The British Asian Trust recognised for a decade of social impact at India Global Forum’s UK India Awards 2026

The British Asian Trust has been honoured by the India Global Forum (IGF) with the “A Decade of Contribution to Social Impact” award, recognising ten years of transformative work improving the lives of vulnerable communities across India through innovative partnerships, programmes and social finance solutions.

Hon'ble Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, attending the event said: “India has emerged from the shadows in the last decade, the decade that we celebrated today. There is power in ambition, there is power in aspiration and there is power in the ability to think big.”

Accepting the award on behalf of the Trust, Hitan Mehta OBE, Chief Executive of the British Asian Trust, said: “We are honoured to receive this award from the India Global Forum and to see the impact of our work recognised on this platform. It is a testament to the power of partnership, innovation and collective action that we champion. Over the past decade, we have worked with the Indian government, businesses, philanthropists and communities to create opportunities and improve outcomes for millions of people across India.”

Manoj Ladwa, Founder and Chairman of India Global Forum, said: “The British Asian Trust has demonstrated how innovative partnerships between government, philanthropy, business and communities can deliver meaningful and measurable impact at scale. We are delighted to recognise its contribution to social impact through this award.”

Since 2007, the British Asian Trust has reached more than 18.8 million people in South Asia, in India it has been developing and scaling solutions to some of the country's most pressing social challenges across education, skilling and livelihoods, child opportunities and conservation.

Current highlights of the Trust's work in India include:

• LiftEd Development Impact Bond: Aiming to improve foundational literacy and numeracy for 4 million children through partnerships with state governments and leading philanthropic organisations.

Skill Impact Bond: India's first outcomes-based financing initiative for skilling and employment in collaboration with the the National Skill Development Corporation to skill 50,000 young Indians.
NEST Outcomes Facility: The $4 million facility is using social finance to support small scale entrepreneurs grow successful, sustainable businesses.
Digital Pathways: Partnership with BT Group is helping young people develop digital, STEM and employability skills, and has already supported 2.1 million adolescents.
Child protection: The Child Protection programme is strengthening community systems to protect vulnerable children. With Karmayogi Bharat, the Government of India's national civil service training mission, we designed and launched a child protection training series for civil servants. It is the first time child protection has been built into mainstream civil service training on this scale.

As the British Asian Trust finishes its second decade, it remains committed to developing innovative solutions that improve lives and create sustainable, long-term impact across India.