Interview
‘You have got to be optimistic in a young country,’ says Rohini Nilekani
Few people in India have confronted issues of social urgency in the many ways that Rohini Nilekani does—as a philanthropist, but equally, as a founder-member of some of India’s best-known civil society organisations, as an inveterate mediator between society, state and market, and as a writer who has thought long and hard about what happens […]
Panel
Closing Address | Beyond #Charcha2020: India’s Priorities
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s conversation with Ashish Dhawan and Sanjay Pugalia about the next steps for India’s resurgence from the current crisis. The session was part of #Charcha2020, which brought together 100+ hours of insights and knowledge shared across events by leading businessmen, policymakers, academicians, philanthropists, community leaders, and changemakers. [A […]
Panel
Settlers Unsettled: How can Bengaluru Retain its Dynamic Workforce?
Bangalore is a city of migrants. But we do not know yet how many of them have left the city in the wake of the pandemic. With the lockdown partially lifted, many more may want to return home. There are indications that they may not wish to hurry back. The idea of home has never […]
Keynote
Gender Equity – Including Young Men and Boys | 12th Dr. Lalita Iyer Memorial Lecture
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s speech, “Gender Equity – Including Young Men and Boys” at the 12th Dr. Lalita Iyer Memorial Lecture at IIM, Ahmedabad on April 13, 2019 at IIM, Ahmedabad. When Nandan and I became wealthy, the responsibility of that wealth sat heavy on our shoulders, but the duty to […]
Article
Cauvery row shows why India needs a low-water economy
All over the country, every day, there are a million conflicts around water, right from the jostling over the local tap to the sharing of big rivers. Once in a while, one spills from the courts into the streets and, amplified by media, flows across the troubled conscience of the nation. The Cauvery dispute is […]
Interview
First Givers Club – Signature Workshop with Rohini Nilekani & Nandan Nilekani
This is an edited version of a panel discussion with Mr. Mahesh Krishnamurthy, Nandan and Rohini Nilekani, for GiveIndia.org, an online donation platform. My journey in the nonprofit sector began with a serendipitous meeting with CV Madhukar. Towards the end of 1999, when my children were starting to become more independent, I was lucky enough […]
Panel
#BlrLitFest 2014 | Children and Young Adult Fiction
This is an edited version of a panel discussion on children’s and young adult fiction with Rohini Nilekani, Paro Anand, Marie Munkara, and Lakshmi Devnath, at the Bangalore Literature Festival, 2014. I have always thought of myself as a writer, no matter what else I have done in my life. When my children were young, […]
Article
Water Challenges Asia’s Rising Powers – Part II
By July this year, the monsoon has established itself vigorously over much of the subcontinent. The anxieties of the long, intense summer months, when nations hold their collective breath in anticipation of the cooling, life-giving rain, have receded. But the region’s1.6 billion people know that next summer, the worres will return. Water is ultimately a […]