List of NGOs in India: NGO directory and database

The NGO registers, what a contact list adds, and who sells to NGOs and trusts.

Updated 12 October 2026 · 5 min read

Trusts, societies and section 8 companies

A list of NGOs in India brings together organisations set up in three legal forms, and the form tells you how the organisation is run and who signs its cheques:

Trusts, created by a trust deed and, in some states, registered under a public trusts law. Trustees decide.
Societies, registered under the Societies Registration Act or a state version of it, with an elected governing body.
Section 8 companies, registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs like any company but licensed to work for charitable objects, with a board of directors.

Size varies enormously. Some are national organisations with offices in many states; many are run by a founder and a handful of staff working in a few villages or city wards. Causes range from education, health and women's livelihoods to animal welfare, disability, water and the environment.

Getting a list of NGOs in India from the official registers

NGO Darpan. NITI Aayog's portal is the closest thing to an official NGOs directory. NGOs sign up to get a unique ID, which many government grant schemes ask for, and you can search by state and sector. The details are entered by the NGOs themselves and are not always kept up to date.
The FCRA portal. The Ministry of Home Affairs lists associations registered to receive foreign contributions, or given prior permission, and those whose registration has been cancelled. It covers only NGOs that deal with foreign money.
CSR registration. Organisations that carry out companies' CSR projects register with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and get a CSR registration number. An NGO with one can quote it and show you the certificate.
MCA master data for section 8 companies, and income tax registrations, including the one that lets donors claim a deduction. A genuine NGO can show you these on request.

These registers are built to check an NGO, one at a time. None gives you a working phone number and email address for every NGO in a city or on a cause.

Our NGO database by city and state

Our NGOs & Trusts list holds 23,156 NGOs and trusts in 243 cities and towns. 97% come with a mobile number and 89% with an email address, while 90% record the type of organisation or the cause it works on. The numbers are cleaned, duplicates removed and mobiles written in +91 format. The list page shows 60 real rows and the month the list was rebuilt.

NGOs by city

NGOs by state

Separate lists are sold for 14 cities and 12 states, each at ₹499. If you need NGOs in a district we do not cover, request a custom list.

Who works with NGOs, and why they need contacts

Company CSR teams looking for implementing partners in the districts near their plants.
Social enterprises selling solar lanterns, water filters, sanitary pad machines, school kits and smokeless stoves for projects.
Software firms offering donor management, receipts and accounting built for NGOs.
CA firms handling audits, FCRA returns and income tax filings for trusts and societies.
Trainers and consultants in fundraising, proposal writing and impact assessment.
Printers, event organisers and volunteering platforms that serve the sector.

An NGO's number is often the founder's own mobile. Pitch only what serves their work, and stop when asked.

How to approach an NGO

Match the cause and the place. An NGO running girls' schools in Barabanki has no use for a waste-management pitch. Filter by category and city before you write a word.
Email first. Founders spend the day in the field and answer email when they are back. Keep it to five lines, with one clear offer.
Make the opening specific. For example: "Namaste. I'm Pooja from a Lucknow company that makes low-cost sanitary pad machines for self-help groups. I read about your livelihood work in Barabanki. Do you buy equipment from your own grants, or through a CSR partner?"
Call in office hours a few days later. Avoid the last fortnight of March, when NGOs close their accounts for the financial year and chase donor reports.
Be ready for their questions: is there an NGO price, can a CSR partner pay you directly, can you give a quotation on letterhead and a GST invoice for their donor, and who trains their staff and repairs the product in a village?

Our cold email templates help with the first note, and the SPF, DKIM and DMARC guide keeps your emails out of spam.

Questions about NGO lists

Is an NGO directory the same as NGO Darpan?

No. NGO Darpan lets you look up registered NGOs one at a time and shows registration details, not a sheet of phone numbers. An NGO database such as ours, with 23,156 NGOs and trusts and 97% with a mobile number, puts the contacts in one file you can sort by city.

How do I check whether an NGO is genuine?

Ask for its registration certificate, its NGO Darpan ID, its income tax registrations and its latest audited accounts. For a section 8 company, look up its master data on the MCA portal; our company search guide shows how.

Which NGOs can accept foreign donations?

Only those registered under FCRA or given prior permission. Check the FCRA portal before money moves, and take professional advice on the rules that apply to you as the donor.

Can an NGO remove its details from your list?

Yes. Anyone can ask for their details to be removed on our removal page.