5th apr to 13th apr 2019

02 Welcome Note

04 Our Founding Story

08 9-Day Program Schedule

24 Guest Speakers

26 Speakers’ Profiles

42 Program Partners

46 Ashoka University Campus

48 Sustainable Development Goals

Index

India’s place in the sun would come from the partnership between

the wisdom of its rural people and the skill of

its professionals.

“

“D R . V E R G H E S E K U R I E N

32

Dear ILSS Leader,

It all began with a burning desire to contribute to building a

better society and getting all hands on deck to tackle India’s

myriad social problems. We held the first edition of our 9-day

program within the Ashoka University premises in January 2018,

with 20 participants, an audacious dream and a world of well

wishers. A little over a year later, we look back with a great deal

of satisfaction at what we have together achieved :

* Four editions of a unique, transformative leadership program

* 68 leaders from diverse backgrounds

* A senior advisory team of 17 distinguished members and an

academic council of 5 most prolific academicians

* 11 info sessions, symposiums and events with eminent

speakers, including Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus and

Stanford professor Paul Brest

* 16 partner organisations

Our biggest success stories are the #ILSSChampionsofChange,

who’ve taken up senior roles in leading organisations in the

social sector or are in the process of setting up social enterprises

to create innovative solutions for our social problems. ILSS

alumni network now touches organizations such as Teach for

India, Educate Girls, Kaivalya Education Foundation, Central

Square Foundation, PHFI and Ashoka University, to name a few.

As we begin the fifth edition of our flagship program, we, at ILSS,

reaffirm our commitment towards building a movement towards

widespread understanding of and engagement with the social

issues that plague our country. We invite you, our fifth cohort, to

join this journey of change.

ANU PRASADFounder- DirectorIndia Leaders for Social Sector

WELCOME NOTE

3

THANKING OUR PARTNERS

We would like to take the opportunity to thank our Founding

Partner, Central Square Foundation, and our Academic Partner,

Indian School of Development Management.

FOUNDING PARTNER

Central Square Foundation

(http://centralsquarefoundation.org/)

Central Square Foundation (CSF) is a non-profit philanthropic

foundation working with the vision of ensuring quality school

education for all children in India. Its mission is to transform the

country’s school education system with a focus on improving

the learning outcomes of children, especially from low-income

communities, so that they get equal access to opportunities

needed for leading a better life.

ACADEMIC PARTNER

Indian School of Development Management

(http://www.isdm.org.in/)

Indian School of Development Management (ISDM) is a

pioneering institution established to develop the discipline

of development management. ISDM aims to facilitate the

creation of a cadre of professional leaders and managers for the

development sector, who will make a significant difference to

the impact, scale and sustainability of organisations working for

the betterment of society and improving the quality of life of the

underserved.

54

Ice-Breaking & Introduction(Introduction & Guest Lectures)

Context Building(Guest Lectures & Movie Screening)

Leadership & Self-Awareness(Workshop & Group Activity)

Leadership & Self-Awareness(Workshop & Guest Lectures & Reflection Session)

Immersion - The Discovery of India(Field Visit & Guest Lectures)

Inspiration & Orientation(Reflection Session & Guest Lectures)

Inspiration & Orientation(Guest Lectures & Reflection Session)

Enabling Social Sector Leaders(Guest Lectures)

Enabling Social Sector Leaders(Reflection & Guest Lectures)

With increased investment and interest coming

into the social sector, there is a growing need

for competent, experienced and passionate

individuals to join this space. India Leaders for

Social Sector is a unique program to build and

nurture such leadership talent, by inspiring and

preparing senior leaders from all walks of life to

transition meaningfully into the social sector.

India Leaders for Social Sector (ILSS) was set

up in September 2017 with the aim of creating

a learning and leadership development

organisation that will help build leadership

capacity for India’s social sector. Incubated by

Central Square Foundation, in partnership with

Indian School of Development Management,

ILSS aims to serve as a platform for socially

conscious professionals to explore, understand

and embrace the non-profit world. Having

gathered years of experience in strategic

problem solving and management, leaders

from senior management of corporates and

services can contribute significantly towards the

country’s development, and ILSS is an attempt

to empower them for this journey.

ILSS aims to achieve this by both building an

ecosystem for talent to thrive in the sector, and

creating a pipeline to bring exceptional leaders

into this field. ILSS intends to make careers in

social development aspirational by building a

repository of information to allow knowledge

sharing and collaboration, showcase success

stories, benchmark best practices, address

perceptions and highlight leadership role

models from the domain.

Our 9-day leadership development programs act

as a window to the world of social development

for individuals looking to move to the non-

profit space. The residential program comprises

carefully curated talks by the best academics,

practitioners and influencers; an immersive visit

to the grassroots and plenty of networking

opportunities. ILSS held four such programs at

the Ashoka University campus in 2018, leaving

the participants with an acute awareness of the

development sector and a heightened sense

of purpose. We are now in the fifth edition

of ILSS’s leadership program, and some of the

themes that would be covered over the course

of these 9 days are:

DAY 1

DAY 3

DAY 5

DAY 7

DAY 9

DAY 2

DAY 4

DAY 6

DAY 8

must be silent before we can listen.must listen before we can learn.must learn before we can prepare.must prepare before we can serve.must serve before we can lead.

We “OUR FOUNDING STORY

“

8 9

10.00 AM - 05.00 PM

REGISTRATION

ILSS Leaders arrive at Ashoka University campus,

check into their respective rooms and complete administrative tasks.

05.00 PM - 05.30 PM TEA

05.30 PM - 06.00 PM

WELCOME ADDRESS

Anu Prasad, Founder, ILSS

Anu welcomes the ILSS Leaders to the program, and talks about how and

why ILSS was conceived and why leadership is needed in the social sector.

06.00 PM - 08.00 PM

SETTING THE CONTEXT

Ravi Sreedharan, Founder & Director, ISDM

Ravi gives an overview of the landscape of the social sector, and also discusses

and sets expectations from the program.

08.00 PM onwards DINNER

08.00 AM - 09.00 AM BREAKFAST

09.00 AM - 10.30 AM

WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT WHAT YOU GET!

A. K. Shivakumar, Visiting Faculty, Harvard University & Senior Policy Advisor, UNICEF

The session shall provide an overarching framework for assessing

development performance – the outcomes of public actions by the State,

civil society organizations, the private sector, and other stakeholders in

India. The session shall discuss the significance of placing people at the

center of development, and assessing progress in terms of expanding

human capabilities and freedoms.

10.30 AM - 11.00 AM TEA

11.00 AM - 12.30 PM

WHOSE PROBLEM IS IT ANYWAY?

A. K. Shivakumar, Visiting Faculty, Harvard University & Senior Policy Advisor, UNICEF

The session shall draw attention to India’s poor record in health and limit

the discussions to issues of financing healthcare. India has among

the most privatized health care systems in the world. In very few countries

of the world are private out-of-pocket expenditures as high as 60 per

cent. It is not therefore surprising that close to 63 million Indians get

impoverished every year because of exorbitant medical

expenditures.

12.30 PM - 01.30 PM LUNCH

01.30 PM - 05.00 PM

DEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS AND LEADERSHIP FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Rajen Makhijani, Leadership and Strategy Consultant

In the session, Rajen would help participants discover their own key

drivers and motivators, their appetite for change, risk and trade-offs, the

underlying mindset shifts that will be critical to make the career transition,

and what they need to learn; what they need to unlearn.

05.00 PM - 05.30 PM TEA

DAY 1

Friday5th April 2019

Introduction& Breakingthe Ice

DAY 2

Saturday06th April 2019

ContextBuilding

DAYSPROGRAMOVERVIEW

9All Sessions: AC 02-211-12, (New Academic Block)

All Meals: Lounge, Residence Hall 1

10 11

05.30 PM - 07.30 PM

DEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS AND LEADERSHIP

FOR SOCIAL CHANGE (contd)

Rajen Makhijani, Leadership and Strategy Consultant

In the session, Rajen would help participants discover their own key

drivers and motivators, their appetite for change, risk and trade-offs, the

underlying mindset shifts that will be critical to make the career transition,

and what they need to learn; what they need to unlearn.

07.30 PM - 08.00 PM DINNER

08.00 PM - 10.00 PM

MOVIE SCREENING AND DISCUSSION

“Rubaru Roshni” - Movie Screening & Discussion

Svati Bhatkal, Film Director

“Rubaru Roshni”, an Aamir Khan production, is a movie about loss, and

forgiveness, one of our core human values, and is based on three real-life

incidents. The movie screening will be followed by a discussion with its

director, Svati Bhatkal.

08.00 AM - 09.00 AM BREAKFAST

09.00 AM - 10.30 AM

DEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS AND LEADERSHIP FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Rajen Makhijani, Leadership and Strategy Consultant

In the session, Rajen would help participants discover their own key

drivers and motivators, their appetite for change, risk and trade-offs, the

underlying mindset shifts that will be critical to make the career transition,

and what they need to learn; what they need to unlearn.

10.30 AM - 11.00 AM TEA

11.00 AM - 12.30 PMDEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS AND LEADERSHIP FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Rajen Makhijani, Leadership and Strategy Consultant

Session Continues

12.30 PM - 01.30 PM LUNCH

01.30 PM - 05.00 PMDEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS AND LEADERSHIP FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Rajen Makhijani, Leadership and Strategy Consultant

Session Continues

05.00 PM - 05.30 PM TEA & SNACKS

05.30 PM - 07.30 PMDEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS AND LEADERSHIP FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Rajen Makhijani, Leadership and Strategy Consultant

Session Continues

08.00 PM onwards DINNER

DAY 3

Sunday07th April 2019

Leadership & Self-Awareness

12 13

08.00 AM - 09.00 AM BREAKFAST

09.00 AM - 10.30 AMDEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS AND LEADERSHIP FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Rajen Makhijani, Leadership and Strategy Consultant

Rajen helps participants discover their own key drivers and motivators, their

appetite for change, risk and trade-offs, the underlying mindset shifts that

will be critical to make the career transition, and what they need to learn

and unlearn.

10.30 AM - 11.00 AM TEA

11.00 AM - 12.30 PMDEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS AND LEADERSHIP FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Rajen Makhijani, Leadership and Strategy Consultant

Session Continues

12.30 PM - 01.30 PM LUNCH

01.30 PM - 03.00 PMREVAMPING FORD FOUNDATION: THE JOURNEY

Pradeep Nair, Regional Director, Ford Foundation

Pradeep Nair, Regional Director, Ford Foundation is responsible for the

foundation’s work in India. The session will highlight the journey of the

Ford Foundation in India as an institution-building foundation, working to

solve complex social problems using a strategic investing approach.

03.00 PM - 03.30 PM BREAK

03.30 PM - 05.00 PMACTIVE CITIZENSHIP & CITY-SYSTEMS REFORMS: THE RECIPE FOR MAKING INDIA’S CITIES LIVEABLE

Srikanth Viswanathan, CEO, Janaagraha

What can I do as a new Civic Leader to start solving for India’s cities? The

session will be about the growing problem of urbanization and how active

citizenship can bring about a change and make India’s cities liveable.

Systems thinking lies at the heart of civic leadership. Srikanth would

highlight how development sector leadership demands systemic thinking,

deep listening and practice of civic leadership.

05.00 PM - 05.30 PM TEA

DAY 4

Monday08th April 2019

Leadership & Self-Awareness

05.30 PM - 07.00 PMTRANSFORMING GOVERNANCE

Gaurav Goel, Founder, Samagra

In the session, Gaurav will share the story of his journey in the social

sector and what triggered his transition to this space. The session will also

cover the vision behind the Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associates

(CMGGA) Program, its performance and impact so far, and his experience

working with the government.

07.00 PM - 08.00 PMREFLECTION SESSION

ILSS

ILSS Leaders would reflect on their ILSS journey so far, what were the

highlights of the sessions and takeaways from them.

14 15

08.30 PM onwards DINNER08.00 AM - 09.00 AM BREAKFAST

09.00 AM - 10.30 AMTHE PHILANTHROPIST’S VISION

Gautam John, Director of Strategy, Nilekani Philanthropies This would be an interactive session with Gautam John on philanthropy in India and the journey of Nilekani Foundation in driving social impact via strategic philanthropy. The session would lead to an understanding of the roles of state, market and society in bringing social change.

10.30 AM - 11.00 AM TEA

11.00 AM - 12.30 PMTHE RELEVANCE OF GANDHI

Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Historian & Chancellor, Ashoka University

In this talk, the life and message of Gandhi would be discussed in the

context of the current Indian scenario, and how his ideas could guide social

transformation.

12.30 PM - 01.30 PM LUNCH

01.30 PM - 03.00 PMDEMOCRATIZING DEVELOPMENT

R. Balasubramaniam, Development Scholar & Founder, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement

This talk will outline in a simplistic manner how the

understanding of development has evolved over the years, who the key

players in this game of development are, and how communities and citizens

are included or excluded from the narrative. The talk hopes to sensitize the

participants in understanding the stakes and incentives that drive the major

players and calls for democratizing development for it to be truly inclusive

and sustainable.

03.00 PM - 03.30 PM BREAK

03.30 PM - 05.00 PMMAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE FOR-PROFIT WORLD

Benedicte Faivre-Tavignot, Affiliate Professor of Strategy, HEC Paris

Benedicte’s session will explore the emergence of social ‘intrapreneurs’ or

changemakers trying to make a difference within the for-profit world. She

will discuss the collaboration between social entrepreneurs, not-for-profit

organisations and social intrapreneurs, the value they can create, and the

DAY 6

Wednesday10th April 2019

Inspiration& Orientation

08.00 PM onwards DINNER08.00 AM - 09.00 AM BREAKFAST

09.00 AM - 05.00 PMFIELD VISIT TO VARIOUS BLOCKS IN THE SONEPAT DISTRICTFACILITATED BY CMGGA

The cohort will be split into groups and taken to a field visit led by

facilitators from CMGGA. They would visit different blocks in Haryana,

observe and try to understand the different institutions within the block,

the stakeholders and the power structures, as well as the socio-economic

conditions of the communities living there and the choices they lead to.

Packed lunches will be provided.

05.00 PM - 05.30 PM TEA & SNACKS

05:30 PM - 08:00 PMSYSTEMS THINKING FOR THE SOCIAL SECTOR

Mihir Mathur, Consultant, TERI & Visiting Faculty, TISS

The talk will be about how social sector leaders can deploy systems thinking

to address the challenges they aim to overcome, understanding the linkages

and interactions between the different components and stakeholders and

appreciating the complexities they pose.

DAY 5

Tuesday09th April 2019

Immersion Visit Understanding the Grassroots

16 17

key factors of success.

05.00 PM - 05.30 PM TEA

05.30 PM - 08.00 PMGUIDED REFLECTIONS ON FIELD VISIT

Mekhala Krishnamurthy, Social Anthropologist & Associate Professor, Ashoka University

In this session, ILSS Leaders will share with each other their experience

from the field visit, and with guidance, try to understand the linkages and

complexities of the problems they saw.

08.00 PM onwards DINNER

DAY 7

Thursday11th April 2019

Inspiration& Orientation

08.00 AM - 09.00 AM BREAKFAST

09.00 AM - 10.00 AM

THE ROLE OF PARENTS IN TRANSFORMING EDUCATION SYSTEM

Abhishek Choudhary & Saransh Vaswani. Co-Founders, Saajha

Parental participation in public education is challenging in a country like

ours, with large numbers of children as first-generation learners, wide

social disparity and multiple cultural barriers to education. Thus, most

programmes implemented across the subcontinent, miss acknowledging

the role of parents. Parents consider schools as a trusted stranger and leave

their children with that stranger. It is high time that this belief of parent is

rewarded by recognizing, reimagining and reforming their role by making

them equal partners in the task of improving academic outcomes and

transforming education.

10.00 AM - 11.00 AM

NAVIGATING THE SOCIAL SECTOR

Moomal Mehta, Founder, Crossover Catalysts

The session explores social sector careers and how to prepare for a

successful crossover to the sector. Moomal will also talk about the

potential challenges of crossing over and how to navigate them to make a

meaningful contribution in the social sector.

11.00 AM - 11.30 AM TEA

11.30 AM - 12.30 PM

CHALLENGES OF BEING AN INDIAN IN TODAY’S INDIA

Apoorvanand, Columnist & Professor, Delhi University

The session highlights and instigates thinking on how state and society are

shaping up around us and the values associated with being an Indian are

undergoing a change.

12.30 PM - 01.30 PM LUNCH

01.30 PM - 03.00 PMBRINGING TOGETHER SARKAR, BAZAAR AND SAMAAJ

Ashok Kamath, Chairman, Akshara Foundation

We all recognise that the efforts of the sarkar in education have been

suboptimal; the bazaar has addressed the segment of the population that

can afford to pay, leaving behind more than 50% of our children who

are unable to afford Affordable Private Schools; and the samaaj is either

unaware (e.g., parents are illiterate) or organisations in the non-profit

18 19

space are small relative to the size of the problem. Can a combination of

sarkar, bazaar and samaaj be the answer to our problems and can they

provide effective and sustainable solutions to scale?

03.00 PM - 03.30 PM BREAK

03.30 PM - 05.00 PM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH A GENDER LENS

Urvashi Butalia, Founder, Zubaan Books

In this session, Urvashi and the cohort will look at social development

through a gender lens, and discuss what steps can be taken to challenge the

unjust system of patriarchy and create an equal society.

05.00 PM - 05.30 PM TEA

05.30 PM - 07.00 PM NEHRU’S IDEA OF INDIA

Purushottam Agarwal, Professor & Former Chairperson, UPSC

The session will help us explore the idea of development that Nehru

espoused. The Nehruvian idea of India is not merely a cultural idea, but also

an economic and structural one. It is called so as Nehru not only played a

crucial role in shaping it, but also had the opportunity to put it in practice.

He succeeded in some senses and failed in some. The point is not to pass

judgement with the benefit of hindsight, but to draw the right lessons for

the future.

07.00 PM - 08.00 PM REFLECTION SESSION

ILSS

ILSS Leaders would reflect on their ILSS journey so far, what were the

highlights of the sessions and takeaways from them

08.30 PM onwards DINNER

DAY 8

Friday12th April 2019

Enabling Social Sector Leaders

08.00 AM - 09.00 AM BREAKFAST

09.00 AM - 10.30 AM

HOW POLICY WORKS & THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY

Chakshu Roy, Head of Outreach, PRS Legislative Research

The talk will be about how policies are made in India, what is the role of

civil society when it comes to influencing policies and some civil society

movements that resulted in change.

10.30 AM - 11.00 AM TEA

11.00 AM - 12.30 PM

HOW FOUNDATIONS WORK - STRATEGY IN THE SOCIAL SECTOR

Shaveta Sharma-Kukreja, Managing Director, Central Square Foundation

The session will highlight the critical role of philanthropic foundations in

solving complex social problems like education and how policy advocacy can

be made more effective through strategy.

12.30 PM - 01.30 PM LUNCH

01.30 PM - 03.00 PM

SOCIAL IMPACT: THE CSR WAY

Priya Naik, CEO & Founder, Samhita

In this session, Priya will talk about the CSR landscape in India, a huge

source of funds for Social Purpose Organizations. She will also discuss how

CSR offers a wonderful opportunity for professionals willing to switch

to the sector, and what one should keep in mind to make a successful

transition.

03.00 PM - 03.30 PM BREAK

03.30 PM - 05.00 PM

SUSTAINABLE LIVING

Reshma Anand, CEO, Hindustan Unilever Foundation

Reshma Anand will take us through various aspects of sustainability. She

would share why sustainable living is important and what civil society can

do to move towards sustainable solutions.

05.00 PM - 05.30 PM TEA & SNACKS

20 21

05.30 PM - 07.00 PM

LIVED SECULARISM

Farah Naqvi, Writer, Activist & Former Member, National Advisory Council

Sangeeta Menon, Senior Advisor, ILSS

In an interactive session, Farah Naqvi and Sangeeta Menon would discuss

the lived experiences of minorities, and often oppressed classes, and

explore the understanding of secularism in modern day India.

07.00 PM - 07.30 PM BREAK

07.30 PM - 08.30 PM

CAREERS IN THE SOCIAL SECTOR

Surabhi Bikhchandani, Partner - Executive Search, Quadrangle

Satyam Vyas, Founder & CEO, Arthan Careers

The session will be about the broad spectrum of organizations in the social

sector, their organizational structure, the various functions and roles in

the sector and growth prospects. It will also cover the typical recruitment

process, and the changes that come with transitioning to the social sector.

08.30 PM onwards DINNER

08.00 AM - 09.00 AM BREAKFAST

09.00 AM - 10.30 AMFUNDRAISING 101

Venkatesam Eshwara, Vice-President, Development, Ashoka University

The talk will be about how the team of Ashoka University crowd-sourced

funding to create a world-class university in India, and the joys and pitfalls

of fundraising.

10.30 AM - 11.00 AM TEA

11.00 AM - 12.30 PM

INCUBATING NON-PROFITS

Sudha Srinivasan, CEO, N/CORE

The talk will focus on entrepreneurial approaches to solving social

problems with a sustainable revenue model. Sudha will expand on her

journey with N/CORE, covering different models to assess impact for social

enterprises and why it is important to create a sustainable eco-system for

social enterprises to drive change in the longer run.

12.30 PM - 01.30 PM LUNCH

01.30 PM - 03.00 PM

ALTERNATIVE PARADIGMS OF DEVELOPMENT

Ashok Sircar, Director, School of Development, Azim Premji University

Prof. Ashok Sircar would take the participants through different

approaches and models of development. The session would cover the

historical evolution of developmental theories and perspectives.

03.00 PM - 03.30 PM BREAK

03.30 PM - 05.00 PM

ALTERNATIVE PARADIGMS OF DEVELOPMENT

Ashok Sircar, Director, School of Development, Azim Premji University

Session continues

05.00 PM - 05.30 PM

CLOSING CEREMONY

DAY 9

Saturday12th April 2019

Enabling Social Sector Leaders

24 25

GUEST SPEAKERS

Abhishek Choudhary

Aditya Natraj

AK Shiva Kumar

Aman Kaleem

Amit Chandra

Amita Baviskar

Amitav Virmani

Anil Swarup

Anshu Gupta

Anu Prasad

Apoorvanand

Archana Chandra

Arun Maira

Aruna Pandey

Ashish Dhawan

Ashok Alexander

Ashok Kamath

Ashok Sircar

Atishi Marlena

Benedicte Faivre-

Tavignot

Chakshu Roy

Chandrika Bahadur

Debasish Mitter

Deirdre White

Farah Naqvi

Feisal Alkazi

Fiona Miranda

George Abraham

Gautam John

Harsh Mander

Ingrid Srinath

Ireena Vittal

Isher Ahluwalia

K. Srinath Reddy

Kamla Bhasin

Kartik Desai

Kenwyn Smith

Luis Miranda

Matt Clark

Mahesh Rangarajan

Mekhala Krishnamurthy

Mihir Mathur

Mohd Irfan Dar

Moomal Mehta

Nachiket Mor

Natasha Zarine

Osama Manzar

PD Rai

Poonam Muttreja

Poulomi Pal

PR Ganapathy

Pradeep Nair

Prabhat Kumar

Pramath Raj Sinha

Pramod Bhasin

Priya Naik

Priyank Narayan

Puja Marwaha

Purushottam Agarwal

Rajen Makhijani

Ravi Agarwal

Ravi Sreedharan

Reshma Anand

Romana Shaikh

Rudrangshu Mukherjee

Safeena Husain

Samarth Mahajan

Sangeeta Menon

Sanjay Gupta

Sanjay Purohit

Sankar Krishnan

Saransh Vaswani

Satyam Vyas

Seema Bansal

Shaheen Mistri

Shankar Maruwada

Shaveta Sharma -

Kukreja

Shridhar Venkat

Srikanth Viswanathan

Srinivasan Iyer

Subhalakshmi

Sudarshan Rodriguez

Sudha Srinivasan

Sudheesh Venkatesh

Sujata Khandekar

Suparna Diwakar

Surabhi Bikhchandani

Svati Chakravarty

Bhatkal

Thomas Chandy

Urvashi Butalia

Venkat Eshwara

Vijay Mahajan

Vinita Singh

Yamini Atmavilas

26 27Anu Prasad is the Founder of India Leaders for Social Sector (ILSS).

Prior to setting up ILSS in 2017, Anu was the founding Deputy Dean

of the prestigious Young India Fellowship (YIF) and a founding

member of Ashoka University, India’s first liberal arts university.

Before joining the social sector, Anu held leadership roles at

multinational companies such as American Express and TNT.

At Amex, she led the implementation of Amex’s global financial re-

engineering as a part of launching Amex Financial Resource Centre

in India. At TNT, she was the Head of Finance for the company’s

North India region. An entrepreneur at heart, Anu has also co-

founded and managed a successful travel company. She has also

been a consultant for Dell Foundation on education projects.

Anu is an avid reader, an active volunteer in civic causes, and

a passionate believer in lifelong learning, all of which she

incorporates into the ILSS proposition of learning and values-

based leadership. Anu also mentors young professionals and senior

leaders. Anu graduated from HR College, Mumbai, and received

her MBA from IMI, New Delhi.

Anu PrasadFounder, India Leaders for Social Sector

SPEAKERS’ PROFILES (in order of schedule)

27

A K Shiva Kumar (Shiv), a New Delhi based development economist,

is Co-Chair of Know Violence in Childhood – a global learning

initiative – and Senior Policy Advisor to UNICEF India. He teaches

economics and public policy as a visiting faculty member in the

YIF at Ashoka University, Indian School of Business, and Harvard’s

Kennedy School of Government. Shiv was, until 2014, a member

of the National Advisory Council, advising Government of India on

social policy and legislation. He has undertaken several evaluation

assignments for the UN and other agencies. He has served on the

Boards of many NGOs and research organizations including Centre

for Science and Environment, Institute for Human Development,

Institute for Rural Development, International Center for Research

on Women, and Public Health Foundation of India. He is the co-

editor of the “Handbook of Human Development”, the “Handbook

of Population and Development” and “India’s Children: Essays in

Social Policy”. Shiv is an alumnus of Bangalore University and IIM

-Ahmedabad as well as Harvard University from where he did his

Masters in Public Administration and Ph.D in Political Economy and

Government.

Ravi Sreedharan has worked for 24 years in the Corporate Sector

most of which was at HSBC. At HSBC, Ravi worked as the Regional

Marketing Head for the Middle East and Africa, Head of Consumer

Products for Asia-Pacific, Consumer Banking Head of Indonesia,

and CEO and President Director of Bank Ekonomi (a local bank in

Indonesia that was acquired by HSBC). He quit his corporate career

and switched to the social sector in 2011 and joined Azim Premji

Foundation where he was the Head of Education Leadership &

Management. He is an alumnus of IIM-Ahmedabad and IIT-BHU.

He co-founded the Indian School of Development Management,

Noida in 2016 to develop the discipline of Development

Management.Ravi Sreedharan

Founder & Director, ISDM

A K ShivakumarDevelopment Economist, Professor and

Senior Policy Advisor, UNICEF

29

Svati Chakravarty Bhatkal developed a keen interest in social

questions as an undergraduate student. At 21, she began on her

professional life as a reporter, writing on civic issues, gender,

politics and culture -- telling stories that mattered. She later

spearheaded the creation of award-winning children’s books, social

science publications and interactive learning materials, co-authored

scripts for Bombay Lawyers, a television serial and Zokkomon,

a children’s film produced by The Walt Disney Company. From

2012 to 2015, Svati co-directed and headed field research for

Satyamev Jayate, among the most credible and widely-watched

shows in the history of television. She researched and directed

a documentary on female foeticide that went on to become a

defining foundation for the show. In the year 2016, she embarked

on the filming of a feature length documentary researched and

directed by her and produced by Aamir Khan Productions. The film,

Rubaru Roshni (Where the Light Comes In) has been dubbed in six

Indian languages and was released early 2019. Svati has served as

visiting faculty at Xavier Institute of Communication and as vice-

chairperson, Children’s Film Society of India. She currently works

freelance on meaningful communication and film projects and

heads social media for non-profit, Paani Foundation.

Rajen Makhijani brings an interdisciplinary approach to pressing

issues for leaders in business, politics and development. He is a

facilitator, coach, award nominated screenwriter, and has held

leadership positions in top tier global strategy consulting firms

and line organisations. He was nominated as one of the 100

Influencers in India’s Impact Sector in 2018 by Action For India. He

is a two-time TEDx speaker – ‘Why Stories’ at National University of

Singapore and ‘Uneducated not Stupid – How the Poor See Life’ at

Nanyang Technological University Singapore (~125,000 views). He

is a Sir Dorabji Tata Merit Scholar, Citibank Leadership Awardee,

and winner of Wings of Excellence from University of St.Gallen,

Switzerland, and also a volunteer in urban slums. He has 18 years

of post-IIM experience with top tier firms like McKinsey, Dalberg,

ECS and Heidrick and his last role was as the Country Director of

University of Chicago’s Tata Centre for Development, International

Innovation Corps, India. He has been focussing completely on the

Impact Sector in the last 5 years across Education, Environment,

WASH, Humanitarian, and Health, with a particular focus on two

horizontals – Financing for Development, and Leadership Capacity

Building.

Rajen MakhijaniLeadership and Strategy Consultant

Svati Chakravarty Bhatkal

Journalist, Writer, Instructional Designer, Researcher And Film- Maker

Srikanth is Chief Executive Officer of Janaagraha Centre for

Citizenship and Democracy. Janaagraha is a Bengaluru based non-

profit working with the mission of transforming quality of life in

India’s cities and towns. Janaagraha works with citizens to catalyse

active citizenship in city neighbourhoods and with governments

to institute reforms to city governance. Srikanth’s focus area

in the urban sector has been “city-systems” reforms spanning

Janaagraha’s flagship report the Annual Survey of India’s City-

Systems (ASICS) and municipal finance reforms. Srikanth has been

an Associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of

India for fifteen years and prior to joining Janaagraha, worked in

banking and audit.

Pradeep Nair is Regional Director with Ford Foundation, based

out of India, and is responsible for their work in the region. With

more than 65 years of history in the region, as one of the oldest US

foundations in the country and with hundreds of grants over the

decades, Ford Foundation continues to play an important role in

social sector growth in the region. Pradeep has more than 20 years

of private and non-profit experience, working primarily in the US

and India, with a brief stint in Europe. He has an engineering and

management degree, and started his career in the strategy and

technology space, working in Silicon Valley, initially with Deloitte

Consulting as a management consultant, and later with technology

and data start-ups. His previous experience includes working with

President Clinton’s Climate Initiative, with a focus on India and

the region.Working with Michael Bloomberg (NYC Mayor) and his

team, he was also instrumental in expanding the C40 network (a

network of global mayors) in India and the region.

Pradeep B. NairRegional Director,

Ford Foundation, India

Srikanth ViswanathanCEO, Janaagraha

30 30

Mihir is an interdisciplinary researcher working on sustainability

and climate change issues to develop systemic solutions. His

expertise is in the areas of Systems Thinking and System Dynamics

Modeling, Group Model Building, Climate Change Adaptation

and Natural Resource Management. Mihir began his career

in banking and stock markets, and moved into the world of

sustainability research in 2009. He worked in the Climate Change

Adaptation Programme of Watershed Organisation Trust, Pune,

before moving to TERI, New Delhi. At TERI, he worked extensively

on policy research using systems thinking and system dynamics

modeling. Mihir currently works as a consultant with TERI, ATREE

and FES and is visiting faculty at Tata Institute of Social Science

(TISS), Hyderabad, Indian School of Development Management

(ISDM), Noida and School for International Training (SIT), Jaipur.

He has previously been a visiting faculty at Sadhana Center for

Management and Leadership Development (SCMLD), Pune. Mihir

did his BCom from MS University, Vadodara and Post Graduation in

Finance from SCMLD. He has written book chapters, journal papers

and presented his work in several conferences worldwide.

Gaurav holds a dual degree (B.Tech.+M.Tech.) in Computer

Science & Engineering from IIT Delhi and an MBA from IIM

Calcutta. Immediately after completing his studies, Gaurav joined

McKinsey & Company as a management consultant where he

worked across sectors and geographies, solving diverse corporate

problem statements. Gaurav’s desire to create impact at scale by

engaging with the governance process led him to embark on an

entrepreneurial journey. Gaurav founded Samagra in 2012 and

has been leading it since inception. He has extensive experience

of working with senior political and bureaucratic leaders,

conceptualizing and delivering large scale systemic transformation

across governance domains. He has shaped Samagra’s values and

approach to impact, and continues to drive it into the future.Gaurav GoelFounder & CEO, Samagra Foundation

Mihir MathurFounder - DESTA, TERI &

Visiting Faculty, TISS

31

Rudrangshu Mukherjee is the Chancellor and Professor of History at

Ashoka University. He is a renowned historian and author, and was

most recently the Editor of the Editorial Pages, at The Telegraph,

Kolkata. Prof. Mukherjee has taught history at the University of

Calcutta and held visiting appointments at Princeton University, the

University of Manchester and, the University of California, Santa

Cruz. Prof. Mukherjee studied at Calcutta Boys’ School, Presidency

College, Kolkata, JNU, New Delhi, and St. Edmund Hall, Oxford.

He was awarded a D.Phil in Modern History by the University of

Oxford in 1981. He is internationally acclaimed as a historian of

the revolt of 1857 in India. His first book Awadh in Revolt, 1857-

58: A Study of Popular Resistance has become a standard reference

on the subject. He has also authored and edited several books on

other themes, including The Penguin Gandhi Reader, Trade and

Politics, the Indian Ocean World: Essays in Honour of Ashin Das

Gupta, Remembered Childhood: Essays in Honour of Andre Beteille,

New Delhi: The Making of a Capital and Great Speeches of Modern

India. His latest book is Nehru & Bose: Parallel Lives.

Gautam John is the Director of Strategy at Nilekani Philanthropies.

Prior to this, he spent several years in the development sector and

was a TED India Fellow in 2009. Before his time in the non-profit

sector, he was an entrepreneur in the food industry for six years

and graduated from the National Law School in 2002.

Gautam JohnDirector - Strategy, Nilekani

Philanthropies

Rudrangshu MukherjeeHistorian & Chancellor, Ashoka University

33

Benedicte is affiliate professor of strategy at HEC Paris. She is

Executive Director of the SnO Center (Society & Organizations

Center), aiming at developing at HEC a new way of thinking

about the role of business in society, be it through teaching

or research. She is also co-founder of the HEC Chair of “Social

Business / Enterprise and Poverty”, and of the HEC Paris Master

of Science in Sustainable Development. Her research focus is on

reverse innovation; she’s studying the processes through which

social businesses and Base of the Pyramid business models can be a

lever for innovation and strategic renewal. She received her PhD in

Management Sciences in 2012 (University Lyon). She is an alumna

of HEC (1988).

Having lived and worked for several years among remote forest

based tribal communities in the southern Indian district of Mysuru,

Dr. R. Balasubramaniam (Balu) has uniquely been able to combine

a vast development sector experience with studying and teaching

at the world’s leading schools of policy and development including

Harvard and Cornell Universities. He was a special investigator

for Lokayukta Karnataka (Anti-Corruption Commission) and held

membership and consulting positions in government bodies and

commissions, academic boards and development agencies including

the World Bank. He is currently serving as the Leadership Coach &

Advisor to the Ministry of Petroleum, Govt of Egypt. He is a visiting

professor at Cornell University, USA and IIT-Delhi, India. He has also

served as the Professor and head of the Vivekananda Chair of the

University of Mysore twice. Dr. Balasubramaniam, is the Founder of

Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement and Grassroots Research And

Advocacy Movement. His books, ‘i, the citizen’ and ‘Voices from the

Grassroots’ present an alternate approach to human development.

Dr R BalasubramaniamFounder, Swami Vivekananda Youth

Movement & Grassroots Research And Advocacy Movement

BenedicteFaivre-Tavignot

Affiliate Professor of Strategy & Executive Director, Society &

Organizations Center at HEC Paris.

Abhishek & Saransh are the founders of Saajha, a not-for-profit

company, which is missioned to transform the education system

through parental and community participation. Saajha began as a

project at Young India Fellowship in 2013 and is now operational

in 3 states (Delhi, Karnataka, and Jharkhand) reaching out to

1300 schools. They are Echoing Green Global Fellowship 2014

and Forbes 30U30 Award 2015. Saajha has also been awarded

Nasscom Tech for Good Award and Silicon Valley Trek. Abhishek

and Saransg met at Hans Raj College Hostel at Delhi University and

their first formal stint of collaboration was as theater-director.

Saransh graduated in computer science while Abhishek pursued

literature. Gandhi Fellowship and Young India Fellowship (Ashoka

University) played an instrumental role in preparing them to take

the social entrepreneurship journey.

Mekhala Krishnamurthy is a social anthropologist and Associate

Professor in Ashoka University. Over the last fifteen years, her

research, policy and professional engagements have involved

work across a range of field sites and subjects, including women’s

courts and dispute resolution, community health workers and

public health systems, agriculture with a focus on agricultural

markets, and water, livelihood security and land acquisition. In

the process, her work places her at the intersections of and in

partnerships between academia, public policy, government, the

private sector, and grassroots civil society organisations. Mekhala

graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Social Studies from

Harvard University, received an M.Phil. in Social Anthropology from

Cambridge University, and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from University

College London. She is a Non-Resident Scholar at the Center for the

Advanced Study of India at the University of Pennsylvania.

Abhishek Chaudhary & Saransh Vaswani

Founders, Saajha

Mekhala KrishnamurthySocial Anthropologist & Associate

Professor, Ashoka University

34 34

Apoorvanand is a professor of Hindi at the University of Delhi.

He earned his Masters and Ph.D. from Patna University and

has worked on the development of Marxist Aesthetics in Hindi

Literature. Dr. Apoorvanand joined the Hindi Department at the

University of Delhi where he was instrumental in redesigning the

department’s academic program. Dr. Apoorvanand was part of

the core group that designed the National Curriculum Framework

for School Education in 2005 and was a member of the National

Focus Group on Teaching of Indian Languages formed by the

National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT).

He has worked with the Committee to Advise on Renovation and

Rejuvenation of Higher Education in India under the Chairmanship

of Professor Yash Pal. Created by the Government of India in 2008,

the committee worked to craft a new vision plan for the sector of

higher education in India.

Additionally, Dr. Apoorvanand has published two books of essays

in literary criticism: Sundar ka Swapna and Sahitya ka Ekant.

His critical essays have appeared in all major Hindi journals.

Apart from his academic and literary writings, he also contributes

columns in Indian newspapers and magazines on the issues of

education, culture, communalism, violence and human rights.

Moomal has 16 years of experience with Citibank in leadership

roles across Delhi, Chicago and Bombay. After Citi, she was the

Deputy Director at Asia Society India Centre for 5 years, responsible

for programming, fundraising and key stakeholder relationships.

Moomal has a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from the

Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta.

Crossover Catalyst is a search firm for the social sector. It is rooted

in the belief that nonprofits and social enterprises play a critical

role in solving some of India’s most pressing problems, and

attracting high quality, leadership-level talent from the outside

of the sector could be an important enabler in creating scale and

enhancing impact for many of these organizations. They currently

serve over 75 impact sector organizations for their senior people

needs and have transitioned 23 individuals into leadership roles in

the sector. Crossover Catalyst is founded by Moomal Mehta.

Moomal MehtaFounder, Crossover Catalyst

Dr. ApoorvanandProfessor, Department of Hindi,

University of Delhi

35

Ashok Kamath has been the Managing Trustee of Akshara

Foundation since 2003 and Chairman of the same since July 1, 2008.

He has been actively involved in the strategic planning, analysis

and expansion of programmes at Akshara Foundation since 2003.

An alumnus of IIT-Bombay, he was formerly the Managing Director

of the Indian operations of Analog Devices. He opted to leave

behind a successful career in the corporate sector and involve

himself in the development sector. His alma mater, IIT-Bombay,

presented him with its Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2013

for his various initiatives and contributions to the field of child

education. Ashok is also a Founder Trustee of Pratham Books which

aims to have A Book in Every Child’s Hand.Ashok Kamath

Chairman, Akshara Foundation

Urvashi ButaliaFounder, Zubaan Books

Urvashi Butalia is an independent publisher and writer. Co-founder

of India’s first feminist publishing house, Kali for Women, she now

heads Zubaan, an imprint of Kali. She has had a long involvement

in the women’s movement in India, and writes for newspapers,

journals and books at home and abroad on a range of issues to

do with women and gender. Among her best-known publications

is the award-winning oral history of Partition: The Other Side of

Silence: Voices from the Partition of India (winner of the Oral

History Book Association award 2001 and the Nikkei Asia Award

for Culture 2003). She is also visiting faculty at Ashoka University

Sonepat. Butalia has received many awards for her work, among

them the Padma Shri, which she was awarded in 2011.

Chakshu leads legislative and civic engagement at PRS Legislative

Research. The mission of PRS is to make the legislative process in

the country better informed, more transparent and participatory.

Chakshu and his colleagues provide research on legislation and

policy to MPs and MLAs to further in-depth debate on issues

in our legislatures. They track the working of Parliament, State

Legislatures and their legislators, make the work easily available

and understandable. Chakshu and his team also anchor the

prestigious Legislative Assistant for Members of Parliament

Fellowship. He is an expert on parliamentary procedures and writes

and speaks extensively on issues relating to the institution.

Purushottam Agarwal is an academic, writer, literary critique,

theologian, secularist, columnist, and broadcaster. He was a

member of the Union Public Service Commission for over 6 years

and the Chairman of the Centre of Indian Languages, School of

Language, Literature and Culture Studies, JNU. He has served as

Chief Advisor of the Peaceful co-existence in South Asia; project

of the Aman Trust, Delhi. As a consultant to Oxfam, India, he

organized interfaces of scholars, creative artists and social activists

as part of the Violence Amelioration and Mitigation Project

(VMAP). He has taught at various institutes like JNU, Cambridge

University, El Colegio de Mexico, and Ashoka University. He was

also the Chief Advisor, Hindi Textbooks for NCERT. He has an MA

in Political Science from Jiwaji University, Gwalior and in Hindi

Literature from JNU. He was awarded a PhD degree by Jawaharlal

Nehru University in 1985 on the topic of The Social Meaning of

Kabir’s Bhakti and is known for the conceptualization of “Deshaj

Aadhunikta” or Indigenous Modernity. He has written many novels

and short stories, some of them being Hindi Sarai, Nirgun Santon

ke Swapna, Akhath Kahani Prem Ki: Kabir ki Kavita aur Unka

Samay, Kabir: Sakhi aur Sabad, Nakohas and Paan Patte ki Goth. He

is also a commentator on political, social and cultural matters on

Television and Radio including BBC, NDTV,

Purushottam Agarwal Visiting Professor, Centre for the Study

of Developing Societies and Former Member - UPSC

Chakshu RoyHead of Outreach,

PRS Legislative Research

Priya Naik is the Founder and CEO of Samhita, a leading CSR

consulting firm that designs innovative solutions and scales

evidence based approaches to maximize social impact.

Samhita has worked with some of India’s foremost companies,

foundations and social organizations to create impact across cause

areas. It is a pioneer in driving collaboration in the CSR ecosystem,

creating value propositions for stakeholders to collectively address

critical areas such as sanitation and women’s empowerment.

Priya’s journey in the social sector began as a Researcher at the

Poverty Action Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),

USA, where she was part of two award-winning student startups.

Her career is a fusion of on-ground grassroots solutions through

enterprise and strategic consulting experience with established

companies. She has a Master’s in Economics from Yale University,

USA; a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Michigan,

Ann Arbor, USA; and a Master’s in Commerce from

Mumbai University.

Shaveta, Managing Director at Central Square Foundation (CSF),

leads CSF’s efforts to improve capacity building and development

of educators- teachers, principals and administrators. She also

oversees CSF’s organisational development. She brings to the team

more than a decade of professional experience in management and

education. Her corporate background includes work at The Boston

Consulting Group, Global Vantedge (a business process outsourcing

start-up) and Citibank. She has also been a visiting faculty member

in the Human Resources and Organisational Behavior disciplines

at various business schools in Delhi NCR. Her primary areas of

interest are teaching and research of organisational behaviour

and leadership styles. Shaveta earned her bachelor’s degree in

Economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi

and holds an MBA in Management from IIM, Bangalore. She is also

certified in the psychometric tools MBTI, FIRO-B and FIRO-Business.

Shaveta SharmaKukreja

Managing Director,Central Square Foundation

Priya NaikFounder and CEO, Samhita

38

Farah Naqvi, an alumna of Columbia University, is a feminist,

writer and activist. For over 25 years, she has worked on gender,

caste, and minority issues, towards justice, equality, democratic

rights and freedom from violence. Her work spans a range of

media and locations - from remote villages to public policy

spaces – serving as Member, National Advisory Council or NAC,

(2010-2014); Member, Post-Sachar Evaluation Committee (Kundu

Committee), Ministry of Minority Affairs (2013-2014); Member,

Planning Commission Steering Committee on Empowerment of

Minorities, for India’s 12th five-year plan (2011-2012); Member,

Planning Commission Steering Committee for Women and Child

Development, for the 11th five-year plan (2007-2008). She has

also worked on law reform including the 2013 Criminal Law

Amendment Act on sexual violence laws; draft law on communal

and targeted violence; amendments to the Scheduled Castes and

Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act; amendments to

include domestic workers in sexual harassment law – all entailing

advocacy with governments and and Parliamentary Standing

Committees. She has co-authored fact-finding reports on situations

of civil and communal strife including in Chhattisgarh (War in

the Heart of India), Muzaffarnagar (30 Days and Counting and A

Human Tragedy Unfolds), Gujarat (Survivors Speak & Threatened

Existence).

Reshma is a business school graduate with over 20 years of

leadership experience in mission driven non-profits and social

ventures. She started out with a conventional corporate career at

Unilever in India in roles including market intelligence, product

innovation and brand management. As work took her to rural

outposts across India, Reshma decided to shift gears to work on

development challenges through market-based solutions. She is the

founder of two social ventures including a specialist advisory firm

on sustainable social responsibility and an accelerator for agri and

artisanal micro entrepreneurs. She has worked extensively with

non-profit organizations and donors on strategy design, impact

assessment and leadership development. Reshma has anchored

efforts to drive informed philanthropy in India through thought

leadership, collective funding platforms and collaborations with

government. She is an Economics graduate from the University of

Delhi, an MBA from IIM-Bangalore, an Aspen Fellow and a TED

India Fellow. In her current role, Reshma heads Hindustan Unilever

Foundation; a corporate foundation focused on water conservation

and community governance.

Reshma Anand CEO, Hindustan Unilever Foundation

Farah Naqvi Writer and Activist

39

Surabhi is a multifaceted professional with an experience

of over 20 years, across Advertising, FMCG and Recruitment

Consulting industries. She is leading the Executive Search practice

at Quadrangle, focusing on CXO positions with organisations

across consumer internet and service industries; with more recent

experience in the non-profit sector as well. Surabhi began her

career in media planning with Ulka Advertising Pvt. Ltd. in 1986

and then moved on to Nestle India Ltd. where she handled

diverse responsibilities in marketing, brand management, sales,

distribution, merchandising, advertising & market research. She

has, in the past, trained management students in Communication

Skills and has conducted courses on Written Analysis &

Communication, Oral Communication Skills, Group Discussions

& Interviews as a visiting Faculty at IMT, Ghaziabad and IMS,

Mumbai. She has also co-authored a book for MBA and job

aspirants called ‘Tackling Group Discussions’. Surabhi is an alumna

of IIM, Ahmedabad (1987-89) and an Economics graduate from St.

Stephen’s College, Delhi (1986). She is also an Erickson certified

Life and Career Coach (Nov 2018). Her mission is to help her clients

experience a positive transformational journey.

Sangeeta is a Senior Advisor at ILSS. She has over 20 years of

experience in various media and communication roles with

leading organisations such as The Economic Times, Business India,

Netscribes India Pvt Ltd, Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) and the Tata

group. Prior to joining ILSS, Sangeeta was Co-Founder and Director

at India Development Review. Sangeeta holds an M.Phil in English,

in addition to a degree in communication and journalism and a

diploma in airline marketing. An avid reader and traveller, she sees

herself as a forever student on a journey of learning and discovery.

Sangeeta MenonSenior Advisor, ILSS

Surabhi BikhchandaniPartner (Executive Search), Quadrangle

41

Venkat is currently Vice President, Development at Ashoka

University. His responsibilities include fundraising, providing

leadership, developing and implementing strategy for the

institution. Venkat held central roles in top management tier in

organisations of diverse profiles. His core strengths lie in building,

growing and managing geographically diverse operations. With

an entrepreneurial and start-up experience of 20 years, Venkat has

built three companies from inception to significant growth and

profitability. Venkat is an alumnus of St. Xaviers College, Mumbai

and has worked as Chief Operating Officer, Prop Equity| P.E.

Analytics Pvt. Ltd. before joining Ashoka University.

Satyam is the founder of Arthan, a social enterprise that provides

strategic human capital consulting support to mission-driven

organisations using technology, data science, and applied

psychology. Arthan offers both technology products and

recruitment services that help build great teams and simultaneously

prepares underprivileged government school children for the

future of work. Satyam has spent a decade in education, skill

development and social entrepreneurship. Satyam believes that

education can provide the tools necessary to change the world.

He dreams to have a defined career path for all children and

youth in the country. In the last one decade, Satyam has designed,

implemented, scaled and positively impacted lives of more than

two million children studying in government schools in India. In the

past, he has worked with leading non-profits in India-Pratham and

Going to School. Satyam is a THNK fellow, holds an undergraduate

degree in Mathematics from Delhi University and executive degrees

in social entrepreneurship and leading successful social programs

from Stanford Business Schools and Harvard Kennedy School.

Venkatesam Eshwara Vice President, Development

at Ashoka University

Satyam VyasFounder & CEO, Arthan Careers

Sudha heads N/Core, an initiative of The/Nudge Foundation on

a mission to nudge India’s talented problem solvers to work on

its most meaningful challenges. Since starting in 2016, N/Core’s

incubation program has jumpstarted 35 nonprofit startups on a

growth path. Its accelerator fund Series/N will provide growth

capital to 30 nonprofits over the next 5 years. N/CORE aims to

provide a nurturing support system for entrepreneurs solving

problems faced by the bottom of the pyramid, at scale, through

the nonprofit model. Prior to heading N/Core, Sudha worked in

the hi-tech industry for 17 years in various leadership roles at Intel,

Verizon and Infosys. She has an MBA from IIM Lucknow.

Sudha SrinivasanCEO, N/Core

Prof. Ashok Kumar Sircar, is currently the Director of the School

of Development, Azim Premji University, Bangalore. He has over

34 years of experience spanning corporate sector, development

sector, and teaching and training. For more than one and half

decade, he has been involved in the development sector in

programme planning and execution, monitoring and evaluation,

research and policy advocacy in domains of local governance,

land rights, and livelihoods. At the University, apart from heading

the School, Ashok is involved in delivering popular courses on

Gender in Livelihoods, Political Economy of Land, Understanding

Development and Change, Imagining Development: From

vision to action, for post-graduate students, as well as in-service

professionals.Ashok Sircar

Director, School of Development,Azim Premji University

42 43

PROGRAM PARTNERS“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”- Mother Teresa

ARTHAN (https://arthancareers.com)

Arthan is a marketplace for jobs in the impact sector. It supports mission-driven organisations in hiring key talent

and support job seekers in finding the job that matches their skills and aspirations. Arthan’s not-for-profit arm

prepares underprivileged children for the future of work in India.

CENTRE FOR DIALOGUE AND RECONCILIATION (www.cdr-india.org/)

Launched in 2006, the Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation or CDR is an initiative that hopes to serve as a

catalyst for internal and external peace in South Asia through process of discourse and dialogue- a process that

seeks to promote a peaceful approach to the resolution of conflict with justice and equity, and the eventual goal of

reconciliation.

DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT FOUNDATION (http://defindia.org/)

Established in 2002, Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) aims to connect unreached and underserved

communities of India in an effort to bring them out of digital darkness and equip them with access to information.

With the belief ‘Inform, Communicate and Empower,’ DEF finds sustainable digital interventions to overcome

information poverty in rural and remote locations of India, and empower communities with digital literacy, digital

tools and last mile connectivity.

ENGLISH HELPER (https://www.englishhelper.com/)

EnglishHelper is an education technology company with an established market presence and unique IP. The

company is committed to make a compelling difference in the lives of millions across the globe. EnglishHelper was

founded by Dr. Venkat Srinivasan, a Boston-based social entrepreneur and cognitive scientist. Sanjay Gupta, Chief

Executive Officer (Global) is passionate about making available affordable and effective technology-enabled literacy

and education solutions for every person across the world. EnglishHelper has launched an initiative ‘RightToRead’

and deployed ReadToMe, its reading and comprehension product, across thousands of public schools in India.

RightToRead is a program without borders and its footprint has expanded beyond Asia to Africa and Latin America.

GOONJ (https://goonj.org/)

Founded 1999, Goonj undertakes disaster relief, humanitarian aid and community development in parts of 22

states across India. The idea is to turn the discarded and underutilized material of cities into a tool to address

ignored basic needs and development issues of rural India. This, in turn, has created a parallel economy, which

is trash based and not cash based. Starting with just 67 clothes in 1999, today Goonj deals with 3000 tonnes of

material every year. For his work with Goonj, Mr. Anshu Gupta was awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay

Award in 2015.

JANAAGRAHA (www.janaagraha.org/)

Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy aims to improve quality of life in urban India, through systemic

change. Janaagraha sees ‘quality of life’ as comprising two distinct, but inter-related aspects – ‘quality of urban

infrastructure and services’ and ‘quality of. The organization works with both citizens and government to catalyse

civic participation from the grassroots up, as well as governance reforms from the top down. Founded in 2001 by

Ramesh Ramanathan and Swati Ramanathan, Janaagraha started as a movement to enable citizen participation in

public governance. It has now evolved into a robust institution for Citizenship and Democracy.

44 45

LETSENDORSE (https://www.letsendorse.com/)

Enough of piecemeal approaches to solve social problems! It is about time we bring powerful social innovations

to scale and fuel impactful projects. LetsEndorse builds holistic ecosystems around the UN Global Goals, brings

together social change-makers and enablers to harness knowledge about powerful innovations, build collaboration

for sustainable solutions, mobilize funds and resources through a mix of crowdfunding and corporate-giving

MAGICBUS (www.magicbus.org/)

Magic Bus is one of India’s leading non-profit organisations with a focus to move young people living in extremely marginalised environments out of poverty. Currently, the organisation works with approximately 400,000 youth and adolescents and provides a seven-year programme that ensures participants attend school, achieve good grades, get married after a suitable age, and are placed in sustainable livelihoods. Currently, Magic Bus places about 75% of its graduates into employment. The organization has just under 2,000 employees, 10,000 mentors and operates in 7 countries. MOBILE CRECHES (www.mobilecreches.org/)Mobile Creches has been running daycare facilities for children of migrant construction workers in Delhi since 1969. The organization cares for roughly 14,000 children from 0-12 years old at a number of construction sites and urban slums. Mobile Creches runs training programs for childcare workers at their facilities and at other organizations as well. In addition, the organization also runs community education and advocacy programs on early childhood development (ECD) and lobbies for policy change and legislation at the national and state levels. PRATHAM (www.pratham.org/)Pratham is an innovative learning organization created to improve the quality of education in India. As one of the largest non-governmental organizations in the country, Pratham focuses on high-quality, low-cost, and replicable interventions to address gaps in the education system. Established in 1995 to provide education to children in the slums of Mumbai, Pratham has grown both in scope and geographical coverage. RANG DE (www.rangde.org) Founded in 2008, Rang De is India’s first and pioneering web-based initiative with a mission to fight poverty by expanding access to affordable credit. Through a digital platform www.rangde.org, the organization connects people who urgently need credit (for fundamental needs like livelihoods and education) with those who want to & can support them. Rang De works with a network of carefully selected partner organizations to reach out to the truly under-served communities in India. They also work to educate communities (mostly rural, semi-literate, or illiterate) about digital finance, financial management, and economic self-reliance.

SAAJHA (saajha.org/)Saajha was founded in 2013 with the goal to transform primary education system in India through community and parental participation. Saajha works extensively with schools, parents and teachers to enable the functioning of School Monitoring Committees (SMCs) in government schools. The aim is to create leaders in the school and community besides ensuring accountability of the school administration. Saajha also promotes peer learning among different SMCs. The organization started with 54 Municipal schools and 7 teams. Currently, Saajha is operational in 3 states- Delhi (Urban) and Karnataka (Rural) and Jharkhand (Tribal) reaching to around 1200 schools.

SCORE FOUNDATION (http://scorefoundation.org.in/)Score Foundation was registered as a non-profit trust in 2002. They work for the visually impaired. The idea behind setting up Score Foundation was to change the mindset of people towards blindness and visual impairment and in the process, initiate a conversation on how to lead a Life with Blindness. The founders believe every visually impaired person in our country is a potential resource and therefore needs to be invested in. Visually impaired persons have the potential to become independent, contributing and fully functional members of society. The organization is committed to disseminating information that can empower and inform the visually impaired so they are in the know of the myriad possibilities that lie ahead of them to lead an independent life. They believe that the problem is not with the eye but with the mindset and therefore aim to evolve mindsets of people towards visual disability through various activities under Project Eyeway.

THE EDUCATION ALLIANCE (www.theeducationalliance.org/)The Education Alliance (TEA) aims to help governments in India provide a quality education to every child, by facilitating effective partnerships between state and non-state actors. The vision of TEA is to empower government schools to create the next generation of leaders. We work to catalyze quality transformation in India’s education system by nurturing the Government-Partnership School model. TEA aims to build a collaborative ecosystem wherein Government and Non-Profit organizations work closely together.

THE LEARNING CURVE (learning-curve-foundation.org/)Learning Curve is a non-profit organization based in Hyderabad, which focuses on building life skills for 8-14 year olds in under resourced schools via the approach of teacher development and providing detailed life skills curriculum and scripted lesson plans for use in classrooms by the teachers. The curriculum takes into account the age and development milestones of children, and progressively covers socio-emotional development aspects of the child. Progress of both teachers and children is carefully documented and evaluated using a set of established tools and frameworks – in 2016, the programs demonstrated that close to 75% of all children enrolled showed improvements in life skills scores over the baseline. VISION INDIA FOUNDATION (visionindiafoundation.com/)Vision India Foundation is a modern nation-building movement. It was founded by faculty and alumni of various IITs in 2014. VIF identifies, mentors and prepares the brightest youth of the country and provides them avenues of nation-building. They also focus on bringing systemic, long-term reforms by working on public policy, governance and institutional frameworks of the nation. To achieve this goal, young minds across the nation are engaged in a wide spectrum of activities. Few are selected as VIF fellows and mentored to build a career as a change agent. Through partnerships with state governments, cities, elected representatives, quasi-government organizations, grassroots organizations and academicians, the organization works on different dimensions of public policy and governance.

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The 25-acre campus of Ashoka University is in the Rajiv Gandhi Education city in Sonepat, Haryana.The Ashoka University campus has a state-of-the-art sports and gym complex,and we invite the ILSS Leaders to avail the facilities in their free time.• The campus has WiFi and ATM.• The campus also has a small convenience store and a salon.• There is also an infirmary on the campus to provide basic medical assistance necessary.• There is a regular shuttle service between the campus and the nearest Metro Station which is Jahangirpuri. We will share the shuttle time schedule as well.We share below a map of the campus:

ABOUT ASHOKA UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

47

LEGEND

01. MAIN ENTRANCE

02. ENTRY COURT

03. ACADEMIC BUILDING 01 & LIBRARY

04. ADMIN BLOCK

05. DINING BLOCK

06. DINING TERRACE

07. STUDENT COMMONS

08. RESIDENTIAL COURT 01

09. STUDENT HOUSING 01

10. STUDENT HOUSING 02

11. RESIDENTIAL COURT 02

12. ACADEMIC BUILDING 02

13. ACADEMIC 02 COURT

14. AMPHITHEATER

15. ACADEMIC BUILDING 03

16. RESIDENTIAL COURT 03

17. STUDENT HOUSING 03

18. STUDENT HOUSING 04

19. RESIDENTIAL COURT 04

20. STUDENT HOUSING 05

21. SPORTS BLOCK

22. SPORTS COURT

23. SWIMMING POOL

24. ACADEMIC BUILDING 04 (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

25. GRAND STAIRCASE

26. ACADEMIC 04 COURT

27. SOCCER FIELD

28. FACULTY RESIDENCE 01

29. FACULTY RESIDENCE 02 (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

30. SPORTS YARD

31. SERVICE BLOCK

48 49

“We don’t have plan B because there is no planet B.” - Ban Ki Moon

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations. Otherwise known as the Global Goals, they are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The SDGs are also known as “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” or Agenda 2030 in short.

These 17 Goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals (which ended in 2015 and helped make major breakthroughs in areas of poverty, education and health), while including new areas such as climate change, economic inequality, innovation, sustainable consumption, peace and justice, among other priorities. The goals are interconnected – often the key to success on one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another. Unlike the MDGs, the SDG framework does not distinguish between “developed” and “developing” nations. Instead, the goals apply to all countries. There are 169 targets for the 17 goals. In total, there are 304 indicators that will measure compliance. The 17 goals are:

GOAL 1: NO POVERTYEnd poverty in all its forms everywhere.

GOAL 2: ZERO HUNGEREnd hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

GOAL 3: GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING FOR PEOPLEEnsure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

GOAL 4: QUALITY EDUCATIONEnsure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

GOAL 5: GENDER EQUALITYAchieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

GOAL 6: CLEAN WATER AND SANITATIONEnsure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

GOAL 7: AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGYEnsure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

GOAL 8: DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTHPromote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employmentand decent work for all.

GOAL 9: INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTUREBuild resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.GOAL 10: REDUCED INEQUALITIESReduce income inequality within and among countries.

GOAL 11: SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIESMake cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

GOAL 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

GOAL 13: CLIMATE CHANGETake urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts by regulating emissions andpromoting developments in renewable energy.

GOAL 14: LIFE BELOW WATERConserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

GOAL 15: LIFE ON LANDProtect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests,combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

GOAL 16: PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONSPromote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

GOAL 17: PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALSStrengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

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