India / Global —December 17, 2025 — Coherent Market Insights (CMI) participated as the Research Partner at the ET Now Champions of CSR Conclave 2025, a national platform recognizing organizations demonstrating leadership in corporate social responsibility through measurable social impact, governance excellence, and responsible business practices.
At the conclave, Mohit Shrivastava, AVP – Research & Consulting at CMI, presented the structured research methodology developed to identify India’s “Champions of CSR.” His address outlined the evaluation framework, data validation approach, and scoring parameters used to ensure neutrality, transparency, and sectoral representation in the final recognition process.
He discussed on the strategic deployment of CSR activities, long-term community development, and governance-led responsibility at the conclave with corporate leaders, policymakers, and sustainability heads as well as foundations and CSR practitioners. With businesses increasingly aiming to align CSR initiatives with ESG commitments, the need for dialogue around accountable and adaptable social impact has become the need of the hour. Moreover, ET Now is one of the important platforms that help achieve this feat.
The Development of a Reliable CSR Evaluation Framework
CMI, as a research partner, took the initiative of developing and implementing a structured, intelligence-led evaluation framework. It aims to determine the firms delivering unique CSR outcomes in India.
CSR Evaluation Approach
Eligibility screening marked the first step of CSR organizations assessment. These organizations were gauged based on four core criteria: operational presence in India for at least three years (as of March 2025), consistent CSR funding commitment, the presence of a dedicated CSR or sustainability function, and adherence to national CSR regulations and recognized guidelines.
In order to ensure diverse sectoral representation, organizations across the IT, FMCG, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, energy, automotive, manufacturing, financial services, and consumer goods industries were sourced. This action made sure that social development is supported by both traditional and innovation-driven sectors.
In order to facilitate balanced benchmarking, companies were additionally grouped according to their level of CSR investment:
- Emerging Enterprises: ₹0–50 Cr
- Growing Enterprises: ₹50–100 Cr
- Established Enterprises: Above ₹100 Cr
Following that, each corporation was subjected to desk-level profiling and validation using publicly accessible sources, such as industry magazines, corporate websites, CSR and sustainability reports, and regulatory filings. Further, program scope, financing consistency, implementation maturity, and quantifiable impact in areas including community development, healthcare, education, and the environment were all evaluated for CSR projects.