With animal welfare accounting for just 1.5 per cent of India’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) funding, the India Animal Welfare Forum (IAWF) on Saturday launched the country’s first collaborative Animal Welfare Funding Circle, backed by an initial Rs 14 crore to address long-standing funding gaps in the sector.

The funding pool has been supported by the Upadhyaya Foundation, India Animal Fund, Caring Friends, Mela Foundation, and Coefficient Giving. The national convening brought together policymakers, philanthropists, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), researchers, legal experts, and conservation leaders to discuss key challenges facing animal welfare in India, including chronic underfunding, gaps in policy implementation and the need for coordinated, policy-aligned action.