Interview
Our Cities, Our Rivers: Re-imagining the Relationship
As 1.3 billion people seek better lives in a monsoon-dependent economy, the white and green revolutions may have produced grains and milk, but water is in some parts of India today more expensive and less accessible than milk. Ground water resources are depleting. NIITI Ayog sees a crisis by 2020. Where do we stand? How […]
Article
Make India Climate Smart: We have big infrastructure plans but forget to review them through a climate change lens
India will invest billions of dollars in public infrastructure over the next few years. Government policies also aim to massively increase private investments across sectors – manufacturing, services and agriculture. Each of these policies and investments will have time horizons spanning five to 50 years. Examples of planned infrastructure include – 100 new airports with […]
Interview
We need to talk about failure in the social sector: NGOs must fail to succeed
A lot of ink is spilled and awards are bestowed each year celebrating the success of the social sector—and there is much to celebrate. But the truth is, if innovation is essential to the ultimate achievements of the sector, we should spend less time on success, and more time on failure. We lament the inability […]
Interview
Are we suffering from a lack of imagination?
The pace at which social problems are outpacing our solutions underscores the need for bold philanthropy, audacious goals and capable, committed leadership in social sector organisations, says Rohini Nilekani, founder-chairperson of Arghyam and co-founder of EkStep. How do you think Indian philanthropy has evolved over the years? How have the approaches and discussions around […]
Article
Asia’s 2018 Heroes Of Philanthropy: Putting Wealth To A Good Cause
Nandan & Rohini Nilekani, 63, 59. Cofounder, Infosys; founder, Arghyam Pledged to donate 50% of their wealth in November 2017 under the Giving Pledge and said, “Wealth comes with huge responsibility and is best deployed for the larger public interest.” Past contributions include $5 million to the premier Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in Mumbai, […]
Article
Asia’s 2018 Heroes Of Philanthropy: Charity Is New To India’s New-Economy Titans
Among the newly rich, the idea of social philanthropy is just settling in, says Rohini Nilekani, wife of tech billionaire and Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani and founder of Arghyam, a foundation focusing on water and sanitation. The Nilekanis are among India’s leading philanthropists and one of the seven Indian families to sign the Gates-Buffett Giving […]
Report
Landscaping the Field of Agriculture in India
Agriculture makes 15.4% of India’s GDP. It employs 45% of people in traditional farming and modern agriculture methods and its contribution towards the betterment of the Indian economy is declining due to various reasons. Rising climate changes are leading to low crop yields across the world. Despite a drop in hunger rates, India’s economic growth […]
Keynote
Gender Equity: Working with Young Men and Boys | We The Women, Bangalore
This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani’s conversation with Raghu Karnad at We the Women in Bangalore. She talks about why we must engage men as stakeholders and co-beneficiaries in gender equity. Over the past 20 years of my philanthropic work, we’ve seen a fair amount of advancement with regards to women’s empowerment. […]
Article
Address To India Climate Collaborative
Namaste everyone. I’m so happy at the opportunity to address you however briefly at the beginning of the second convening of the India Climate Collaborative. I think the time could not be more opportune especially when we are witnessing the human tragedy unfolding around us in the wake of the Kerala and Karnataka floods. But […]
Podcast
Sea Change – Nandan Nilekani, Rohini Nilekani
To unbundle the thinking and provide diverse perspectives on the need for new ways of catalysing scaled, speedy and sustainable societal change, we are happy to share a 3 episode podcast series titled Sea Change; co-produced by Societal Platform and Vakku. This is a show about societal change in the digital age, and how to […]