Bharatiyata in Action:
Sustainability, CSR and Governance the Indian Way

Dr Bhasker Chatterjee
Former Secretary
Government of India

In conversations about development, progress is too often measured by Western or European standards. India has increasingly resisted this narrow framework, insisting that its growth, challenges and achievements must be judged by criteria rooted in its own social, cultural and economic realities. This approach is not only a matter of national pride but also of intellectual independence. It reflects a deeper message: India can set its own benchmarks and the world must begin to recognise them as valid and valuable.

This perspective represents a growing sentiment in the country. The belief is that dialogue with the West must be on equal footing: if India is spoken to, it will respond; if it is preached to, it will disengage. The tone is one of confidence, rooted in the conviction that India possesses both the vision and the capability to chart its own future, even as it contributes meaningfully to global discussions.

India and the Global Sustainability Agenda

One of the most compelling illustrations of this independent vision lies in the domain of sustainability. India first made its presence felt in global environmental discourse at the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. At that time, the Indian voice linked poverty directly to ecological challenges, declaring that the biggest polluter was not industry or technology but poverty itself. This intervention left a lasting impression, highlighting the unique perspective that development and environmental protection could not be separated in a country where millions struggled to meet basic needs.

Yet, after this striking debut, it took more than four decades before India once again reshaped the sustainability dialogue. In 2014, a new government assumed office and within a year India played a pivotal role at the Paris Climate Conference in 2015. The Paris Agreement, now regarded as a landmark in global environmental policy, was deeply influenced by India’s contribution. Its most critical provision—the collective pledge to keep the rise in planetary temperatures below two degrees Celsius—was championed by India. What makes this even more remarkable is that the country had been under new leadership for barely a year, yet its vision defined the course of global sustainability efforts for the next decade.

Fast forward to 2021 and the focus shifted to Glasgow for another United Nations Climate Change Conference. Here, India announced five significant commitments to the international community. While each of these was important, the most far-reaching was the promise to achieve net zero emissions by 2070. This timeline, distinct from those set by Western nations, reflected India’s reality—balancing urgent climate action with the equally pressing need for economic growth and poverty alleviation. Rather than bending to external pressure, India declared a pathway that was both ambitious and achievable. It was a clear demonstration of self-assurance: participation in global commitments, yes, but always on terms consistent with national priorities.

The Strength to Stand Firm

This posture—confident, firm and self-defined—has been evident in other arenas as well. While global tariff disputes and trade pressures have often left many countries vulnerable, India has refused to simply play by rules set elsewhere. Instead, it has asserted the strength to find its own path, to negotiate from a position of dignity rather than dependency. This resilience reflects a broader truth: India’s growing economic and political weight allows it to stand strong, even when others capitulate.

The lesson here is clear. A country can hold its head high in international dialogue only when it derives strength from its own institutions, people and values. India’s recent trajectory shows precisely that kind of internal confidence, built not on imitation but on the assertion of identity.

Bharatiyata and the Indian Model of CSR

This brings us to another concept closely linked to India’s developmental philosophy—Bharatiyata, or the essence of being Indian. The challenge is not only to adapt to global standards but also to craft indigenous models that can command recognition on their own merit. An example of such innovation can be found in the evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India.

In 2009, a framework was developed that transformed CSR from a marginal activity into a central concern of corporate governance. It was no longer an afterthought managed quietly in back rooms; instead, CSR became a matter for deliberation in boardrooms, engaging the best minds of companies in setting meaningful agendas. This shift was itself a significant achievement, but the model went further by making civil society organisations the key implementing partners.

India is home to 3.3 million civil society organisations—the largest number in the world. These groups, often dismissed by the corporate sector as “chappal and jholawala” entities, are in fact deeply embedded in communities. They work tirelessly at the grassroots, serving the disadvantaged, amplifying the voices of the marginalised and addressing needs invisible to mainstream policy. By entrusting them with the implementation of CSR projects, India built a system where corporate resources were combined with grassroots expertise.

This was Bharatiyata in action: a uniquely Indian solution, designed in India, for India. It created a model that was not borrowed or imposed but born out of local realities. Moreover, it offered lessons for the world—demonstrating how corporate power and community knowledge could be integrated into a coherent framework for social impact.

When the CSR law was drafted around 2010–2011, it drew inspiration from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the global framework of the time. Yet, the law was not a simple adoption. Instead, it was an Indianisation of global ideas, expressed through Schedule 7 of the Companies Act. That schedule translated the broad vision of the MDGs into priorities meaningful to Indian society, thus creating a model that was aligned with international thinking but firmly grounded in national context. This framework has endured, standing the test of time even as the global agenda shifted from the MDGs to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Governance and the Restoration of Institutions

The theme of Indian models is not confined to sustainability or corporate responsibility. Governance itself provides another compelling illustration. In Odisha, the rapid pace of development compared with neighboring regions can be traced to the way administrative systems were re-energised. The bureaucracy, once described as India’s “steel frame” but later derided as a “bamboo frame,” regained its strength through institutional trust and empowerment.

By enabling administrators to execute policies decisively and efficiently, governance was restored to its proper balance: political leadership provided the vision, while professional administrators implemented it. This synergy between leadership and bureaucracy delivered tangible results, demonstrating that effective governance rests not on populist shortcuts but on the steady empowerment of institutions.

A Distinctive Indian Trajectory

Taken together, these experiences—sustainability leadership, independent goal-setting, resilience in global disputes, innovative CSR frameworks and effective governance—form a coherent picture of India’s contemporary trajectory. The message is not one of isolation but of confident participation: India will engage with the world, but always from a position of dignity, rooted in its own values.

This approach also signals a constructive challenge to global norms. By insisting that development be measured on Indian terms, the country asserts that Western benchmarks are not universally applicable. Instead, it offers alternatives—models of Bharatiyata—that combine global ideas with local realities. These models, whether in sustainability, CSR, or governance, demonstrate that progress need not follow a single template.

The broader implication is profound. India’s rise is not merely economic or political; it is intellectual and philosophical. By Indianising global frameworks, the country demonstrates that it can contribute not only to solutions for itself but also to fresh perspectives for the world. The assertion is clear: India’s path is distinctive, its voice is strong and its models are capable of shaping the future of both national development and international cooperation.