The Foundation

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are we?

SKOCH Development Foundation is Section 8, Not-for-Profit Company, registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and registered as a recognised charity under 80G and 12AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The Foundation works with the motto of mainstreaming the marginalised and takes inputs from primary field research to bring felt-needs to the policy. It organises field outreach and capacity building trainings and workshops. Since inception, it has been incessantly working for women empowerment particularly SHGs, financial literacy, capacity building and generating livelihoods.

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Who are We?

Established in 2008, SKOCH Development Foundation is an autonomous, policy-oriented, not for profit policy think tank. The Foundation has been established as a “Not for Profit” Company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 1956. It does not undertake any commercial activity.

It is recognized by the Government of India as a “Charitable Organization” under Section 12AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Foundation also qualifies for exemptions under section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The Foundation ensures transparency, accountability, and adherence to corporate governance norms. Its main focus is empowering the marginalized and making inclusive development a reality by undertaking various research and grassroots intervention projects.

The Foundation lays emphasis on Social, Digital and Financial Inclusion; strengthening of delivery systems and ensuring a transparent, participatory democracy for bringing about a systemic change.

Its founder members have during the past ten years traveled extensively across the country to study, document and promote social, digital and financial inclusion. In the process, knowledge repositories have been created on what works — the best practices — actively engaging all stakeholders from policymakers and civil society to ordinary citizens.

What we do?

SKOCH Development Foundation is created with the mission of accelerating initiatives towards digital, social and financial inclusion. Following key initiatives have been undertaken by the foundation:

Public Policy Dialogue: SKOCH development foundation through its Summits and conclaves has been constantly engaging in policy dialogue with various stakeholders from the Government, NGOs, and civil society to the private sector so as to create a comprehensive multi-pronged strategy. The President of SKOCH Foundation is a member of the expert group constituted by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India advocating a case for strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions (village councils) through the use of technology, finance, economics, e-governance, Panchayati Raj and ICT for development. He is also a member of the Working Group for the preparation of the Strategic Plan for the next five years on e-governance constituted by the Department of Information Technology.

Mr. Sameer Kochhar is also part of the advisory council of the Project initiated by NIC, Government of India to Index Government Portals and websites at the National Level.

  • Research Studies: The foundation has constantly been producing exhaustive research work. “Speeding Financial Inclusion“ is one of the most comprehensive works on final inclusion that takes into account all possible stakeholders with detailed research reports, and analysis.

SDF signed an MoU with a premier government organization under the Ministry of Rural Development to create a Rural Technologies Bank (TeBank). The overall goal of the TeBank initiative was to enhance the livelihood opportunities for the rural communities, tribal groups, farmers, and landless and rural citizens. The working model developed by SKOCH Development Foundation is being used by the owner organization to create a rural Technologies Bank.

  • Field Interventions: Through the PROJECT HOPE, SKOCH foundation has time and again done interventions from helping a school in remote Arunachal Pradesh set up a computer laboratory, to setting a mobile school for Van Gujjars a nomadic tribe in the terai region of Uttrakhand.
  • Conclaves & Workshops: The foundation has been regularly conducting “Thinkers & Writers Forum” which is one of the very few events where academicians get an opportunity to present their research work in front of policymakers Professors, and people who actually implement, and work in their proposed area of study. Thinkers & Writers Forum is a breeding ground for policy interventions, and innovative path-breaking ideas for inclusion.

Also, within the SKOCH Summit, the foundation organizes various conclaves that help in formulating policies for the marginalized.

  • Capacity Building: SKOCH Development Foundation helps various non-profit, and for-profit social enterprises build capacity for various projects.
  • Books & Publications: SKOCH Foundation in partnership with the academic foundation has published various books on Inclusion from “Building from the Bottom“, “India on the Growth Turnpike“, “The March of Mobile Money“, and “Growth & Finance”.