According to a recent study by Bain & Company, private charitable donations in India have witnessed a significant increase since 2006, particularly among wealthy individuals and philanthropists.

The findings were published in a report entitled “Indian Philanthropy Report 2011”and were presented by Bain & Company at an event hosted by the Indian Philanthropy Forum.

The study found that private charitable donations from individuals had grown by at least 50% since 2006 as a percentage of the country’s gross domestic product, totaling at approximately $5-6 billion in 2010.

It’s not just individual donations that are on the rise either. Since 2006, Indian companies have increased their social spending at a rate faster than their own profit growth. The study found that corporate donations in India now total $1.5 billion, five times as much as in 2006.

“The future of giving is poised to rise further, as the rich population in India grows and as the philanthropic system becomes more advanced”, the study concluded.

Still, authors Arpan Sheth and Madhur Singhal point out that private giving in India accounts for only between 0.3% and 0.4% of the country’s gross domestic product, far behind countries such as the United States, where private giving accounts for 2.2% of America’s gross domestic product.