HCL Foundation

Check whether you can apply at all

• The HCLTech Grant is only for registered not-for-profits in India. A startup, a social enterprise or an individual cannot apply, so do not spend time on it as a company.
• The Yamuna Basin Challenge is the route for startups. Apply under the track that fits you: Navachar for an innovation-led solution, Aadhaar for ecological work. Yuva is for students, Anveshan for academic researchers and Mridul for non-profits.
• Your work has to be about the Yamuna River Basin. A general climate or water idea with no link to the basin does not fit.
• If you are a startup thinking about Mridul, write to the YBC helpdesk first. One answer on the site says startups can apply, while the track description lists only non-profit entity types.

Check the dates before you start

• HCLTech Grant Edition XII closed in September 2026 and is NGO-only anyway. Results are expected around March 2027.
• The YBC pages give different closing dates, so confirm with the helpdesk whether any window is still open before you prepare an application.

How applications work

• Apply only through the official online portals. Email applications are not accepted and there is no fee, so ignore anyone who asks you for money to apply.
• Funds go only to registered organisations, never to individuals. Have your company or LLP registration ready.
• Grants are paid in milestone-based instalments, so plan your project in clear milestones that can be measured and reported.

How selection works

• The HCLTech Grant has seven evaluation stages over about 250 days. Applicants' profiles and project abstracts are reviewed by independent domain experts, sector experts from HCLFoundation and a governance partner.
• YBC applications are screened and then reviewed by evaluators and a final selection committee. One page describes four steps and another describes three, so expect more than one round.

What strong applicants show

• A solution that addresses a named problem of the Yamuna Basin and can show it works through a prototype, pilot or implementation record.
• A team that can run the work, then monitor and report the outcome.
• For the HCLTech Grant, a rural project that the applying organisation runs directly, with no sub-granting.

HCLFoundation is the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of HCLTech. It was established in 2011, describes itself as a not-for-profit organisation, and gives its contact address in Sector 126, Noida, Uttar Pradesh. If you are a founder, read this first: its best-known funding call, the HCLTech Grant, is closed to startups, social enterprises and individuals. The one route it offers startups is the Yamuna Basin Challenge, and only on some tracks.

What HCLFoundation does

HCLFoundation runs its own development programmes and funds outside organisations to run theirs. Its site lists work on urban poverty, the environment and climate, education, health, sports, livelihoods, early childhood care, waste management, artisans and employee volunteering. Most of these are programmes it runs itself, with no application route for outsiders. They include Uday, an urban programme operating in the 11 cities where HCLTech has a presence, Harit, an environment programme, My Clean City in Noida, Samuday, My E-Haat, Power of One, Sports for Change and HCLFoundation Academy, a learning platform for people in the development sector. The two ways an outside organisation can get funding are the HCLTech Grant and the Yamuna Basin Challenge.

The HCLTech Grant

The HCLTech Grant started in 2015 and has completed eleven editions. Edition XII is the current one. It is HCLTech's flagship CSR grant and is meant for NGOs working in Water, Biodiversity, Health and Education, with experience of implementing projects in rural India. The winning NGO in each of the four categories receives a four-year project grant. Eight runners-up receive two-year project grants. Each year the work of the top 40 shortlisted NGOs, ten from each category, is featured in a compendium called The Fifth Estate.

The Grant is for registered not-for-profit organisations in India: a society, a trust or a Section 8 company, or another body that can receive funding under the CSR provisions of the Companies Act. Its own answers to common questions say that a startup or social enterprise cannot apply, and nor can an individual. Applicants also need the CSR implementing agency registration with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, at least five years of functioning on or before 31 March 2026, and an average annual spend above a minimum threshold over the last three financial years. The project must be rural and must be run directly by the applicant, with no sub-granting of HCL funds.

Edition XII applications opened on 15 April 2026 through an online portal and were closed by the time of this review. The final deadline for the detailed proposal was extended to 18 September 2026, and one of its pages still gives an earlier closing date. HCLFoundation says results are expected around March 2027 and projects start from April 2027. The evaluation has seven stages over a 250-day cycle.

The Yamuna Basin Challenge

The Yamuna Basin Challenge, or YBC, asks for solutions to problems of the Yamuna River Basin: conservation, restoration and resilience of the river and its ecosystem. It invites students, researchers, academic institutions, non-profits, social enterprises, innovators and startups. It runs on tracks, each with its own audience. Yuva is for school and college students and gives recognition rather than a stated cash grant. Anveshan is for researchers and academic institutions. Mridul is for non-profit and community organisations and covers water quality, waste and ecological restoration along the Delhi to Agra stretch of the river. Navachar is for innovation-led solutions, and Aadhaar, spelled Aadhar in some places, is for ecological interventions that support conservation and restoration. There is also a national fest called Umang for showcasing work.

Startups are the audience for Navachar and Aadhaar. One answer on the site says startups can also apply to Mridul, but the track description for Mridul lists only non-profit organisation types, so check with the helpdesk before applying there as a startup. In Navachar a winner and two runners-up each receive a grant, and projects run for 12 to 24 months. Aadhaar has the same winner and runner-up structure and project length. Grants go to registered organisations and never to individuals, and they are paid in milestone-based instalments rather than as a lump sum. There is no fee to apply.

As of 7 October 2026 we could not confirm whether the YBC window is still open. The programme page still says applications are live and shows a closing date of 27 September, while a page of answers says the window closes in August 2026. Dates for winners had not been announced.

How to apply

Both programmes take applications only through their own online portals. Neither accepts email applications, and neither charges a fee. For the HCLTech Grant, you register on the portal, fill in the organisation profile and a project abstract, upload the required documents, and submit. YBC has its own registration form, where a startup or social enterprise is a listed organisation type. The general contact inbox is hclfoundation@hcltech.com, the HCLTech Grant has its own inbox at hclgrant@hcltech.com for applicants who do not get an acknowledgement, and YBC questions go to ybc-helpdesk@hclfoundation.org.

Work with us calls

Separately, HCLFoundation publishes requests for proposals from NGOs and CSR implementing agencies to deliver its own programmes, such as Uday and Harit. These are for implementing partners, not startups. HCLFoundation says it charges no fee for any of this and has not authorised any agent to accept applications.

Scale

The HCLTech Grant page reports, without giving a date, that the Grant has reached about 2,300,000 lives across 174 districts in 22 states and 3 union territories, and 61,171 villages. These are HCLFoundation's own figures. Its Uday page reports 129,300 lives impacted, and its Harit page reports 522 acres under plantation.

Location

HCLFoundation gives its address as the Corporate Tower of HCL Technologies in the Technology Hub SEZ, Sector 126, Noida. This is the HCLTech corporate tower rather than a separate Foundation office. The HCLTech Grant covers rural areas anywhere in India, and YBC is limited to the Yamuna Basin.