Fighting Poverty & Unemployment: How Social Enterprises Are Doing Their Bit in India

India continues to grow economically at a steady pace year-on-year but sadly the growth is not inclusive and a vast majority of Indians struggle for a decent quality of life. Most Indian’s continue to struggle with issues like lack of quality education, access to healthcare, sustainable livelihoods and gender bias. But where there is a challenge there is an opportunity.

Social enterprises in India have found some innovative solutions to the challenges facing the country. The old traditional way of charity and making a difference has been challenged by modern ideas and innovation.

Here’s a look at three challenges facing India today and the unique solutions offered by these social enterprises.

Number 3: Rural Poverty

One-third of the country’s population of more than 1.2 billion is below the poverty line and a large proportion lives in rural India. A major cause of poverty among India’s rural people, both individuals and communities, is lack of access to productive assets and financial resources. High levels of illiteracy, inadequate health care and extremely limited access to social services are common among poor rural people. Collective enterprises can be a way towards inclusive development, which could generate income and enable the economically marginalised people to improve their living conditions.

An exemplar organisation working to eradicate rural poverty is AMUL, an Indian dairy cooperative which endeavours to improve the socio-economic conditions of rural people though cooperative enterprises the marginalised are able to take into their own hands the task of creating productive employment, overcoming poverty and achieving social integration.

Number 2: Unemployment

Although unemployment in India is projected to witness marginal increase between 2017 and 2018, a UN labor report projects about 17.8 million unemployed people. At the same time, a million Indians reach the employment age every month.

One way to approach this issue is by reach. Reaching out to all people from across the country and providing opportunities through the world’s rapid industrialisation. RuralShores, a social enterprise, works with the objective of assimilating rural India into the knowledge economy by providing job opportunities to the rural youth of the country. RuralShores establishes IT and BPO companies in rural areas leveraging factors like availability of untapped talent, affordable real estate and lower labour and operational costs.

Number 1: Educational Crisis

A recent report tabled in parliament stating that over 100,000 schools in India have just one teacher is an alarming wake-up call for the government and all stakeholders. 76% of the students do not make it to the higher education system.

Fun fact, our GDP can easily increase by $ 5.5 million by enrolling just 1% more girls in secondary school.

The entire educational crisis at the same time offers a genuine opportunity to transform India’s archaic education landscape. A lack of education is the root of several major issues in India, and the right education for all our citizens has the potential to solve all these problems at one time.

Pratham is an innovative learning organisation created to improve the quality of education in India. As one of the largest non-governmental organizations in the country, Pratham focuses on high-quality, low-cost, and replicable interventions to address gaps in the education system. Established in 1995 to provide education to children in the slums of Mumbai, Pratham has grown both in scope and geographical coverage.

To know more, check out this website. 

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