Keynote
Impact and Failures | Opening Keynote at Impact Failure Conclave, 2018
Rohini’s opening keynote delivered at the Impact Failure Conclave 2018 This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s opening keynote delivered at the Impact Failure Conclave 2018. When we think about failure, the way it’s received by samaaj (society), bazaar (markets), and sarkaar (state) are quite different. In the social sector, we have realised how […]
Article
The people’s struggle to find solutions to water challenges
With the summer looming, water comes more easily to the urban mind. Even for those who had been reasonably secure all year long, it is an uncertain time. Maybe it is time to build a sump, to invest in a rainwater harvesting system, or to try, again, to dig a private borewell. View PDF
Report
The National Conversation: Barriers and Enablers to Engage Boys and Men Towards Gender Equality
The objective of this research enquiry is to understand what the barriers and opportunities are to accelerate work with boys and men towards gender equality in India, and to initiate a national conversation towards the same goal. The research was conceived because Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Equal Community Foundation (ECF) identified a lack of publicly […]
Keynote
Private Resources and the Public Interest: How can Philanthropy Enhance Social Good?
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s talk on how philanthropy can enhance social good given at CSDS, New Delhi. According to Credit Suisse, India’s richest 1% own 58% of the country’s wealth. Structural inequity is historically embedded in India, but it seems to be worsening. With this in mind, what is the public […]
Interview
Water Philanthropy in India: A Conversation with Rohini Nilekani
Rohini Nilekani in conversation with Dr. Ravina Aggarwal, Director, Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s conversation with Dr. Ravina Aggarwal, Director, Columbia Global Centres in Mumbai. Their discussed the state of the water crisis in India and how philanthropists can help address this issue. Although I had started […]
Keynote
Rohini Nilekani: Digital Dependencies
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s comments on the “Digital Dependencies” panel at Digital Impact Mumbai Conference presented by the Stanford PACS on Feb 7, 2018. The panel discussion on “Digital Dependencies” was conducted by Lucy Bernholz, Director, Digital Civil Society Lab, Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society. They discussed ways that […]
Article
Stop the waste from burying us: State or society is usually blamed, but let’s look upstream at producers of waste
You cannot walk or drive more than a few metres in any Indian city without encountering mounds of rubbish. Even in our villages, you will find garbage billowing around fields, piling up along roads or even lining the forest floor. At many beaches, you are as likely to find your toes tickled by strands of […]
Article
How India’s richest 1% can effect change
The super-rich must not just be super-generous but also be seen to be super-generous, to inspire more people to give. TurningPoint: India is giving more at this stage of its economy than many other countries. When a few people get super-wealthy very rapidly, societies sit up and take notice. When some of them talk publicly […]
Article
Want Empowered Women? Start Thinking About how to Help Young Men.
We need to turn to the 200 million young men of India with as much urgency and focus as we spend on the millions of young women in the country. Every day, we hear of horrible atrocities that have taken place against girls and women in India. This is despite the fact that as a country, […]
Panel
We The People | Are India’s Rich Charitable Enough?
According to a report, the richest 1% Indians possess 58% of all wealth in the country. With the country’s growing income gap, the silver lining seems to be the deepening philanthropic streak in India’s ultra rich; the Nilekanis being the latest addition to the list of Indian billionaires who have pledged a portion of their […]