(Our Bureau, June 30)
The/Nudge Centre for Rural Development is investing ₹200 crore ($27 million) to support COVID-19-hit rural households and help them access funding programs across sectors. Called Asha Kiran- the Hope Project, the initiative will primarily focus on improving the livelihoods of 500,000 households in Uttar Pradesh and neighboring regions. A host of US-based donors have come together to fund the project — the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, the Skoll Foundation and KPMG, among several others.
“Uttar Pradesh has large-scale poverty alleviation programs and enabling convergence is important to amplify their benefits for the poor,” said Manoj Kumar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh.
Asha Kiran’s interventions would range from enabling access to MGNREGS and public distribution system to improving agricultural incomes through high-value crops and productivity linkages.
The/Nudge was one of 13 Indian non-profits that received grants from billionaire American philanthropist MacKenzie Scott earlier this month. It has worked with over 1,200 ultra-poor families since 2019.
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