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From Invisible Cruelty to a Shared Agenda: India Karuna Collaborative’s Launch Convenes Corporate Leaders, Media and Social Sector Organisations for Animals, People, and the Planet

Who came together

The India Karuna Collaborative (IKC) convened more than 50 signatories and partner organisation leaders for a cross‑sector gathering —voices from business, finance, policy, philanthropy, media and civil society came together – for the first ever time – for India’s farmed animals. The mandate was simple, yet ambitious: how can animal welfare be deliberately and systemically built into India’s climate, public‑health and development agenda to end the invisible cruelty in modern supply chains. Watch a 3 minute highlight reel here.

What the closed‑door discussion delivered

Signatories deliberated on where their institutions can move fastest together, vis a vis momentum shifts created in the animal welfare movement by IKC member organisations. Four clusters of work emerged:

Better standards in supply chains – a coalition of food, hospitality and allied businesses to pilot and scale credible animal ‑welfare standards in Indian supply chains.

Finance as a lever – a collective of investors and banks to integrate animal welfare risk and opportunity into ESG frameworks, stewardship and product design.

System change beyond projects – coordinated efforts on policy engagement, narrative shifts and youth engagement to position animal welfare as core to One Health and Viksit Bharat 2047.
Policy reform – Working with Central and State governments to integrate and implement policy reforms

These priorities will now shape IKC’s working groups and engagement with signatories.

Launch of 'The Interconnected Crisis: Animal Welfare, Human Health, and Climate Change in India' position paper by Motilal Oswal

Motilal Oswal, Chairman & MD of Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. launched a position paper authored by IKC titled, 'The Interconnected Crisis: Animal Welfare, Human Health, and Climate Change in India', which traces how food systems designed without recognising animal sentience are driving antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic risk and environmental damage. The full report is a shared reference point for business, finance and policy leaders shaping India’s transition to humane, climate-aligned food systems.

Launch of the YouGov report by Anita Dongre

An unveiling of IKC's first study on young Indians, in partnership with YouGov, was presented by Anita Dongre.

The survey, conducted with 3,010 respondents aged 18–30, offers powerful insights into how this generation thinks about sentience, farmed animals, and the use of antibiotics in our food systems. For the full report and deeper analysis, stay tuned.

Changing the narrative - Panel Discussion

A panel discussion titled ‘One Health. One Planet. One Economy. One Blind Spot.’, brought together leaders like Amala Akkineni (Co-founder - Blue Cross Hyd), Gauri Maulekhi (Trustee - People for Animals), Dr. R Hemalatha (Former Director - ICMR), Sanjiv Mehta (Executive Chairman - L Catterton), moderated by Mehak Kasbekar (VP & Editor in chief - Brut) to elaborate on why intensive animal agriculture is not only an ethical concern but a systemic risk to public health, climate, and India’s growth story.

Hear from our Signatories

Join us

Co-create the Investor & Banking collective

Integrate into ESG and stewardship frameworks

Partner on Media outreach

Shape how print & online outlets frame invisible animal cruelty, food‑system risks, supply chains & solutions

Co‑create a coalition of leading food & hospitality companies

Pilot science-grounded welfare standards in modern supply chains

Back a Policy & Narrative track

Support briefings and public messaging that link invisible animal cruelty in food systems to health, climate, and economic resilience

The IMC Chamber of Commerce hosted, for the first time, a fully plant-based and Jain menu for a gathering of this scale, and its warmth and flavour drew appreciative feedback from guests.

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