The National Integration Council (NIC) is a group of senior politicians and public figures in India that looks for ways to address the problems of communalism, casteism and regionalism.
The 2013 council was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and its members included movie star Jaya Bachchan, cardinal Baselios Cleemis, news editors: Shobhana Bhartia, Siddharth Varadarajan, Aroon Purie, Barkha Dutt, political leaders; Rajnath Singh, Kumari Mayawati, Bhim Singh, Sonia Gandhi, and billionaires; Anand Mahindra, Rajashree Birla, Cyrus Mistry, and Azim Premji.
The purpose was to find ways to counter problems that were dividing the country including attachment to specific communities, castes, religions and languages.
[4] The inaugural meeting was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi.
[8] Baselios Cardinal Cleemis Catholicos has been nominated as a Member of the National Integration Council under category IX (Eminent Public Figures).