Prakash Hinduja on HLP 2025: Building Corporate Leaders through Rural Exposure

Boardrooms and business schools aren’t the only places where leadership is developed. It is shaped in the centre of rural India as well. This idea is central to the Hinduja Group’s approach to leadership development. It wasn’t just an induction tour for the incoming class of the Hinduja Leadership Program (HLP) 2025 when they travelled to Jawhar, a village in Maharashtra sponsored by the Hinduja Foundation. They were being immersed in a philosophy that has long guided the Hinduja Family: Work to Give.

As the CSR arm of the Hinduja Group, the Hinduja Foundation has been quietly changing lives across India for decades. When drought hit farming communities, they didn’t just send aid - they taught sustainable farming techniques that families could use for generations. In villages without clean water, they built systems that locals could maintain themselves.

They send their mobile medical vans to help pregnant mothers in far-off regions and provide actual employment opportunities to youngsters through their skill development programs. The difference lies in the fact that they work in collaboration with communities and not only on them, making a long-lasting change that is much more than a donation organization or a one-staged project. Incorporating rural exposure into business leaders’ onboarding process allows the Foundation to not only showcase its work but also instil empathy, social consciousness, and purpose in the next generation of decision-makers.

Jawhar, located in the tribal belt of Palghar district, is one of the Foundation’s flagship rural transformation sites. In the case of HLP cohort, a visit to this village was a live textbook on community-based approach to development. The group of guests saw how the mobile medical facilities are closing accessibility divides in rural villages, how the jasmine flowers are helping the rural women earn the living with pride, and how sustainable agriculture is reviving the economies and environments at the same time. These were not abstract lessons but visible, living proof of transformation.

“Exposure to grassroots India is not just a moral imperative, it is a leadership imperative”, said Prakash Hinduja, Managing Trustee of the Hinduja Foundation. “You cannot make decisions for a country like India from a glass tower in Mumbai or London. You must walk its dusty paths, drink its water, and listen to its people. Only then do you understand what inclusive growth means,” he added

At a time when corporate training often focuses on data analytics, digital tools, and market strategy, the Hinduja Group is making a bold statement by placing empathy and ethics at the forefront of leadership education. The rural exposure model not only helps future leaders internalise the Group’s core values but also prepares them to make socially responsible decisions in their professional lives.

During their visit, the HLP 2025 participants interacted with farmers involved in organic agriculture, young women trained in sustainable livelihoods, and volunteers managing water purification systems. These interactions did more than merely make CSR more relatable.  They demonstrated the true interdependence of social advancement and business.

"The circular power of giving has long been a belief of the Hinduja family.  Empowering a village is more than just carrying out our social duty. We're making investments for the future. Empowered communities mean a stronger nation, and a stronger nation makes for a healthier business environment,” explained Prakash Hinduja.

This hands-on exposure also brings alive the Hinduja Foundation’s long-term approach to social impact. It doesn’t believe in token donations or photo opportunities but in measurable, scalable, and sustainable interventions. The Foundation’s work in Jawhar is a clear example. Water harvesting structures have rejuvenated parched fields. Women-led microenterprises have flourished. Children now access education closer to home. And critically, all of this has been achieved with the community at the centre, not as beneficiaries, but as co-creators.

The HLP cohort, after spending days with villagers and Foundation workers, returned to their corporate roles not just inspired but changed. Their reflections spoke volumes. For many, it was the first time they had seen the tangible effects of rural policy, social innovation, and corporate intervention all coming together.

Prakash Hinduja also highlighted, “In rural India, there is a wisdom that cannot be taught by a textbook. As leaders, it is our responsibility to scale compassion as well as profitability. The Hinduja way is this. This is both our duty and our legacy.”

The Hinduja Group’s approach to weaving rural insights into their leadership development is a smart, forward-looking strategy that other conglomerates could really learn from. It beautifully connects business with a sense of responsibility, leadership with real-life experiences, and growth with a deep understanding of the grassroots. By investing in not just what leaders know, but how they think and whom they serve, the Group is building a generation of professionals who see the bigger picture, beyond balance sheets and into the heart of society.

In an era of hyper-specialisation and digital saturation, Jawhar offers a different kind of classroom; one where lessons are taught through lived realities and conversations in open fields. And the Hinduja Family, through its Foundation, is ensuring that its future leaders never forget where authentic leadership begins.

Not in titles or salaries, but in service.