CSD began its journey as an informal study group at the India International Centre in 1962 by a few prominent social workers and social scientists, under the leadership of the legendary freedom fighter and social worker Durgabai Deshmukh.  It was registered as a society in 1970, with C.D. Deshmukh as President and Durgabai Deshmukh as Executive Chairperson and Honorary Director.  A Southern Regional Centre (SRC) of CSD was set up in Hyderabad in 1967 by Durgabai Deshmukh which is currently funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and the government of Telangana.  Eminent Educationists and representatives of public institutions constitute the CSD society which guides its programmes.

For over five decades, the Council for Social Development (CSD) has functioned as a non-profit, non-partisan, vibrant research institution, engaged in the issues of social development, especially the welfare of the marginalised.  Through its programmes of research, seminars, publications, capacity-building and other initiatives, CSD actively participates in policy discourses on social development in India.  It pursues its vision by undertaking studies and capacity building activities in key areas such as development, education, health, rural development, governance, human rights, and social justice.  Its pioneering efforts have helped shape planning, policy and programme implementation and foster critical ideas approaches and strategies designed to bring about social change.