Bengaluru : UST, a leading AI and technology transformation solutions company, has won the 2025 Mahatma Award for Digital Transformation and Social Impact, marking the fourth consecutive year that the company has been recognized by India’s most prestigious CSR awards. This sustained success underscores UST’s long-standing commitment to driving large-scale community and societal impact through its CSR initiatives.
The Mahatma Award honors individuals and organizations for their contributions to society and commemorates those who embody the principles championed by Mahatma Gandhi. UST’s continued recognition by this organization is a testament to the company’s efforts to on create tangible impact worldwide through its strategic CSR initiatives.
UST’s CSR initiatives are strategically aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and emphasizes five key areas: Education, Health, Livelihood, Environment, and Disaster Relief. A strong corporate culture built around UST’s core values and encouraging of employees to volunteer led to this win, as well as wins in 2024, 2023, and 2022.
UST’s CSR commitments spring naturally from its core values which prioritize addressing education, healthcare, and livelihood as the critical steps to achieving lasting social transformation. The company’s education initiatives nurture curiosity from early learning to higher education and its employability programs empowering individuals from a wide range of backgrounds to unlock their full potential, empowering them to give back to their communities. Education initiatives over the past year included: Multiple scholarship programs, STEM training projects, school adoption programs, the institution of an early childhood education program in Chennai, and smart learning programs for students with disabilities.
Likewise, healthcare has also always been key to UST’s CSR efforts, however these initiatives have grown in prominence since the pandemic. In recent years UST has accelerated efforts to strengthen healthcare infrastructure and digital access, supporting critical care, assistive technologies, and inclusive health awareness across rural and tribal regions. In 2025, UST embodied these commitments by volunteering to assist the critically ill, providing access to medical assistive devices, and supporting mobility initiatives.
The company aims to achieve long-term transformational impact by boosting self-reliance in disadvantaged communities. As a result, UST continues to expand and invest in developmental programs for women, youth, tribal communities, and persons with disabilities. Through technology-enabled skill development and market-linked opportunities, these initiatives deliver sustainable income, boost resilience, and yield opportunities for inclusive growth. As part of these efforts, UST provided skills training to women and creating opportunities for those with intellectual disabilities as well as their caregivers.
“We are honored to receive the Mahatma Award for the fourth year in a row. Since its foundation in 1999, UST has placed an emphasis on transforming lives, grounding our commitment to business excellence in the core values of humility, humanity, and integrity. These values are deeply embedded in company culture and form the basis for our award-winning global CSR campaigns,” said Sunil Balakrishnan, Chief Values Officer and Global Head for Development Center Operations, UST.
The award was received by Sunil Balakrishnan, Chief Values Officer, and Smita Sharma, Global Program Manager, UST, at an event held at India International Center, New Delhi. Smita Sharma also participated as a panel speaker for the session “Role of Corporation in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through Trusteeship” at the same event. The Mahatma Award is founded and constituted by Amit Sachdeva, more famously known as ‘The CSR Man of India’. The Mahatma Award is supported by the Aditya Birla Group and the award ceremony is hosted annually by Liveweek, a social impact company.
