The YMCA Movement originally began in post-Industrial England of 19th century in London in the drapery establishment of M/s Hitchcock and Rodgers in which a young apprentice of 21, George Williams, took the initiative in organizing Bible classes in his bedroom in the nature of a mutual edification of the society which brought in a cohesive group of 12 of his co-workers from equal number of denominations of the christian church to form the Young Men’s Christian Association on June 6, 1844.

The YMCA tradition is not new to India. Way back in the year 1857 the first YMCA in Asia was started at Calcutta, the then Capital of India. The year 2007 is a very proud and significant year for the whole Indian YMCA movement, which is celebrating 150 years of its presence in India along with the YMCA Calcutta.

The National Council of YMCAs of India was formed in Madras on February 21, 1891 through the initiative of David McConaughy. The headquarters shifted to Calcutta in May, 1902. In 1964 it shifted to New Delhi, its present location.