At Cisco, we imagine within the energy of expertise and our folks to drive significant change. For over 30 years, we’ve partnered with India to form our shared digital future, foster innovation, and construct a workforce prepared for tomorrow. However our impression goes far past enterprise.
Collectively, we’ve been working to empower communities and enhance lives—and due to the ingenuity and diligence of our many non-profit collaborators, we’ve achieved one thing really outstanding.
Watch our overview video to find out how Cisco and our companions helped 50 million folks in India.
Above and past: How a authorities mandate to provide again grow to be an inspiration to go additional
In 2013, when India carried out a regulation requiring corporations to spend money on company social accountability (CSR) initiatives, Cisco noticed a chance not simply to satisfy the mandate, however to go above and past. In 2018, we set a daring aim: positively impression 50 million lives in India by 2025.
After we join the unconnected, we increase alternative for all. Working carefully with our non-profit companions, we didn’t simply meet that aim—we exceeded it, reaching this milestone in March 2025. (Grants made inside India since 2015 are included within the complete depend.) This achievement displays our ongoing dedication to powering an inclusive future for all.
From opening our first workplace in India in 1995, to main initiatives that empower hundreds of thousands in the present day, Cisco’s legacy in India coincides with the nation’s progress as an rising chief in innovation and expertise. With practically one billion web customers, the world’s third-largest digital economic system, and greater than 70 p.c of its youthful era aspiring to work in tech, it’s secure to say India is firmly in its digital increase. Actually, simply final 12 months, Boston Consulting Group ranked India within the prime 10 for AI readiness and second globally for AI specialists.
Our India Objective Workplace staff’s extraordinary achievement exemplifies Cisco’s technique for social funding—from shut collaboration with native specialists, to rigorous measurement of constructive impression, to regular emphasis on the distinctive energy of tech-fueled innovation to succeed in extra folks in want. Their work has helped advance our imaginative and prescient of thriving folks and empowered communities all through India.” —Charu Adesnik, Govt Director, Cisco Basis; Director, Social Affect Investments
A daring imaginative and prescient fueled by our folks
The Cisco India Objective Workplace led the way in which, crafting a technique that mixed progressive expertise with collaborative partnerships. By means of initiatives just like the India Money Grant Program, we’ve been in a position to amplify our impression by supporting native non-profits that use expertise to deal with essential wants like schooling, healthcare, disaster response, and financial empowerment. By aligning with authorities priorities and fostering collaboration in our grantmaking, we’ve created lasting change for a extra inclusive and affluent society.
However our work didn’t cease there. Cisco staff additionally performed a key position—from mentoring our companions on cybersecurity to sharing experience in enterprise operations. Collectively, we’ve empowered these organizations with the sources, data, and steering they wanted to develop and create lasting impression.
Tales that encourage
From enabling job readiness to reworking healthcare, listed below are among the unbelievable initiatives rooted from our collaborative efforts:
Indus Motion: Bridging instructional gaps
Cisco’s collaboration with Indus Motion by way of the Eklavya challenge transforms schooling coverage with tech-driven options. Supporting India’s Proper to Schooling Act, which makes schooling a elementary proper for youngsters aged 6-14, Cisco’s grant enhanced knowledge assortment techniques—enabling environment friendly decision-making and coverage execution for state governments, whereas positively impacting 500,000 folks.
NIIT Basis: Empowerment by way of schooling
Since 2017, Cisco and the NIIT Basis have collaborated to champion schooling and empowerment by way of the Cyber Suraksha challenge (Suraksha means “security” in Hindi). From 2022 to in the present day, this challenge has helped greater than 1 million people—40% of them girls—develop cybersecurity abilities, and greater than 7,000 members safe cybersecurity roles.
Quest Alliance: Constructing future-ready abilities
The Future Proper Expertise Community is a collaborative effort between Cisco, Accenture, SAP Labs, and J.P. Morgan, facilitated by Quest Alliance. To date, greater than 300,000 college students gained profession abilities throughout Industrial Coaching Institutes. As well as, over 26,000 college students landed full-time jobs, and greater than 1,500 trainers acquired help.
The Piramal Swasthya Basis: Revolutionizing healthcare supply
Cisco’s partnership with Piramal Swasthya within the Niramay initiative is revolutionizing healthcare supply in Assam, India. By integrating digital well being expertise, the collaboration enhances telemedicine, diagnostics, and affected person document administration, addressing very important healthcare wants in underserved areas. With greater than 110,000 affected person information digitized, this partnership is setting new requirements in public healthcare.
Wanting forward
With 1 billion lives impacted globally and one other 50 million lives modified in India, our journey to Energy an Inclusive Future for All continues. Our ongoing collaborative efforts will be sure that life-changing expertise reaches those that want it most. Collectively, we’ll maintain creating constructive social impression—one partnership at a time.
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