During visits in various tribal regions, I assume we often notice an immediate focus on what “needs to be improved” in these communities. While there’s no doubt that support is essential in many areas to ensure equal opportunities, I sometimes…
Since the Companies Act, 2013 made CSR mandatory, it has channelled thousands of crores into education, healthcare, livelihoods, and rural development. For most nonprofits, it’s now the default source of institutional funding. For corporations, it’s evolved from a compliance line-item…
On why we’re so good at counting what we do, and so bad at counting what we prevent There is a report sitting on someone’s desk right now — meals served, vaccines administered, households reached. Every number in it points…
A working toolkit for CSR funders, philanthropists, NGOs, evaluators, and anyone else trying to figure out where they stand Four years after India launched its Social Stock Exchange (SSE), the honest answer to “how is it doing?” depends on who’s…
For a decade, June meant the same visual everywhere: rainbow logos, limited-edition merchandise, a flurry of sponsored floats. That visual seems to be increasingly fading in the last two years. Polling cited by Forbes puts the pullback at roughly 43%…
Welcome to this edition of The Social Audit. In the social development world, we talk a lot about “impact,” “sustainability,” and “systems change.” But we rarely talk about what happens when the workday ends and we have to walk back…
In India’s public health ecosystem, dozens of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker applications are launched across states, yet few scale beyond a handful of districts. This raises a critical ecosystem question: When a CSR foundation, philanthropic funder, or state…
Adapting KAP methodology under evaluation constraints in a CSR education programme Sector Education / CSR Intervention type Science lab set-up for school-going children Evaluation type Retrospective impact assessment Methodology Adapted KAP (Knowledge, Attitude and Practice) Practice area Monitoring, Evaluation &…
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India operates at the complex intersection of statutory mandates and historical inequities. As organizations strive for inclusive growth, Affirmative Action (AA) has become a critical barometer of social justice. Analyzing corporate AA reveals nuanced realities…
AB-PMJAY covers roughly 500 million people and is one of the largest public health insurance programmes in the world. A study published in BMJ Open this year is the first large-scale analysis of what it has actually delivered, four years…
India’s philanthropic sector is frequently described using numbers that sound authoritative. Figures in the trillions appear in conference decks and sector reports. Percentages circulate about how giving is distributed, which causes receive the most, and how many organisations are actually…
By the Public Health Center of Excellence and the Gender Center of Excellence India’s transgender population faces a healthcare crisis that long predates any legislation. Access to general medical care, HIV testing, mental health services, and gender-affirming procedures has remained…
By the Gender Center of Excellence There is a particular kind of institutional failure that is harder to correct than simple neglect. It is the failure that comes dressed as progress. It carries the right language, checks the right boxes,…
By Manju Menon, CEO NuSocia The social sector is obsessed with success and terrified of failure. In a space where the most important change is always slow, messy, and impossible to guarantee, that combination is quietly devastating. Let me start…
How M&E Became the Engine of Strategic Growth MEL has always been about learning. What’s changed is who’s doing it, how fast, and what technology now makes possible — especially in CSR, where real-time intelligence is replacing the annual field…
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has triggered what the International Energy Agency describes as the largest oil supply disruption in history. Sustainability frameworks have generally operated on an implicit assumption that the global system, while imperfect, is broadly…
NuSocia AI & Data Center of Excellence | 2026 In September 2025, BCG published a report on what they called the widening AI value gap. The headline finding was stark: a small group of companies, roughly 5%, are pulling so…
In the development landscape, women-centered programmes are routinely framed as yielding benefits that extend far beyond the woman herself. Titles like “Empower Women; Empower the Next Generation” or “Investing in Women Uplifts Communities” are common. Important strategies and initiatives, packed…
Governance is often understood as the system of rules, processes, and institutions that guide decision-making, ensure accountability, and enable societies to function effectively. While strong institutions are essential, governance does not operate in isolation; it depends on an ecosystem of…
The landscape of social development has always been tumultuous, but in recent years, a distinct schism has formed between how organizations manage their social conscience versus their strategic risks. While Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks have become synonymous with…
We all know the feeling. You’re on a field visit, energized by the sight of a skilling program in action. The students are engaged, the trainers are passionate. But then you open the MIS dashboard, and the numbers… just don’t…
India’s local governance framework is progressive. With mandated reservations for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions, leadership at the village level is meant to be more representative, inclusive, and responsive to diverse community needs. Yet, what governance promises in structure does…
Why AI for Social Impact in India Is Stalling at the Policy Layer India’s development sector is experiencing a paradox. Artificial Intelligence (AI) uptake across health, education, agriculture, livelihoods, justice, and social protection is widespread and accelerating. Yet, very few…
AI. Machine Learning. Deep Tech. Recently, there has been a lot of buzz, and frankly, noise when it comes to the tech world. Every company, sector, and manager is trying to figure out which tool, form of integration, type of…
For many students, especially when facing subjects like mathematics or science—learning can feel intimidating. Complex formulas, abstract theories, and the pressure of getting it right on the first try often lead to anxiety instead of curiosity. But what if learning…