Indus Valley Partners’ CSR Partnership: Supporting Rural Students from Classroom to Degree

Indian companies spent Rs. 34,909 crore on CSR in 2023-24. Education received around Rs. 12,000 crore of that, more than any other cause. But the money is not spread evenly. Maharashtra alone received over 17% of all CSR funds that year, as The CSR Journal reported. That leaves every CSR team with a simple question: where will our support do the most good?

Indus Valley Partners (IVP) has given one clear answer. Since 2022-23, the financial technology company has directed its CSR activities in India towards rural students. It has paid for the internet, learning software and IT upkeep of 130 rural Akal Academies, supported infrastructure development at Baru Sahib after the 2023 floods, and now sponsors the higher education of more than 300 girls at Eternal University.

All of this support goes to the Akal Academies and Eternal University, which run under The Kalgidhar Society and Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib. Together, they educate more than 75,000 students through 130 schools and 2 universities. For companies looking for the best NGO for CSR funding, this partnership shows what steady support looks like when a company and an NGO keep working together year after year.

CSR Partnership: Indus Valley Partners with The Kalgidhar Society and Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib

About Indus Valley Partners

Indus Valley Partners is a financial technology company that builds software, data platforms and managed services for investment managers around the world. It has worked in this field for over 25 years, with a team of more than 1,300 people and offices in New York, London, Mumbai and Noida. Under its CEO and Managing Director, Gurvinder Singh, the company has chosen to put a steady part of its CSR support into rural education.

Who runs the Akal Academies and Eternal University?

The Kalgidhar Society and Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, run 130 Akal Academies, most of them in rural areas where good schools are hard to find, along with Eternal University in the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. This work grew from the vision of Sant Baba Iqbal Singh Ji, its founding pillar, who believed that education could change the future of entire villages.

IVP’s support started with the everyday technology needs of these schools. Over time, it has grown into a CSR education partnership in India that follows students from village classrooms all the way to a university degree.

How Did IVP Support Digital Learning in 130 Akal Academies?

From 2022-23 to 2023-24, Indus Valley Partners paid for the technology that keeps digital learning running across 130 rural Akal Academies. Its support covered four areas.

Why these running costs matter

The need for this support became clear during the Covid-19 lockdown. In April 2020, The Tribune reported that more than 70,000 Akal Academy students had moved to online classes. Many of their parents had never used study apps before, so teachers helped each family get connected.

Starting online classes was the first step. Keeping them going year after year is harder. Internet bills, software licences, cloud services and battery replacements come back every year, and they are often the first costs a rural school struggles to pay. IVP chose to fund exactly these costs.

The results show in the classrooms. “The results show in the classrooms. Since IVP’s support began, the academies have seen higher enrolment and more students staying in school. For companies planning similar projects, the CSR impact stories on CSR for CHANGE show the same lesson. Paying for what keeps a system running each month can matter as much as paying for new buildings or equipment.

How Is IVP Funding Girls’ Higher Education at Eternal University?

Since 2024-25, IVP has sponsored the higher education of more than 300 girl students at Eternal University, Baru Sahib. Every one of them comes from a family under financial strain, where paying for a degree would otherwise be out of reach. The sponsorship runs across three academic years, from 2024-25 to 2026-27.

Eternal University stands in a rural part of Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh. It is dedicated to the higher education of young women and offers courses in nursing, agriculture, science, public health and other fields.

Why girls’ higher education needs this support

India has made real progress here. The latest All India Survey on Higher Education, covered by the Deccan Herald, shows that female enrolment reached 2.24 crore in 2023-24, and the enrolment rate of women has stayed ahead of men’s for seven years in a row.

The national figures, though, hide a harder reality in villages. For a girl from a poor rural family, college means fees, hostel charges, books and travel, all at an age when her family may expect her to earn or marry. Too often, her dreams end after Class 12, not for lack of ability, but for lack of money.

This is where IVP’s support makes a real difference. By sponsoring more than 300 girls at Eternal University, IVP has lifted that burden from their families. A daughter who might have stayed home can now walk into a lecture hall, study nursing, agriculture or science, and build a career of her own. Each sponsorship is more than a scholarship. It is a promise that her education will not stop because her family cannot afford it.

Support that lasts the full degree

A degree takes three to four years. A scholarship that stops after the first year can leave a student halfway, with fees due and no way to finish. By committing for three years in a row, IVP has given these students the time they need to complete their courses.

In October 2025, an IVP team visited Baru Sahib to meet the students and see the work first-hand. This kind of personal involvement is what turns funding into a true CSR education partnership in India. The company knows where its money goes, and the students know someone is following their progress. Companies that want to support similar work can explore the higher education programmes at Baru Sahib.

How Did IVP Help After the 2023 Floods at Baru Sahib?

The 2023 monsoon hit Himachal Pradesh hard. By late July, 168 people in the state had died in rain-related incidents and road accidents, losses had reached about Rs. 5,350 crore, and Sirmaur district, home to Baru Sahib, was among the areas hit by very heavy rain, as the Deccan Herald reported.

In 2023-24, IVP stepped in with CSR funding for flood relief at Baru Sahib. The company supported infrastructure development on the campus, helping restore and strengthen the facilities that students, teachers and staff rely on every day. For a residential campus in the hills, this kind of support decides how quickly classes can return to normal after a disaster.

Relief that reached beyond Baru Sahib

The same monsoon also flooded large parts of Punjab and Haryana. The Akal Relief Team, working under The Kalgidhar Society and Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, sent around 150 volunteers who carried out rescue work and delivered relief supplies to affected families across Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Akal Academy Kauriwara in Mansa district even set up a relief camp for flood-hit families. Indus Valley Partners was among the companies that supported this relief work through their CSR funding.

The work did not go unnoticed. The Government of Punjab honoured the Akal Relief Team for its service in 2023, and the relief work also won the Best Disaster Relief Initiative award at the Indian CSR Awards 2023, as recorded in the 2023 year-end report.

For companies that want their CSR to cover emergencies too, it helps to work with an NGO for disaster relief that already has people, schools and supply lines on the ground. When a crisis hits, such a partner can move within days, and your support reaches families while they still need it. Companies can learn more about disaster relief CSR opportunities through CSR for CHANGE.

Indus Valley Partners’ CSR Support at a Glance

Here is a summary of every project Indus Valley Partners has funded from 2022-23 to 2026-27.

Two areas stand out for how long they have run: IT support for rural schools and higher education for girls. Together, they cover a student’s journey from a village classroom to a university degree.

What Should Companies Look for in an NGO Partner for CSR?

Every company wants its CSR money to reach the right people and make a lasting difference. Online lists of the best NGO for CSR in India can help a CSR team draw up a shortlist, but the final choice usually comes down to a few practical checks. The IVP partnership shows how each of them works in real life.

• Reach that already exists. An NGO with schools already running in villages can put support to work quickly. The Kalgidhar Society and Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, together run 130 schools and 2 universities for more than 75,000 students.
• Long-term commitment. Education takes years. IVP’s support began in 2022-23 and continues through 2026-27, long enough for sponsored students to complete their degrees.
• Funding regular running costs. Internet lines, software, cloud services and batteries are easy to overlook, but digital classrooms cannot work without them.
• Ability to act in a crisis. A partner that can also run relief work gives a company a trusted way to help when disaster strikes.
• Results you can count. 130 academies kept online and more than 300 girls in university are outcomes any CSR committee can check and report.

Under Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013, education, the empowerment of women and disaster relief are all approved CSR activities in India. That means a single partner working across all three can help a company meet its CSR duties while keeping its reporting simple. Companies interested in a similar model can connect for CSR sponsorship with CSR for CHANGE. Employees and individual donors who wish to support a rural child’s schooling can sponsor a child’s education through Educate To Save.

A Note of Thanks to Indus Valley Partners

From 2022-23 to 2026-27, Indus Valley Partners has stood with rural students year after year. Its CSR funding kept 130 Akal Academies connected to online learning, helped strengthen infrastructure at Baru Sahib after the 2023 floods, and is now giving more than 300 girls from struggling families the chance to complete a university degree.

This support did not come as a one-time grant. It came from a company that chose to stay with the same cause over several years, guided by people who believe in it deeply. Mr. Harbhajan Singh, Director at Indus Valley Partners, shared a close association with Sant Baba Iqbal Singh Ji and his vision of bringing quality education to rural children. Under the leadership of Mr. Gurvinder Singh, CEO and Managing Director, that shared belief has grown into a lasting CSR education partnership in India, one that keeps changing lives year after year.

The Kalgidhar Society and Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, along with CSR for CHANGE, sincerely thank Mr. Harbhajan Singh, Mr. Gurvinder Singh and the entire Indus Valley Partners team for their trust and generosity. Every connected classroom and every girl now studying at university reflects that support.

CSR for CHANGE is an initiative supporting the noble cause of The Kalgidhar Society and Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib. It helps companies direct their CSR funds towards rural education, higher education for girls, women empowerment and disaster relief, with clear reporting on what each project achieves. If your company is searching for the best NGO for CSR funding to match its own goals, the CSR for CHANGE team can walk you through current projects and partnership options.

Also Read: Committed CSR Funding for Rural Education: Western Refrigeration’s Six-Year Partnership

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What CSR support has Indus Valley Partners given to Akal Academies and Eternal University?

Indus Valley Partners has funded three areas. From 2022-23 to 2023-24, it paid for IT support, leased internet lines, Extramarks learning content, Amazon Web Services for online tests and IT maintenance across 130 rural Akal Academies. In 2023-24, it funded flood relief and infrastructure development at Baru Sahib. From 2024-25 to 2026-27, it is sponsoring the higher education of more than 300 girls at Eternal University.

2. How does IVP’s CSR funding help students in Akal Academies?

It covers the running costs of digital learning. Steady internet, online lessons, cloud-based tests and battery backup let students in remote villages learn with the same tools as students in cities, without classes stopping during power cuts. Because these costs return every year, companies looking for the best NGO for CSR in India often prefer partners that already manage schools on this scale.

3. Which students does IVP sponsor at Eternal University?

IVP sponsors more than 300 girl students from financially stressed families. Eternal University, run under The Kalgidhar Society and Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, is dedicated to the higher education of young women and is located in Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh.

4. How did IVP support flood relief in 2023?

After heavy monsoon rain and floods hit Himachal Pradesh in 2023, IVP funded infrastructure development at Baru Sahib. The same year, The Kalgidhar Society and Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, also worked as an NGO for disaster relief across Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, with IVP among its CSR donors.

5. What is CSR funding?

CSR funding is the money a company spends on social projects under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. Companies above certain size or profit limits must spend at least 2% of their average net profit from the previous three years on approved activities, such as education, women empowerment and disaster relief.

6. How can a company choose the best NGO for CSR in India?

Look for an NGO that already works where the need is, stays with a cause for several years, can act quickly in a crisis and reports results you can verify. Asking for clear numbers, such as how many schools or students your funds reached, makes the choice easier.

7. How can my company start a CSR education partnership for Akal Academies and Eternal University?

Companies can reach out through CSR for CHANGE, an initiative supporting the noble cause of The Kalgidhar Society and Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib. The team can suggest projects in rural education, girls’ higher education, women empowerment and disaster relief that match your CSR goals. If you are comparing options for the best NGO for CSR funding, the team can also share clear reports on how earlier CSR support has been used.