No-Cost Extension with Deval Sanghavi
It’s time for India’s philanthropy sector to step down from its pedestal, stop hiding behind lofty jargon, and have a frank conversation about what’s really working, and more importantly what’s not. After dedicating twenty years to the philanthropy sector, Deval Sanghavi, co-Founder of Dasra, is now on a mission to hold a mirror up to the country’s philanthropy sector and examine why even after so much innovation and investment, the inequality gap in India is ever widening.
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Lessons in Leadership
05/01/2025
Lessons in Leadership
The Dasra Social Impact Leadership Programme began in 2006 as the DSI accelerator programme for leaders of not-for-profit organisations early in their scaling journeys. The DSI Leadership Programme was launched in 2014 in collaboration with Harvard Business School and today has an alumni base of over 600 leaders. Earlier this year, we caught up with the Dasra team and the current cohort of the Leadership Programme to learn more about this initiative. Our thanks to Amit Chandra, Kavneet Kaur, Saiprasad Sale, Kirti Chaturvedi, Disket Angmo, Nita Row, Sohan Mutha, Ahona Krishna and Nehal Parekh. For more information about the next cohort of the Dasra Social Impact Leadership program, and details on when and how to apply, write to [email protected].
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Game changer for Good? Exploring the role of data, tech and AI in social impact
04/18/2025
Game changer for Good? Exploring the role of data, tech and AI in social impact
Earlier this year during Dasra Philanthropy Week 2025, innovators, changemakers, and thought leaders came together in Bengaluru to explore the role of Data, Technology, and AI in driving social impact. We caught up with three panellists to find out what was discussed at their sessions and to hear their views on the future of technology in the social sector. , the founder of the was on the panel “Gender inclusive Data technologies - Need for a paradigm shift”. She shares with us how her work intersects with AI and her views on the opportunities and challenges raised by it. from was on a panel that discussed “The Power of Open Source and Collaborative Technology for Social Change”. He talks about how contextual community-based knowledge should get incorporated into large models and the importance of collaborative development in the context of tech and its applications for the social sector. Finally we have from the , a public policy think tank who was a panelist on “Collaborating for Impact: Tech & AI Innovations for Community Resilience in India”. Vaibhav talks through his work on climate change, “building in public” and building for interoperability. He also talks about the need to address bias. For more about No-Cost Extension Podcast and to listen to previous episodes, visit
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Bhagwan Thacker: Giving With An Open Heart And Mind
04/02/2025
Bhagwan Thacker: Giving With An Open Heart And Mind
Bhagwan P Thacker is the founder of The Empowerment Fund, a private, charitable foundation with an aim to support underserved communities in the Kutch District of Gujarat with a focus on education, health and technology. Born in Anjar, a town in Kutch, a remote region of Western Gujarat, Bhagwan P Thacker had fairly humble beginnings. He was one of the first young people in Anjar to go to a college and attended Saint Xavier's in Ahmedabad. He then studied chemical engineering at Bombay University after which he left for the United States of America, where he worked at IBM before starting his own business. He started the Empowerment Foundation in 1995 with the desire to work in his home town of Anjar. Thacker speaks candidly of the reactions of his family in India, the ups and downs faced in the early years of the foundation, his journey learning how to give, and the changing landscape of philanthropy in India. Listen to this episode of No-Cost Extension podcast to hear of the journey of a funder over time and see how their approach has evolved as they learn. For more about No-Cost Extension Podcast and to listen to previous episodes, visit
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Meet Chhattisgarh Mitwa Sankalp Samiti
03/18/2025
Meet Chhattisgarh Mitwa Sankalp Samiti
Meet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. The Chhattisgarh Mitwa Sankalp Samiti is a Community Based Organization working for the development and mobilization of the transgender community in the region of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The organisation works to change societal attitudes towards the community, ensuring that government policies and schemes reach the transgender community and also conduct health related workshops. They have also collaborated with the government to set up a TransGender Welfare Board in districts and their advocacy with the police has helped transwomen join the local police force as constables. Listen to Vidya Rajput speak about their work. The Pride Fund is led by three philanthropists. Radhika Piramal, Keshav Suri, the executive director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and the founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation, and Parmesh Shahani, head of Godrej Dei Labs from the Godrej Industries Group. Read more about it here: . This episode is in Hindi.
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Funding Pride: Meet Deepshika Samiti
03/18/2025
Funding Pride: Meet Deepshika Samiti
Meet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. Deepshikha Samiti is committed to fostering socio-economic development in Delhi/NCR through education, health initiatives, and employment opportunities, with an aim to empower women, youth, and transgender communities Since 1994, they have been building a safe, healthy and empowered environment for the transgender and MSM community and provide opportunities for them to earn a livelihood and integrate within society. Listen in to Tajuddin Khan speak about their work. To know more about their work visit The Pride Fund is led by three philanthropists: Radhika Piramal, Keshav Suri, the executive director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and the founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation, and Parmesh Shahani, head of Godrej Dei Labs from the Godrej Industries Group. Read more about it here: . Find us at . This episode is in Hindi.
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Funding Pride: Meet Vikalp
03/18/2025
Funding Pride: Meet Vikalp
Meet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. is a women’s rights group that advocates for the rights of marginalised women & gender/sexual minorities, working closely with and in rural tribal areas. Formed in 1996 to combat domestic violence and discrimination against women in Gujarat, India, particularly tribal women, over time Vikalp has evolved at the intersection of class, caste, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation, intervening in the everyday lives of marginalized women and LBT people. Maya Sharma is a veteran feminist activist, researcher and writer, and part of this grassroots women's organization, Vikalp in Vadodara. The Pride Fund is led by three philanthropists. Radhika Piramal Keshav Suri, the executive director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and the founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation, and Parmesh Shahani, head of Godrej Dei Labs from the Godrej Industries Group. Read more about it here: . Find us at .
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Funding Pride: Meet Payana
03/18/2025
Funding Pride: Meet Payana
Meet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. What is Payana? Payana means Equality. is a community owned and managed organization based in Bengaluru that aims to address the many challenges of transgender individuals from underserved backgrounds. Their goal is to remove discrimination towards non-English speaking, working class members of sexual minorities and ensure their social inclusion and a life of dignity. The Pride Fund is led by three philanthropists: Radhika Piramal, Keshav Suri, the executive director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and the founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation, and Parmesh Shahani, head of Godrej Dei Labs from the Godrej Industries Group. Read more about it here: . You can know more about Dasra's work at . This episode is in Hindi.
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Funding Pride: Meet Basera Samajik Sansthan
03/18/2025
Funding Pride: Meet Basera Samajik Sansthan
Meet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. is a non-profit organization that strives to promote and protect the rights of the LGBTQ community. It advocates for transgender rights, anti-discrimination laws, protection against hate crimes, documentation and reporting of gender-based violence, and HIV/AIDS awareness. Basera has been instrumental in facilitating employment for members of the transgender community across industries and organisations. You can find out more about the work of the Basera Samajik Sansthan here: The Pride Fund is led by three philanthropists: Radhika Piramal, Keshav Suri, the executive director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and the founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation, and Parmesh Shahani, head of Godrej Dei Labs from the Godrej Industries Group. Read more about it here: For more information go to . This episode is in Hindi.
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Funding Pride: Meet Karna Subarna Welfare Society
03/13/2025
Funding Pride: Meet Karna Subarna Welfare Society
Over the next few episodes we’ll be meeting the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. The Karna Subarna Welfare Society is a network of seven organisations headquartered in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal and addresses the needs of the transgender and queer communities in surrounding areas. Their main verticals cover rural livelihoods, research and advocacy and awareness. You can find out more about the work of KSWS here: https://ksws.in/ The Pride Fund is led by three philanthropists. Radhika Piramal Keshav Suri, the executive director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and the founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation, and Parmesh Shahani, head of Godrej Dei Labs from the Godrej Industries Group. Read more about it here:
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Funding Pride: Meet Ya_All, The Youth Network
03/13/2025
Funding Pride: Meet Ya_All, The Youth Network
Over the next few episodes we’ll be meeting the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. Sadam Hanjabam is the founder and CEO of Ya_All The Youth Network, a United Nations recognized LGBTI+ youth led and focused organisation working in Manipur, India. Ya All aims to capacitate, educate, empower equip and strengthen vulnerable communities. Listen to Sadam talk about his own personal experiences that lead to the setting up of Ya_All, how they’ve used football as tool to talk about sexuality, and the role of storytelling in effecting change. You can find out more about the work of Ya_All here: https://www.yaall.org/ The Pride Fund is led by three philanthropists. Radhika Piramal Keshav Suri, the executive director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and the founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation, and Parmesh Shahani, head of Godrej Dei Labs from the Godrej Industries Group. Read more about it here:
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Funding Pride: Meet Sappho for Equality
03/13/2025
Funding Pride: Meet Sappho for Equality
Over the next few episodes we’ll be meeting the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. Sappho for Equality has been working to address the unique, intersectional challenges faced by lesbian, bisexual and transmasculine individual for over a quarter of a century. The organisation has evolved from an emotional support network to one that works in advocacy, public education and sensitising the police, medical professionals and the judicial system. Their repository of colloquial language writing on queer trans rights and experiences is something of immense importance and value. You can find out more about the work of Sappho for Equality here: https://www.sapphokolkata.in/ The Pride Fund is led by three philanthropists. Radhika Piramal Keshav Suri, the executive director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and the founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation, and Parmesh Shahani, head of Godrej Dei Labs from the Godrej Industries Group. Read more about it here:
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Funding Pride: Radhika Piramal on Empowering LGBTQIA+ Communities in India
02/25/2025
Funding Pride: Radhika Piramal on Empowering LGBTQIA+ Communities in India
We're kicking off a new season of No-Cost Extension with a conversation with Radhika Piramal. Radhika Piramal is one of the founding patrons of the Pride Fund India. Radhika Piramal holds several senior leadership positions in corporate India across various companies and brands and is a charity trustee holding trustee positions at Dasra UK and Give Out - an award-winning international LGBTQ Community Foundation. A leading LQBTQIA+ advocate, Radhika is one of three Indian philanthropists supporting The Pride Fund, India's first LGBTQIA+ philanthropy fund. In this episode, Deval and Radhika speak about her personal journey, the communities she sought comfort and acceptance in and the need for a Pride Fund in India today. More about The Pride Fund: Launched in February 2025, the Pride Fund is supported by three philanthropists: Radhika Piramal, Keshav Suri, the Executive Director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and the founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation, and Parmesh Shahani, Head of the Godrej DEI Labs from the Godrej Industries Group. Reach more about it here: For more about No-Cost Extension Podcast and to listen to previous episodes, visit
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#RootedinHerPower: Deepa Pawar (Re-release)
12/12/2024
#RootedinHerPower: Deepa Pawar (Re-release)
To coincide with the launch of the Rebuild India Fund’s 7th cohort of grassroots NGOs, entirely women led AND assessed by women leaders from within the Rebuild portfolio, we thought we would revisit conversations with power house leaders on No-Cost Extension. Our first conversation is from earlier this year, with Deepa Pawar, founder and director of the and a member of the Rebuild India Fund Investment Committee. This is a conversation on the contribution of women in keeping the culture of the community alive, anti-caste feminism and more. Deepa Pawar has over 22 years of experience in facilitating community-led programs and working with state and local governments on themes of youth-leadership, advocacy, mental justice, sanitation and sexual and reproductive health. Anubhuti Trust is an organization formed and self-led by women, with the intention to work with youth on developing their leadership so that there are aware and responsible youth in society who can lead change for a more just and equitable world. About #RootedinHerPower: The 7th cohort of the Rebuild India Fund is a vibrant grassroots movement for community-led resilience, a testament to the power of women’s leadership, and a step toward a future built on inclusion, empathy, and unwavering strength. Spread across 70+ districts, these women-led NGOs are championing change where it’s needed most. Follow across social media for updates. For more information to go www.dasra.org This episode originally aired in February 2024.
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Dasra Philanthropy Week - Divya Varma from Aajeevika Bureau
12/03/2024
Dasra Philanthropy Week - Divya Varma from Aajeevika Bureau
Divya Varma represented the Ajeevika Bureau and Work Fair and Free Foundation at Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024. She spoke passionately about India’s internal migrant population who are often forced to move from rural India to its cities due to climate variabilities which have rapidly degenerated agricultural livelihoods.Mired in indignity and invisibility, India’s migrant labour workforce works and lives at the very bottom of the societal pyramid at the mercy of a regulation free environment. Listen to her plans for fostering solidarity through unions and collectives and working towards generating more knowledge and research in this space. Find out more about Ajeevika Bureau here https://aajeevika.org/ and the Work Fair and Free Foundation here . For more information on Dasra's work, go to
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Dasra Philanthropy Week: Jackie Jones from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
12/03/2024
Dasra Philanthropy Week: Jackie Jones from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Jackie Jones is the Director, Gender Norms Portfolios and Office of the President at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where amongst many other things she thinks of gender dimensions and how they intersect with solving programs across the many verticals the foundation works across. At the Dasra Philanthropy Forum 2024, Jackie shared a story from one of the foundation’s immunization clinics in the Congo where there was low immunization uptake across genders. Find out how one health care worker’s insight changed this. For more information on any of Dasra's work, or on any of the guests on the show, go to
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Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024 : Rooted Power - Investing in Women Leaders at the Grassroots
11/21/2024
Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024 : Rooted Power - Investing in Women Leaders at the Grassroots
Join Maya Patel from the Tarsadia Foundation, Hechin Haokip from the Centre for Women and Girls, Manohari Doss from the Institute for Self Management and Farida Kathawalla from Circle of Hope in a conversation around women grassroots leaders. A small percentage of philanthropic capital globally is earmarked for gender equality, and the funding gap for feminist or women led organizations is quite glaring. Maya Patel, Hechin Haokip, Manohari Doss and Farida Kathawalla share from their lived experiences in running organizations and from championing women leaders at the grassroots. How can we invest in more women led proximate leaders to see large scale meaningful change and break gender norms that exist in the philanthropic ecosystem? For more information on Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024, or on any of the guests on the show, go to .
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Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024: Binoy Acharya from Unnati
11/12/2024
Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024: Binoy Acharya from Unnati
Binoy Acharya is the Founder-Director of Unnati - Organisation for Development Education. Unnati works in the spaces of Civic Leadership and Governance and Social Accountability, Disaster Risk Reduction and Social Inclusion and Empowerment. At Dasra Philanthropy Forum 2024, Binoy spoke of how governments are failing at last mile delivery across the world, and philanthropic support is needed to bridge this gap. For more information on any of Dasra's work, or on any of the guests on the show, go to www.dasra.org
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Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024: Kuldeep Dantewadia from Reap Benefit
11/07/2024
Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024: Kuldeep Dantewadia from Reap Benefit
Kuldeep Dantewadia is the founder of Reap Benefit, a non-profit based in Bengaluru, India that is igniting a movement of young changemakers to redefine civic and climate leadership, one action at a time. At Dasra Philanthropy Forum 2024, Kuldeep shared two stories of young changemakers whose individual actions lead to larger systemic changes in their community and how giving young people the agency and skills they need to effect change can move the needle on apathy. India, he says needs an army of young changemakers and unlocking their potential and change making one abilities one street at a time in not cute, it’s the need of the hour. We'll be back with new episodes next time! If you want to listen to more of No Cost Extension, go to where we have show notes, links and more.
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Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024: Dr Arunabha Ghosh from CEEW
11/07/2024
Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024: Dr Arunabha Ghosh from CEEW
In today's episode, we're bringing to you Dr Arunabha Ghosh's Keynote Address from Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024 held in New York. Dr Arunabha Ghosh is a public policy expert, author and columnist and founder-CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, or CEEW, one of Asia's leading policy research institutions and climate think-tanks. At DPW, Dr Ghosh spoke about how we must internalise two important paradigmatic shifts: away from centralised to decentralised systems that embrace local solutions and are embedded in communities, and move our ideation away from linear thinking to non-linear approaches if we are to truly accelerate India's energy transition and climate action. We'll be back next time with new episodes! For more information on the show, or any of the guests, go to .
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Celebrating 25 years at Dasra
10/24/2024
Celebrating 25 years at Dasra
We’re taking a break from regular programming with a series of conversations and microtalks from the recently concluded Dasra Philanthropy Forum 2024. 2024 was a milestone year with Dasra celebrating twenty five years as an organisation. At DPF 2024, Deval Sanghavi, co-founder of Dasra and host of No-Cost Extension Podcast, Boris Siperstein, Global Council Member Dasra, Akruti Desai from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation discussed the organisation’s journey, and the intentional way in which equity has been centred at the heart of Dasra’s work. Akruti Desai looked back at her own philanthropic journey which began as a Dasra Fellow in 2009 and speaks of the shift from a technocratic approach to the current trust based model that is more rooted in equity. Boris Siperstein speaks of being more congnizant of ground realities, working closely with grassroot leaders, and the Rebuild India Fund model which is built on a foundation of trust and equity. Deval speaks candidly about the early years of Dasra, the vision he and Neera had for the organisation at the outset and what he hopes the next twenty five years will bring. Anannya Chakrabarty, Associate Director, Dasra moderated this conversation. If you want to listen to more of No Cost Extension, go to where we have show notes, links and more.
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Vimal Jat says the voices and vulnerabilities of the youth matters
09/05/2024
Vimal Jat says the voices and vulnerabilities of the youth matters
In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval speaks to Vimal Jat, the co-founder and CEO of Synergy Sansthan, an organization in Madhya Pradesh that works on development programs for underserved youth. Born in Seoni Malwa block of Hoshangabad district, Madhya Pradesh, Vimal has a postgraduate degree in Social Work from Devi Ahilya University, Indore. During his time at university he and his friends formed a youth group with the aim to advocate for adolescent and youth rights. Vimal went on to co-found Synergy Sansthan in 2006, a youth-led non-profit that works with marginalized children, adolescents and youth leadership from rural and tribal areas. The non-profit has co-created context based leadership journeys for rural and tribal youths in Madhya Pradesh and worked on a range of issues from gender based violence, education, governance, livelihoods, constitutional literacy, and child protection. Today, Synergy Sansthan is a leading youth-led organization in Madhya Pradesh with a dedicated team of over 50 staff, 300 fellows, and 2000 volunteers based out of 120 villages and slums across 3 districts in the state. Deval and Vimal speak about the importance of listening to young people, building grassroot leadership and co-creating solutions with community members. Synergy Sansthan is a part of Rebuild India. To know more about their work visit www.synergysansthan.org If you want to listen to more of No Cost Extension, go to where we have show notes, links and more. Additional Audio:
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The Dignity Deficit: How non-profits are addressing inequities in marginalized communities
08/22/2024
The Dignity Deficit: How non-profits are addressing inequities in marginalized communities
In this special episode of No-Cost Extension, we look back at conversations we’ve had on the podcast around serving with and for dignity. Many NGOs work at the grassroot level with communities that have a deep-rooted legacy of oppression which manifests in every economic and socio-political facet of life. From lack of access to education, employment, resources and legal recourse, all while facing discrimination spanning generations. The only way forward to detangle this insidious web of oppression, is to provide space and resources that enable these very people to take back their power. Listen to Nandita Bhatt from the Martha Farrell Foundation talk about her experience in working with and for domestic workers in India. Revathi Radhakrishnan from Vanavil Trust talks about the stigma and discrimination she’s seen the people of NT-DNT communities in Tamil Nadu face. Deepa Pawar from Anubhuti Trust, reflects on her own journey as an NT-DNT woman herself, and what she wants the future of the sector to be like for her people. You can listen to each of their individual conversations with Deval on the No-Cost Extension feed. If you want to listen to more of No Cost Extension, go to where we have show notes, links and more.
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Navigating Mental Health in the Development Sector
08/08/2024
Navigating Mental Health in the Development Sector
In this special episode of No-Cost Extension we speak to three development sector leaders about This past season, Deval and his guests have talked about mental health in the development sector. From the sense of urgency that never leaves the work and the feeling of inadequacy that leaders experience when faced with the immense scale of the problem at hand. You’ll hear Dhruv Lakra get candid about how the constant hustle of the early days took a toll on him emotionally and physically. Revathi Radhakrishnan the founder of Vanavil Trust opens up about how her mental health took a huge hit doing relief work post with nomadic communities and Denotified Tribes during Covid19. And Vishal Talreja, co-founder of Dream-A-Dream foundation is frank about the toll aspects of his 25 year long stint in the social sector lead to burnout and depression, and how that fuelled the founding of The Cocoon Initiative, a program that provides leaders an opportunity to have an extended break from their work for personal rejuvenation. You can listen to each of their individual conversations with Deval on the No-Cost Extension feed. If you want to listen to more of No Cost Extension, go to where we have show notes, links and more.
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Dr Sitavva Jodatti: Caste, climate and their intersection with India’s Devadasi system
07/25/2024
Dr Sitavva Jodatti: Caste, climate and their intersection with India’s Devadasi system
Dr. Sitavva Jodatti is the founder of the Mahila Abhivruddhi Mattu Samrakshna Samsthe (MASS), an organisation founded to end the devadasi practice in the Belgaum district of Karnataka. The devadasi practice is one in which young girls are devoted and married to a religious deity, before they reaches puberty, to act as a caretaker. Recently, this practice has been used to push girls into prostitution. Dr. Sitavva herself was forced into the devadasi practice at the age of seven and it’s her own experiences that lead to the formation of MASS in 1997. MASS is an association of ex-Devadasi women that largely works with dalit women and children, as well as ex-Devadasis from the dalit community to secure citizen rights and their access to education, livelihoods, and healthcare. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval, Dr. Jodatti and Sabera Shaikh who has been associated with MASS for the last 26 years trace the growth of the organisation, their work with Myrada & KSWDC to end the practice and spread awareness about the system, and their many livelihood and upskilling initiatives in the community. They are also joined by Ustati Gujral, a member of Dasra’s Rebuild India Fund. Sitravvaji was conferred the Padma Shri in 2018 for the incredible work she’s done for the people she represents. This conversation takes place in English, Kannada and Hindi. If you want to listen to more of No Cost Extension, go to where we have show notes, links and more. AUDIO:
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Hejang Misao on giving the youth of Manipur a hopeful future
04/24/2024
Hejang Misao on giving the youth of Manipur a hopeful future
Hejang Misao is the founder and CEO of Integrated Social & Institutional Development for Empowerment (InSIDE-North East), an organization that works towards the empowerment of children, youth and women in Manipur, under the Gun2Pen project. Hejang is no stranger to conflict in his state, and it prompted him to start an organisation that would help those directly or indirectly affected by conflict and violence. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval and Hejang touch upon the history of Manipur, the socio-economic disparities that prevail in the region, and the violence that has beset the state for decades, and which grabbed national and international attention in 2023. Hejang also speaks about the power of music, his belief in bringing people together through sports, and using sports to empower girls in his home state. To know more about the work InSIDE North East does visit If you want to listen to more of No Cost Extension, go to where we have show notes, links and more. Audio used: forest-bird (1).WAV by sama66 CC0 1.0 Football Match ( ALL MANIPUR CINEMATOGRAPHY ASSOCIATION VS ALL MANIPUR MATAM ISHEI KANGLUM KANGLUP) by Sahil Malom CC BY 3.0
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The Rebuild Conversations: On asking uncomfortable and disruptive questions.
04/11/2024
The Rebuild Conversations: On asking uncomfortable and disruptive questions.
The Rebuild Conversations is a series in which the No-Cost Extension team checks in with the Rebuild India Fund Investment Committee members to see how they’re doing, what they’ve been learning and how they envisage for the future of the Fund. Rebuild India’s mission is to provide grassroot organizations with long-term flexible funding that can support them through the course of 5-10 years, without constraints or targets. As of early 2024, the fund has been working with over 142 NGOs from across India. In this conversation recorded in January 2024, you can hear Rameez Alam (Catalyst 2030), Deep Jyoti Sonu Brahma (Farm 2 Food), Deepa Pawar (Anubhuti Trust), Anita Patil (Goonj) and Nandita Pradhan Bhatt (Martha Farrell Foundation) talk about the learning and unlearning of past ideas, grappling with the preconceived biases that we all go into the work with and the difficult questions that need to be asked when navigating the sector. You can listen to the first two Rebuild Conversations on this feed. To know more about the Rebuild India Fund, the work that it does, or more about the investment committee members go to www.rebuildindiafund.org. If you want to listen to more of No Cost Extension, go to where we’ve got show notes, links and a lot more.
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Vishal Talreja on burnout and the road to rebuilding oneself and one's organization
03/28/2024
Vishal Talreja on burnout and the road to rebuilding oneself and one's organization
Twenty five years ago Vishal Talreja founded Dream-a-Dream as a voluntary effort in Mumbai with eleven other individuals who were committed to working with young people. Since then, Ðream-A-Dream has become a non-profit that works with close to 5 million children across six Indian states, with a vision to provide transformative educational experiences that impart life skills to children living in poverty. Deval and Vishal have known each other since the beginning of their journeys in the social sector, and over the years their relationship has grown from one of co-travellers in the same sector and strengthened into one of friendship. After a brief stint in investment banking and running Dream-A-Dream as a volunteer effort, Vishal committed to Dream-A-Dream full time, a decision that wasn’t met with approval by his family. Listen as the Ashoka Fellow and Eisenhower Fellow speaks candidly about his early years setting up Dream-A-Dream, the societal pressures to conform and get a ‘real’ job and meeting his life partner Suchetha who is now the CEO of Dream-A-Dream. In this episode, Vishal also opens up about how building an organization came at the cost of his own mental health and the well-being of his organization. He speaks of his burnout and depression, and how his physical and mental health forced him to pull back and recalibrate, which led him to found The Cocoon Initiative, which allows civil society leaders to take a break from their work to rest, rejuvenate, reflect and revive their core strengths, clarify their purpose and heal their body, mind and spirit from years of having given fully into one’s cause. To know more about the work of Dream-A-Dream please visit . You can find The Cocoon Initiative at . For more information on No-Cost Extension go to and follow Deval on X at and
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Rahima Khatun carries her father’s legacy in to the 21st century
03/14/2024
Rahima Khatun carries her father’s legacy in to the 21st century
Rahima Khatun has been associated with Nari-O-Shishu Kalyan Kendra (NOSKK) an NGO working extensively with the rights and dignity of women and children across West Bengal for over two decades. The earliest seed for NOSKK was sown on Republic Day in 1952 when Rahima’s father started a community library in their village before going on to open madrassas to promote education amongst both men and women. A strong desire to work for the community was ingrained in Rahima as a child and she often spent her weekends building houses, cleaning drains and later worked tirelessly as a youth leader. But it was attending the UN World Conferences on Women in Beijing in 1995 that close to 50,000 women from across the world attended, that strengthened Rahima’s resolve to work in the field of gender rights through NOSKK. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval and Rahima talk about how attending the Beijing conference impacted her and the organisation’s growth, NOSKK’s work in livelihoods, with self help groups and adolescent health and how they intersect. She also speaks about the transformative work of the Migration Resilience Collaborative, changing gender norms and destigmatising mental health in the communities they work with and within her organisation. As a member of the Rebuild India Fund, Rahima shares how unrestricted funding has made a huge change to NOSKK’s way of working and how being a part of the cohort has helped them in myriad ways. Mahaswetha Chakraborty, a member of the Rebuild India Fund communications team was the translator during this conversation. To know more about the work of NOSKK please visit For more information on No-Cost Extension go to and follow Deval on X at and
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Yasmin Madan of Co-Impact: Remeasure the metrics of success
02/29/2024
Yasmin Madan of Co-Impact: Remeasure the metrics of success
From selling horlicks in the Burdwan coalmine districts to studying filmmaking, this week’s guest on No-Cost Extension, Yasmin Madan has led a rich and varied life. After holding various senior level positions at PSI and serving as the Private Sector Lead at Thinkwell, Yasmini joined Co-Impact – a global philanthropic collaborative ‘supporting locally-rooted coalitions working to achieve impact at scale in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.’ At Co-Impact, Yasmin is the Director and US Lead for Philanthropic Collaboration. Her extensive experience running country programs in Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Cambodia working across HIV, malaria, reproductive health, sanitation and cervical cancer led her to realise that there were genuine problems in the system that needed to be dealt with so that the system could serve its people in the long run. In this episode, Yasmin talks about how social innovation is not about disruption but about coordination, collaboration and orchestration. We discuss the difference between funder attribution and contribution, the life changing work of Lend A Hand India, and why we have a moral obligation to impact and scale. You can read more about Co-Impact's work here For more information on No-Cost Extension go to and follow Deval on X at and
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Deepa Pawar: As mediators for our community’s rights, we remain accountable to them
02/15/2024
Deepa Pawar: As mediators for our community’s rights, we remain accountable to them
is the founder and director of the , an organization formed and self-led by women, with the intention to work with youth on developing their leadership so that there are aware and responsible youth in society who can lead change for a more just and equitable world. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval and Deepa sit down at the Dasra office to talk about the stigmatization of Nomadic and Denotifed Tribes in India from the time of colonial rule, their unacknowledged role in the freedom struggle and how they have been historically viewed as outlaws. Deepa speaks of how NDT communities cannot be viewed only through the lens of vulnerability and marginalization, the contribution of women in keeping the culture of the community alive, and how Anubhuti Trust places agency and liberty at the heart of their approach to movement building. She speaks of her accidental entry into the NGO sector, how Anubhuti came to be formed, the various areas their work touches upon - from Dalit activism to anti-caste feminism to environmental justice. Deepa is also a member of the Rebuild India Fund Investment Committee and discusses the need for the development sector to be experimental, the myopic lens through which we often look at results and success and how funders can sometimes get in the way of the work organisations are trying to do. For more information on Anubhuti’s work check out their website at . For more information on No-Cost Extension go to and follow Deval on X at and All additional audio courtesy of Anubhuti Trust/Youtube and field recordings.
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