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The Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT), a registered, not-for-profit organisation, was established in 2002 to address the development needs of the underprivileged of the country, especially the rural poor. The Trust's strategic objectives have been shaped by the vision of Shri Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, of implementing programmes that have sustainable impact and are instrumental in transforming the lives of the poor. RGCT presently works in the poorest regions of Uttar Pradesh, one of the least developed states in the country, and Haryana through two development initiatives: Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana (RGMVP) and Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital and Research Centre (IGEHRC).
RGMVP is the largest social mobilisation programme for women's empowerment in Uttar Pradesh with its work impacting 42 districts. It organises women to harness their individual and collective potentials as change agents, enabling them to facilitate poverty reduction by disrupting hierarchy and changing the power relations so that they feel empowered to claim their rightful place as equal citizens in society. IGEHRC, the largest provider of quality eye care in Uttar Pradesh, covers 12 districts and provides affordable eye care, especially to poor people, to eliminate avoidable blindness. It also operates in Sohna, Haryana, targeting the backward Mewat region.
In the last 13 years, the Trust has worked tirelessly to help millions of the poorest people to overcome poverty, social exclusion, and mitigating circumstances to lead productive lives. It has supported them in gaining access to social and economic opportunities by facilitating linkages to markets, delivery systems, and rights and entitlements. RGCT's unique models of scaling up and sustainability ensure inclusion of last mile populations into the mainstream. In the process, the Trust has built up teams whose professional competence contributes significantly to cost-effective and innovative delivery of services to the poor. Internally, the Trust has evolved into a result-oriented, ethical and transparent organisation that seeks to maximise the impact of all available resources and is fully accountable to all its stakeholders.
To strive for an equitable and just society by opening the doors of opportunity for the self-advancement of the poor and the deprived
RGCT has set itself challenging goals that aim to ensure that the benefits of its Projects reach the largest number of the underprivileged in the shortest time possible. Strategies and short- and long-term goals, therefore, give primacy to scalability and sustainability of its Projects.
The Trust has processes in place that safeguard the efficiency of its operations, reliability of financial data and compliance with mandatory rules and regulations. Transparency and effective management are assured through clearly laid down policies, an effective organisational structure, and procedures for supervision and accountability.
The Trust believes in making informed decisions. Using Information and Communication Technology (ICT), significant parameters and processes are measured and regularly reviewed to gauge the effectiveness and impact of its development interventions.
RGCT also believes in collaboration and cooperation with like-minded partners to achieve its vision. It actively seeks support from organisations and individuals that can contribute to making its long-term goals a reality.
Mrs. Sonia Gandhi is Interim President of the Indian National Congress, Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance in the Lok Sabha and the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. She is the wife of former Prime Minister of India, Shri Rajiv Gandhi.
Mr. Rahul Gandhi is the Vice President of the Indian National Congress and the Chairperson of the Indian Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India. He is the son of Shri Rajiv Gandhi. He is also Member of Parliament for Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.
Dr. Ashok Ganguly associated with a number of enterprises. He has been Director of the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India and is also member of Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry and the National Knowledge Commission, amongst others. Dr. Ganguly is the recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, and the Economic Times Lifetime Achievement Award.
Mr. Mehta is a Chartered Accountant and former President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He is associated with a number of committees and enterprises.
Over the past decade and a half, Kanishka Singh has been actively involved in political and social work in India. His social work is principally in the fields of rural development, eyecare, healthcare and financial inclusion. Since 2005, he has been part of a team which developed the largest eye care system in North India. He also serves as a Trustee of the largest charitable hospital in the state of Uttar Pradesh and of the most visited small museum in India. He earlier worked as an investment banker in the Media Mergers & Acquisitions practice of Lazard Freres & Co. in New York.
Kanishka attended St. Stephen's College, Delhi and the Freie Universitat, Berlin. He graduated from the Huntsman Program in International Studies & Business - a dual degree program of the School of Arts and Sciences and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania from where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies as well as a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a concentration in Finance. He also has an LL.B. from the Campus Law Centre at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi and is licensed to practice law in India.
Dr. Y.S.P. Thorat who retired as Chairman, NABARD in November 2007, was till recently Executive Chairman of the Dry land Farming Commission and Chairman of the Agriculture Universities Recruitment Board, Government of Maharashtra.
Dr. Thorat's current appointment with other organisations/ institutions include: Adjunct Professor, Department of Economics, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Adviser, Pravara Rural Education Society, Member, Managing Council and Executive Committee Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, Director, Britannia Limited, Go Air and Bombay Burmah Trading Company Limited etc.
In addition to being on the Boards of several companies including Tatas, Dr. Thorat was Adjunct Professor, Yashwantrao Chavan School of Rural Development, Shivaji University, Kolhapur and Secretary General, Pravara Rural Education Society. He was on the Board of the National Institute of Bank Management, Pune, Chairman of the Indian Society of Agriculture Economics, and Member of the Senate and Academic Council, Shivaji University, Kolhapur.
Dr. Thorat, recipient of the prestigious Gopal Krishna Gokhale Award at university, also holds a degree in Law, a doctorate in Economics and a D.Lit.
Dr. Thorat started his career in the Reserve Bank of India in 1972 and was appointed its Executive Director in 2003. During service Dr. Thorat was associated with the Planning Commission, Government of India for the 10th, and 11th Five Year Plans.
Dr. Thorat is very much a son of the soil and his family has contributed significantly to the city and the nation. His grandfather was in the Imperial Agriculture Service and was Director of Agriculture Bombay State. His father General Thorat, Kirti Chakra, DSO, Padma Shree was a highly decorated soldier who distinguished himself in World War 2 and as the Force Commander of the Custodian Force in Korea.
Mr. Mahendra has been a part of Indian Bank, a well-known and profit-making public-sector bank, for 37 years, joining as an Officer and rising to the positions of Branch Manager, Zonal Manager and General Manager. He has successfully handled varied work areas, starting from field work, branch administration, zonal administration and finally as a functional general manager at corporate office. His domains of specialisation include finance, credit, recovery, legal, audit/ inspection, risk management and HR, specifically training and development. He has also been a Director at Puduvai Grameena Bank, Pondicherry and Saptagiri Grameena Bank, Chittoor.
An ophthalmic surgeon and clinician with 28 years of experience, Dr. Tara has conducted more than 1,00,000 cataract surgeries, over 50,000 Phacoemulsification surgeries and 10,000 plus Glaucoma surgeries. He is well-versed in the latest modalities of medical and surgical management, in addition to having experience in other fields such as paediatric ophthalmology, squint and occuloplasty.
He is a member of the editorial board on Cataract, Delhi Ophthalmic Journal and has faculty experience with DNB and Para Medic Training programmes. Dr. Tara has rich management experience in running hospitals in a sustainable manner. He has worked as Medical Director with Eye 7 Hospital Private Limited, New Delhi; as CEO with Venu Eye Institute & Research Centre, Delhi; at Gandhi Eye Hospital, Aligarh; Dr. RML Hospital Delhi and Moolchand Hospital, Delhi, prior to joining IGEHRC.
Mr. Mohanan is responsible for the strategy, management and evaluation of all programme activities of RGMVP. He served as General Manager of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) before joining RGMVP. He has a working experience of over 36 years in various positions in the Reserve Bank of India and NABARD. He has expertise in areas such as development banking, credit planning and monitoring, rural development, organisation development interventions (ODI) and bank supervision. He was involved in microfinance and SHG development in India in various capacities at NABARD since the introduction of the concept by NABARD in 1992. He was also part of the NABARD team which associated with the design and formulation of the successful Kudumbashree Programme in Kerala. He also has international exposure of microfinance in Bangladesh, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. He had also conducted impact evaluation studies on SHG bank linkages in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra and had held the position of Member of Faculty in Bankers Institute for Rural Development (BIRD) for five years. Upon retirement from NABARD, he joined RGMVP in May 2012.
Mr. Sinha is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has a post graduate degree in Commerce. He has over 20 years of work experience, a significant part of which has been with the not-for-profit sector. He has proven expertise in financial management, operations and controls in management of large projects with pan-India operations. His core strength includes managing complex budgets, donor relations, governance issues, strengthening and simplifying systems and procedures. Prior to joining the Trust, he has served in senior leadership positions with the World Health Organization (WHO), National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), American India Foundation (AIF), Population Services International (PSI) and Katha.
