Indian farmers face significant challenges in agriculture - fragmentation of land ownership, increased cost of cultivation, deteriorating soil health, uncertain market spaces. In addition to this, climate change is a major threat. It seems there is no end to the hurdles that the humble Indian farmer must jump over.

When it comes to key stakeholders in agriculture and rural development in India, there is no bigger player than NABARD who, with a 7, 50,000 crore balance sheet, are a primary investor in the revitalisation of rural India. It makes sense then, for Ambuja Foundation to work closely with them – after all, both organisations are working towards the same vision – rural prosperity!

With successful implementation of its Holistic Rural Development Program (HRDP) in rural Uttarakand, HDFC Bank Parivartan extended its partnership with Ambuja Foundation to the Patiala district of Punjab. The 4-year project will cover 15 villages of Rajpura and Sambhu blocks of Patiala district, with focused interventions on agro-based livelihood, women empowerment, health & sanitation and quality education.

With an objective to support India’s young generation in obtaining job-relevant skills and livelihoods, Ambuja Foundation has imparted skill training to over 88,000 youth with a placement rate of 76% from rural and semi urban areas across 10 States of India, via its SEDI (Skill and Entrepreneurship Development Institutes).

Vinitha Venkatraman is a social entrepreneur and Co-Founder of VIVA Development Strategies who has a long standing relationship with Ambuja Foundation. She joins us at Thrive, as a guest writer – sharing her insights and an outside perspective of some of the key facets of our work at Ambuja Foundation.

When it comes to community development, our aim is to reach out to the bottom of the pyramid – and often the first port of call in reaching them is via local community leaders. But this strategy alone is fraught with challenges, as local influences and other biases mean that often the truly poor, are overlooked.

Ambuja Foundation is fortunate to have a visionary Chairman at the helm of its Board of Directors, whose success in business is widely lauded – having built one of India’s iconic companies. However, as a humble and quiet gentleman who doesn’t like to stand on his own soapbox, it is often difficult to get inside the mind of Narotam Sekhsaria to understand what makes him tick. In an intimate interview with Thrive, Mr Sekhsaria shares his bold dreams and desires for the future of Ambuja Foundation.

Celebrated yearly, Ambuja Foundation took part in World Environment Day by organising events with varied stakeholders to create awareness about the environment, conservation and health. This year, Ambuja Foundation contributed to the global theme #OnlyOneEarth with locations organising a variety of activities.

Ambuja Foundation organized a virtual event on 'Water Stewardship & Sustainable Environment' on 8th June 2022, coinciding with World Environment Day. Keynote Speakers and panellists included experts from the water and sustainability industry who shared their experiences and best practices on rainwater management with a special focus on water in rural areas.

On occasion of World Yoga Day celebrated on 21st June 2022, Ambuja Foundation conducted Yoga sessions at various locations involving a variety of community stakeholders - including community members, village leaders, SEDI trainees and their parents, school students and staff, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, SHG members and Sakhis.

Vikram Chouhan, Principal at SEDI Udaipur, has a problem on his hands. Hotels across the state have been calling him to fill 500 new jobs in the hospitality sector, and he simply doesn’t have enough trainees to fill the jobs!

Walk into rural government schools, and you will often find a number of the teachers ‘absent’ from the classroom. In fact, according to Pratham’s ASER study, before the pandemic, approximately 30%, or roughly one in three teachers, were found to be absent on any given day in rural areas. The cost of this? Teacher absence in India in 2019-20 cost the country approximately Rs. 333.97 billion (USD 4.6 billion)*. However, the cost to children is much higher - the loss of their education and future potential.