Project Nanhi Kali is an Indian non-governmental organisation that supports education for underprivileged girls in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

History

Founded by

Anand Mahindra Anand Gopal Mahindra (born 1 May 1955) is an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman of Mahindra Group, a Mumbai-based business conglomerate. The group operates in aerospace, agribusiness, aftermarket, automotive, components, construc ...

in 1996, it is jointly managed by the Naandi Foundation and the KC Mahindra Education Trust, which is part of the

corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business industry self-regulation, self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropy, philanthropic, activist, or chari ...

activities of the

Mahindra Group Mahindra Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai. The group has operations in over 100 countries, with a presence in aerospace, agribusiness, aftermarket automotive components, construction equipment, defen ...

Background

Project Nanhi Kali sees educating girls and women as a way to positively impact India in the long run. Sheetal Mehta, the president of the non-profit organisation, told the ''

Daily News and Analysis The ''Daily News and Analysis'', abbreviated as ''DNA'', is a Hindi-language news program on Zee news that was earlier an English-language newspaper with multiple local city editions across India. ''DNA'' was first launched as a broadsheet newsp ...

'' in an interview that "we wanted to create global awareness about the plight of young girls in the country who are denied their basic right." Students who are selected for Nanhi Kali receive both financial and academic support. They attend special classes to learn math, science, and language concepts. Nanhi Kali for the

hidden cost In microeconomic theory, the opportunity cost of a choice is the value of the best alternative forgone where, given limited resources, a choice needs to be made between several mutually exclusive alternatives. Assuming the best choice is made, i ...

s of their education, including pencils, notebooks, school bags, uniforms, clothes, and shoes. Funding is from individual and corporate donors, who sponsor a particular child and receive regular updates on her progress at school. Sponsors can also go to the online "Gift Store" to purchase particular items for a student. The Mahindra Group sponsors the education of 22,000 girl children through Project Nanhi Kali. Third-party assessments show that Nanhi Kali has a significant impact on the girls' lives. Over a one-year period, Nanhi Kali students' improvement in learning outcomes ranged from 40 percent in tribal Chhattisgarh to 78 percent in Mumbai.

References

External links

* {{Non-governmental_organizations in India Educational organisations based in India Mahindra Group Women's organisations based in India 1996 establishments in Maharashtra Organizations established in 1996 Women's education in India