Hills, Meghalaya.

She Hope Society for Women Entrepreneurs, Health
Project Title & Geography: Humanitarian assistance to strengthen inclusion and safety of vulnerable persons especially women and children in conflict affected areas of 5 districts across J&K.

Srijan Foundation, Education
Project Title & Geography: Educating the women farmers for better livelihood opportunities and better income generation in 2 districts of Jharkhand.

2019-2020 Edition V
Under the Mango Tree Society, Environment
Project Title & Geography: Keeping Indigenous Bees Buzzing and Supporting Biodiversity Conservation in Tribal Communities of 4 districts across Gujarat, Maharashtra & Madhya Pradesh

Operation Asha, Health
Project Title & Geography: Eradicating TB and achieving mission of the PM/UN SDG Goal3 through a community driven, patient centric, technology supported, low cost model to improve rural conditions of Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh.

Bal Raksha Bharat (Save the Children), Education
Project Title & Geography: Promoting Quality Education through a culture of peace and safe learning environments for the most marginalised children of 2 districts across Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

2020-21 Edition VI
SAAHAS, Environment
Project Title & Geography: Sustainable Waste Management through Community-Owned Rural Resource Recovery Systems in 4 districts on Karnataka

India Health Action Trust (IHAT), Health
Project Title & Geography: Improving Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Outcomes in Tribal Areas of Madhya Pradesh, Shahdol District.

Child Rights and You (CRY), Education
Project Title & Geography: UDAAN-Breaking Barriers and Rebuilding the Lives of Bedia girls in 2 districts of Madhya Pradesh.

2021-22 Edition VII
Professional Assistance For Development Action (PRADAN), Environment
Project Title & Geography: Restoring Eco-System by Promoting Nature Sensitive Endeavor – RESPONSE in 3 districts of West Bengal.

The Association of People with Disability, Health
Project Title & Geography: “Cot to Community” - A Comprehensive rehabilitation approach for People with Spinal Cord Injury (PwSCI) in 29 districts of Karnataka.

Language and Learning Foundation, Education
Project Title & Geography: Inclusion of children’s home languages to improve foundational learning outcomes of Adivasi children in 1 district of Chhattisgarh.

2022-23 Edition VIII
PlanatEarth, Environment
Project Title & Geography: Recover and Recycle Plastic from Ocean and Protect Water Bodies from Water Hyacinth Infestation by Manufacturing Briquettes Drive to Recover Ocean Plastic (DROP) and Manufacture Briquettes from water weeds - in 4 districts of Kerala.

Innovators in Health (India), Health
Project Title & Geography: Universal Tuberculosis Care through Active Case Finding and Treatment Support in Rural Bihar.

Meghshala Trust, Education
Project Title & Geography: Technology-Enabled Teacher Capacity Building - A Case for the State of Sikkim.

2023-24 Edition IX
The Corbett Foundation, Environment
Project Title & Geography: Guardians of Grasslands: Empowering communities to safeguard pastures for the long-term conservation of critically endangered bustards and associated species in Kutch, Gujarat.

Sangath, Health
Project Title & Geography: EMPOWER: Building India’s Perinatal mental health workforce in 3 districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Makkala Jagriti, Education
Project Title & Geography: Transformation of Anganwadi ecosystem in vulnerable areas towards sustainably providing quality early childhood care and education to children in Mysuru district of Karnataka.

2024-25 Edition X
Lokamata Rani Rashmoni Mission, Environment
Project Title & Geography: Conservation of biodiversity for life and livelihood that covers 40 villages of South and North 24 Parganas districts in West Bengal, promoting sustainable agriculture, supporting local livelihoods and empowering women.

Gurupriya Vision Research Foundation, Health
Project Title & Geography: Vision on Wheels that focuses on eradicating childhood blindness due to Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) across over 10,000 villages in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Raised Lines Foundation, Education
Project Title & Geography: Touch Learn and Shine that focuses on enabling education inclusion through tactile resources in over 38,400 villages across the country.

With the launch of Edition XI, HCLTech Grant will now recognize impactful work in four crucial categories: Biodiversity, Water, Health, and Education. The winning NGO in each of these categories will receive a substantial grant of ₹ 5 Crore each for a comprehensive four-year project. Additionally eight runners-up NGOs, each receiving ₹ 50 Lakhs for a two-year project.This significant increase in funding and project duration brings the total committed fund for the HCLTech Grant to ₹ 24 Crores. 

No. HCLTech Grant doesn’t differentiate on NGO background or type. However, eligibility criteria are defined for an NGO to qualify for the evaluation process. Eligibility criteria

HCLTech Grant amount is given to the winning NGO into a dedicated bank account opened by the NGO, specifically for the implementation of the proposed project.

 No. HCLTech Grant doesn’t charge any fee for the application; it accepts applications free of charge through its official website HCLTech Grant

Further, HCLFoundation and HCLTech Grant have not authorized any individual or agency or organization to accept the application on its behalf.

HCLTech Grant takes pride in its rigorous, multi-level screening and shortlisting process, which spans across 250 days after which the results are announced.

In line with the goals and objectives of the HCLFoundation, HCLTech Grant is designed only for rural areas. Whereas, there are other programs of HCLFoundation which focusses on urban, peri-urban, and semi-urban areas.

The budget for the proposed project for HCLTech Grant should be limited to ₹5 crores. Although, an organization is free to apply for a project with more than ₹5 crores budget; however, funding from HCLTech Grant will remain limited to ₹5 crores only. The organization will be responsible for soliciting the rest of the funding from other sources.

Yes, HCLTech Grant is open to projects which involve funding from other agencies. Details of such funding to be shared with the HCLFoundation as part of the process.

Average expenditure is calculated using the below formula - 

Herein, expenditure is meant as the Net Expenditure (Gross Expenditure – Surplus/Unspent expenditure) made by the organization as captured in the Income & Expenditure table of Annual Audited Financials. Audited financials of the last 3 financial years, FY2021-2022, FY2022-23 and FY2023-24 is taken into consideration for the evaluation.

The average expenditure is required at the organization level (collectively) irrespective of how many themes it is/has working/ed on and the amount it has spent in each of the themes. Please refer to eligibility criteria for more details. You can refer to the information above to understand how average expenditure is calculated.

It is recommended to submit only one application per cycle/edition.

Sub-granting of funds means funds provided by HCLFoundation for the proposed project are transferred to another agency/individual/etc. for any activity related to management or implementation (among others) through a Grant Agreement.

No. Eligibility criteria are applicable to the applicant organization, as a single entity, only.

Refer “How to Apply” section for more information.

Refer “Who can Apply” section for more information.

No. Once your application is submitted, no changes are allowed. It is recommended to review your application multiple times before submission.

Yes. On submission of your application, a PDF is generated, which you can download and save for future reference and other endeavors.

Post submission, a confirmation/acknowledgment e-mail is sent automatically by the backend server to the registered e-mail id. If you do not receive the e-mail within 24 hours of the submission, please write to hclgrant@hcl.com

HCLTech Grant has seven stages of evaluation, which spans over a 250-day cycle. Information on the application status at each stage is sent through an e-mail by HCLTech Grant PMO. Only shortlisted organizations will be notified. 

No. HCLTech Grant accepts applications submitted through its online platform only.

English. We are exploring possibilities of adding other languages also, but until now, it is limited to English only.

“The Fifth Estate – The HCLTech Grant Compendium” is a collection and compendium of noteworthy Organizations and Projects. The compendium is aimed to spread the word around the world about these organizations and projects. The compendium referred by leaders and agencies around the world for various purposes ranging from consultation to funding. You can download it from the HCLTech Grant Website.

Organizations shortlisted for the Sub Jury review of HCLTech Grant gets featured in the compendium. There is no fee involved or any process available for other organizations.