Gandhi Fellowship 2023 – 2025
Application Deadline 31st March 2023 at 11:59PM
Piramal Foundation is a Section 8, not-for profit organization committed to solving some of the most pressing challenges of India and creating equal opportunities for every citizen. Piramal Foundation’s core philosophy is “Doing Well and Doing Good”. We do this through forging strategic partnerships with the government and other key players; and bringing innovative, customised solutions, as part of our mission to ensure equitable and quality access for all to Health, Education, and Safe Drinking Water. Our values of Knowledge, Action, Care, and Impact are reflected in all that we do, while our agility is demonstrated through our quick response to the emerging needs of the ecosystem. Piramal Foundation’s work in 27 states is aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals to bring equity to the most underserved.
Gandhi Fellowship is an experiential 2-year residential fellowship course in transformation leadership. For the last 10 years, Gandhi Fellowship has empowered young women and men to groom themselves into change leaders who go on to create large scale social and public systems change, where each fellow is fueled by the philosophy of “Build Self, Build Nation”.
The program is designed to bring out one’s entrepreneurial thinking and leadership skills in order to create lasting changes in society.
Every Gandhi Fellow is encouraged to observe the world around them at close proximity, plan interventions and create impact through innovation. The work done during the fellowship goes a long way in moulding one into a nation builder.
Our Story
Our Vision
We started 10 years ago when there was no other fellowship in the country that focused on the philosophy of building self and building the nation. Today, various fellowships are present in the country, which provide opportunities for young people to develop themselves. When we started, the aspiration that we set out with was to build a network of ten thousand young people across the nation by 2025. These would be people who have been a part of the fellowship and would, therefore, have very tight bonds. In the business culture, there is deep trust and therefore speed, in forming relationships. We want to build the Gandhi fellowship to be a brand like that.
At the Gandhi Fellowship, one imbibes the values of being ethical, being grounded, and the skills required to influence government, get things done, and lead people. That is the brand we would like to build for our country – a brand filled with young people who are high in ethics, grounded, get things done, know how to lead people and do things in the best interest of the nation. When recruiters see this, they realize that Gandhi Fellowship is where they should be recruiting from.
Gandhi Fellowship’s vision lies in enabling customized learning paths for fellows to become new millionaires who create social impact at scale. The New Millionaire Program (TNMP) is structured to help fellows who want to make a difference develop their potential over a period of 10 years (including the 2 years of fellowship) to become The New Millionaires. The New Millionaire (TNM) is defined as a person who can impact a million lives over a period of 10 years – from a fellow to an alumnus.
Founded in 2008, the Gandhi Fellowship program began in two districts (Jhunjhunu and Churu) with 1 program (School Leadership Development Program) and 10 fellows, who were fresh graduates.
By 2020, the fellowship has expanded across the country (14 states, 42 districts*) with 3 programs (School Leadership Development Program, District Transformation Program, and State Transformation Program) with 500 + fellows across the country. The fellows are handpicked from across the country and come from diverse backgrounds, and yet are united in their desire to make a difference. A number of fellows also carry the experience of working for a few years in various sectors before joining the fellowship.
The fellowship aims to measure the holistic development and growth of each fellow. The fellowship curriculum works towards the building and strengthening of every fellow’s leadership.
The fellowship is built around the following processes:
- Leadership Curriculum
- Monthly Workshops
- Boot Camps
- Kaun Banega The New Millionaire (K.B.T.N.M)
- Learning Journey
- Field Support
- Community Immersion
- Classroom Immersion
- Government System Immersion
- Vipassana
- Debriefs
- One-On-one
The curriculum is also subject to modification based on the varying needs of the community we engage with and the fellows.
Today, Gandhi Fellowship operates across the country under distinct programs. They are:
Tribal Health Collaborative
Inclusion is key to transforming lives of 700+ tribal communities
India is home to 104 million tribal people who primarily reside in hilly, forested, and remote rural areas with limited or no access to a public health system that remains largely urban-centric. Socio-cultural discrimination further alienates them. Their own deeply ingrained beliefs and traditional practices prevent them from seeking medical assistance elsewhere.
Anamaya, the Tribal Health Collaborative arose from the need to address the unique and complex challenges faced by the tribal people in 177 districts. To eliminate preventable deaths among them, Anamaya is collaborating closely with indigenous people and governments to develop an empathetic and effective public health system informed by community voice.
The Collaborative has already embarked on an intensive journey to resolve the issues of tribal communities by introducing innovative solutions. These include increased community participation through close collaboration with tribal healers, youth, opinion leaders, NGOs, and civil society organizations. It also collaborates with tribal healers to create networks for the exchange of information and documentation of their best practices.
2. Aspirational Districts Collaborative
A collaborative platform to catapult India towards transformation
Approximately 100 million of India’s poorest reside in 112 Aspirational Districts, which have the lowest human development indicators and are plagued by unique, complex challenges that impede access to water, health, and education.
Aspirational Districts Collaborative, a flagship initiative of Piramal Foundation and NITI Aayog, aims to accelerate and support the government’s efforts to improve the lives of these 100 million people through hyperlocal collaboration and last mile convergence.
The Twin PillarsCollaboration with 6,000+ potential local institutional players to leverage in-depth community knowledge and facilitate behaviour change. Hyperlocal collaborators include NGOs, youth, media, faith leaders, panchayats, and self-help groups who, under the leadership of the district administration, can transform the lives of their communities.
Convergence between 12 district-level departments to ensure 100% utilization of government programmes and schemes. It will be a significant step towards strengthening governance for transforming on-ground delivery and laying the groundwork for sustainable development in Aspirational Districts.
Digital Bharat Collaborative
Enhancing experiences of citizens in accessing government services
The government has been closely integrating technology into all its systems and processes. However, there is still a long way to go before everyone in the country can access high-quality service delivery. The need of the hour is a holistic digital transformation with a robust systems integration approach and a model for sustained collaboration.
Digital Bharat Collaborative addresses both the supply and demand sides to transform the delivery of public services with increased accountability, accessibility, and quality of service that is impartial for all.
Three aspects that make it a game changer are:
- Government to government: It will transform inter and intra-departmental coordination by introducing digital technologies.
- Government to employees: It will improve the experience of government employees by integrating technology into the processes of different departments and ministries.
- Government to citizens: It will make life easier for people by giving them easy access to high- quality services.
Piramal University
Two-pronged innovation to propel public system transformation
The Indian public systems have advanced significantly over the last decade. However, there are still gaps, and more must be done to support the government in transforming its systems to be more inclusive and equitable.
Piramal University is a first-of-its-kind, world-class institute for strengthening systems (institutional processes, practices, and governance) within the government by leveraging technology, as well as for developing the leadership skills of officials to drive innovation and learning.
The School of 21st Century Education will equip students with 21st century skills.
The School of Systems Change will foster trust in public institutions by equipping officials with skills in governance, legal reform, communication, and public finance.
The School of Transformational Leadership will build motivated leaders who can evolve as catalysts for innovation and learning.
The School of Public Health will influence state-level agendas for reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, nutrition, and communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Fellow’s Journey
The 500+ fellows handpicked in the current batch undergo a process of unlearning and learning. At the core of the Gandhi Fellowship program lies the gem to transform; to look at oneself as the way to harness the potential that lies within everybody, to switch from a regular college-goer to a change leader.
The foundation of this process lies in building the self; this aspect is likely to be put to test during the two years of the fellowship, where fellows are expected to lead on-ground change as a part of their assignments. In the course of time, this trains them to manage people and become effective decision-makers. This, in turn, enables them to contribute to organisational outcomes. At the end of the fellowship, the candidates are equipped enough to lead projects which cause social impact at a regional and national level. Those with entrepreneurial dreams also get a pathway to see those manifested.
Fellowship Curriculum
While every Gandhi Fellow is expected to be a self-learner, the fellowship provides the fellows with various inputs and opportunities to learn. Unlike a traditional college program that requires students to spend long hours in classroom lectures, the fellowship inculcates learning by doing. At the same time, there are certain concepts and skills that cannot necessarily be learnt on one’s own and it helps to have someone to facilitate that learning process.
The fellowship follows the omni-channel approach to learning. Omni means all or every, as students do not need to restrict themselves to just one medium of learning. Rather, every process, every interaction is a learning opportunity. The fellow’s work in the field is as important as the workshops conducted or the inputs received in the online courses. We are believers in the power of reflection as a driver of self-learning.
Ways in which each fellow’s self-transformation is supported are:
Workshops – There are multiple workshops conducted at locations which equip the fellows with the knowledge and skill needed to become change leaders. These workshops also enable fellows to use new tools to help them in their work on the field.
Online Courses – Fellows can access online courses with specific learning objectives that can be done in 4 hours.
Immersive Experiences – Experiences with different stakeholders enable the fellows to learn by living the life of a stakeholder. These interactions help fellows unlearn previous beliefs that could be based on prejudices, develop empathy for the stakeholders and gain a first-hand perspective that helps them understand the stakeholders’ problems better.
Learning Journeys – Not all learning can be done staying in a single location. The learning journeys expose fellows to experiences like Vipassana and organizations working in diverse geographies and sectors to gain exposure to help build their personal dreams.
Soft Skill Devlopment
The Gandhi Fellowship journey begins by looking at oneself and introspecting one’s attitudes and actions. It is often believed that the outer world is largely a reflection of the chaos that goes within one’s own self. Our curriculum, therefore, has modules to manage the self.
Through Socio-Emotional-Ethical Learning (SEEL), the fellows learn how to be aware of themselves, to take stock of what is going on within their own selves (mind and body). This awareness enables them to develop self-compassion (instead of self-criticism) and engage with their own selves to resolve anything that keeps bothering them.
Once the fellows practice the techniques of ACE (Awareness, Compassion, Engagement) on themselves, they are better equipped to apply the same principles on the society around them (family, colleagues, stakeholders and the world of people in general) and the different systems that exist (the whole ecosystem that surrounds us).
Additionally, the fellows are encouraged to undergo a 10-day Vipassana. During the Vipassana process, which involves disciplined self-observation, they experience a deep interconnection between the mind and body. This acts as a great enabler for self-transformation and developing self-awareness.
Reflect – Act – Reflect
The fellowship places a lot of importance on helping fellows develop as reflective practitioners, regardless of the career they might choose post their fellowship. As described above, a lot of support systems and processes are put in place to help fellows develop the habit of reflection.
The focus on reflection is paired with equal importance that is given to how that reflection is used. There is an understanding that reflection which doesn’t translate into action is not a useful characteristic for a leader. In the fellowship, the fellows follow a cycle of Plan-Act-Reflect-Share-Plan, which helps them build important leadership skills in themselves.
Eligibility Criteria
- Age group 18-26 years
- Achiever in Academics and Extracurricular activities (Sports, NCC, NSS, voluntary work, performing arts, debate, literature etc)
- Sensitive towards the pressing problems of the nation
- Graduate and Post Graduate from any of the diverse streams: Engineering, Applied and Pure Science, Commerce, Management, Humanities and Liberal Arts, Social Work, Psychology and Behavioural Science, Mathematics, Journalism and Mass Communication, Education, Law etc.
- Single
Stipend & Facilities
A unique grant system encapsulates the philosophy of encouraging and supporting the youth to take risks and build entrepreneurial skills. Gandhi Fellowship provides a stipend of Rs 25,000-28,000/-month, inclusive of all expenses depending on the location.
Rs 7000/month of the total stipend will be retained as an interest-free reserve amount. The cumulative reserve amount will be paid at the end of the term and the successful completion of the fellowship after a period of 23 months. This cumulative grant supports the Gandhi Fellowship graduates to kickstart their choices of a social enterprise individually or collaboratively with other fellows, international learning exposure or specialized higher studies in line with their aspirations.
Location
Gandhi Fellowship operates across 14 states in India: Delhi, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand.
