Interview
Citizens need to get involved in governance: Rohini Nilekani
Rohini Nilekani, philanthropist and founder of Arghyam Foundation, believes that the state ( sarkaar), the market ( bazaar), and society ( samaaj) should strive for a balance with none of them having too much power. Her new book, Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar: A Citizen-First Approach, is a collection of essays on what citizens can do to […]
Interview
The World This Week – Children’s Magazine
Rohini Nilekani is the Founder-Chairperson of Arghyam, a foundation she set up for sustainable water and sanitation, which funds initiatives all across India. From 2004 to 2014, she was Founder-Chairperson and chief funder of Pratham Books, a non-profit children’s publisher that reached millions of children during her tenure. She has written several books for young children, published […]
Podcast
The Cerebration Podcast: Expert Talk with Rohini Nilekani on Restore Agency
This is an edited version of an episode of the Cerebration Podcast, a co-learning series hosted by ShikshaLokam in collaboration with the Societal platform team. In this episode, Rohini Nilekani discusses the idea of restoring agency and how to become an agent for change. * From a very young age, I was interested in how […]
Keynote
Rohini Nilekani’s Keynote at DH Changemakers
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s keynote talk at DH Changemakers, an annual feature by Deccan Herald to honour people who make a difference in Karnataka. What do we mean when we talk about change? We all know that change is the only constant in our lives. Change keeps happening, but I think […]
Article
Why I Love To Read
My childhood was spent between the pages of hundreds of books. My mother had to force me away from the book I was clutching so that I could do my daily chores, such as help set the table. Thank God for all those authors and illustrators who carried me off into a world of make-believe, […]
Interview
INKtalks: Rohini Nilekani: From Starting Infosys to Saving Water
Philanthropist Rohini Nilekani talks to Lakshmi Pratury about setting up Infosys in the early 90’s, her attempt to encourage children to read more books, and her foundation, Arghyam, which works with water and sanitation issues. My marriage and my family’s journey with Infosys happened almost at the same time, and I think we were so […]
Interview
Indian Philanthropy Series | Rohini Nilekani
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s interview with Dasra, for the Indian Philanthropy Series. This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s interview with Dasra, for the Indian Philanthropy Series. In a country like India, philanthropy means something quite different than it does in Western countries where the basic standard of living is […]
Article
Invisible water, visible crisis
By now, everyone in India understands that we have a serious water crisis. Too many of our rivers are polluted, dammed, or dying. Rainfall is becoming increasingly erratic, and expected to become more so. Our groundwater is depleting fast. Our lakes are drying up or filling with sewage, especially in urban centres. Our water and […]
Interview
Giving Matters | Dasra Philanthropy Forum
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s conversation with Neera Nundy during the Dasra Philanthropy Forum, held at the Ford Foundation in New York. 15 years ago, when we came into some wealth, I was lucky enough to have invested in a small company which my husband had started. Over the years, it made […]
Article
Are you Worthy of Good Governance?
In a democratic nation state, citizens rely on their elected representatives, together with many public institutions, to help ensure a good quality of life. But when our individual aspirations rise higher than their collective capability, we sense a crisis of governance. Yet governance, no matter how you define it, is about more than government and […]
Article
Negotiating Social Harmony – Uncommon ground – Rohini Nilekani
No servant can serve two masters: for either he wall hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” From Biblical times, this has been the conventional wisdom. But humbly correcting the dictum is philanthropist, journalist and activist, Rohini […]
Keynote
Emerging Challenges for Civil Society in India
A keynote speech delivered at the 25th Anniversary of Rotary club in 2008 The Indian third sector – as the non-profit sector is sometimes called, is one of the largest and certainly the most diverse in the world. There are civil society organizations in virtually every area of human endeavour, including community bee-keeping! As for […]
Interview
It’s hard to be a working mom
We may know Rohini Nilekani as the wife of one of India’s most successful entrepreneurs and for her tireless good works. But was life always this struggle-free? Here she reveals what being a mother means to her and why she fears for her children’s future. View PDF
Article
Checks and Balances – Making Transportation Systems Accountable
The Indian consumer movement will come of age only when it is generally accepted that both providers and consumers of a good or service are reciprocally accountable. View PDF