The SBI Foundation Fellowship programme, known as the SBI Youth for India Fellowship, is a 13-month flagship initiative that enables urban youth to drive sustainable development in rural areas across 12 thematic areas. The programme aims to bridge the gap between urban aspirations and rural realities, while also providing capacity building opportunities for NGOs working at the grassroots level.
In an exclusive interview with TheCSRUniverse, Mr. Sanjay Prakash, CEO and Managing Director of SBI Foundation, sheds light on key aspects of the SBI Youth for India Fellowship programme. He discusses its focus on sustainable rural development, eligibility criteria for diverse participation, and the collaborative approach that fosters partnerships between urban youth, rural communities, and grassroots-level NGOs. He also highlights the program's commitment to long-lasting impact, the integration of innovation and technology, and the inspiring contributions of alumni to society.
Scroll down for deeper insights into this impactful programme.
Q. What is the SBI Youth for India Fellowship program, and how does it work? What are the thematic areas that this programme focuses on?
A. SBI Youth for India Fellowship programme is a 13-month flagship programme of the SBI Foundation. The Fellowship provides an active framework to the urban youth to find sustainable development solutions for rural development.
The SBI Youth for India Fellowship, which is one of its kind, works on 12 thematic areas,including Health, Rural Livelihood, Food Security, Environmental Protection, Education, Water, Technology, Women’s Empowerment, Self-Governance, Social Entrepreneurship, Traditional Craft and Alternate Energy. During the Fellowship program, the Fellows work on one of these 12 areas as per their interest.
Q. What are the eligibility criteria for the programme, and how do you think the participation of NRIs and OCI candidates will help expedite your efforts?
A. The SBI Youth for India Fellowship is open to Indian citizens living in India, Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) and Citizens of Nepal/Bhutan. The cohort consists of highly-motivated graduates, fresh out of college or young working professionals in the age group of 21 to 32 years, willing to commit for a 13-month-long rural Fellowship programme by adapting themselves to challenging rural conditions.
Over the last 10 years, SBI Youth for India program has attracted thousands of Indian youth. This also includes Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) from over 15 countries like US, UK, Germany, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, and Singapore, besides applicants from metropolitan cities of India. Along with their diverse educational backgrounds, these OCI Fellows add immense value with their knowledge & experience of unique solutions available in other countries and how these can be adapted locally to bear fruitful results for our rural development goals. This also gives OCI/NRI youth an opportunity to connect back to their roots and contribute back to their nation.
Q. How does the programme support and facilitate collaboration between urban youth, rural communities, and NGOs at the grassroots level?
A. The SBI Youth for India program aims to fill the gap that exists between urban youth’s aspiration to contribute to the development sector and experience rural reality, as alsosupplement the lack of qualified human resources with diverse educational and professional backgrounds in the NGOs working at the grassroots level. The 13-month long Fellowship provides an active framework for the youth to come up with sustainable development solutions for rural development and capacity building in multiple ways.
Over the last 10 years, Youth for India has seen active participation from hundreds of Indian youth. This also included Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) in addition to applicants from metropolitan cities of India. In terms of capacity building, the Program has impacted over 1,00,000 beneficiaries through the Fellows' interventions ranging across the 12 different thematic areas. These interventions were carried out in 200+ Villages across 20States in India.
Q. What steps does the programme take to ensure that the Fellows' interventions are sustainable and have a long-lasting impact on rural development?
A. Familiarization- The Fellowship begins with a weeklong orientation specially designed to give the fellows an introductory perspective and overview of rural development.Post orientation, NGO are assigned to the fellow based on their interest and skill set. The local NGO staff helps the fellow to settle down and with their support the fellow interacts with the community, local stakeholder to understand the pressing issues in the area/region.
Implementation- After approval of the program area, project objectives and implementation plan by the NGO and SBU YFI, the Fellow takes at least 9-months to implement the project. While the NGO mentors provide support and guidance, SBI YFI conducts 2 review workshops during this phase. A team of experts & alumni share their suggestions to guide the Fellow for taking the project forward smoothly.
Sustenance- During the final phase of the Fellowship, the activities undertaken by the Fellow are completed, Fellow have to identify a person from the local community or NGO who could take over the project once the Fellow leaves the location.
Q. How does the programme ensure that the Fellows have the necessary skills and knowledge to work effectively in rural areas, and how are they trained and prepared for the Fellowship experience?
A. The Fellows go through training at the Orientation program that is organised at the beginning of the Fellowship. The Fellows gain knowledge about various thematic areas from the experts. The Orientation Program is organised at one of the partner NGOs' locations. The aim of the orientation is to give Fellows an overview of the Fellowship and introduction to various thematic areas and familiarise them with the rural setting.
Q. How does the programme incorporate innovation and technology to address rural development challenges, and what role do the Fellows play in this process?
A. The Fellowship encourages the Fellows to use available resources, and known technological advancements to curate unique solutions to improve the existing system and processes of the region. The Fellows felicitate the use of technology in day to day activities of the community like training the masses on digital payment gateways, computer training, online banking, digital literacy like basic email communication, or mobile application usage, etc.
To cite an example, in Orissa farmers were taught GIS Mapping to map new water sources for farming and irrigation. This empowered the farmers with the technical know-how to plan their agricultural needs better.
Q. Can you please share some examples of successful Fellowship alumni, and how have they contributed to society after completing the programme?
A. Over 50 Fellowship alumni have either founded/co-founded or initiated a program, enterprise or non-profits that continue to work in different areas of the Social Sector and impact the lives of millionswith their interventions. About 70% of the Alumni go on to pursue meaningful careers in the social sector by working in Rural Development, Public Policy/Governance, Academia, etc., thereby enabling positive lasting change at the grassroot.
Sharing here some notable alumni contributions:
- Mr. Siddharth Daga, Co-founder of NeoMotion, that designs and customises tech-enabled Wheelchairs. These are life transformative products for the physically challenged and elderly. He also appeared on SharkTank this season.
- Mr Nitish Bhardwaj, a Fellow from the 2016-17 Batch, founded AadiwasiJanjagruti, a non-profit organsaiton that works with communities in remote villages using hyperlocal communications to bring social justice and awareness.
- Ms. Shravani Ladkat, co-founded Eco-Circular India Foundation, a non-profit covering activities under health, livelihood, education, environment and sustainability.
- Another former Fellow is Ms. Shriti Pandey, who founded ‘Strawcture’ in 2018, was covered in Forbes 30 under 30 in the 2021 edition for use of technology that helps in reduction of pollution by compressing crop waste into agri-fibre panels for industrial and commercial builds.
- Another former Fellow Mr. Simran Grover (2011-12) is theFounder & CEO, Bask Research Foundation, a research, and policy advocacy initiative in the energy sector.
- Mr. Himanshu Pandey (Batch 2016-17), currently employed with NITI Aayog & Consults in Capacity Building Commission, Government of India.
Q. What is the lasting impact of this initiative on rural development and capacity building in India? Additionally, please share the geographical reach and scale of this programme.
A. The Fellowship through its Fellows has been able to leave a remarkable footprint in over 200 villages where the Fellows have worked alongside 13 partner NGOs. Their work in the 12 thematic areas namely Health, Rural Livelihood, Food Security, Environmental Protection, Education, Water, Technology, Women’s Empowerment, Self-Governance, Social Entrepreneurship, Traditional Craft and Alternate Energy has not only offered unique solutions to the natives of the land but also created employment opportunities leading to self-sustenance. It’s interesting to note that over 1,00,000 lives have been impacted in 20 States of the country through various initiatives and interventions of the Fellows in the past 10 years. Currently, the 10th Batch of the Fellowship has 69 Fellows working in 15States.
Q. What are the challenges and opportunities of scaling up the programme to reach more rural communities and youth across India?
A. 65% of the population of India comprises youth in the age bracket of 18-35 years which is an opportunity in itself. These are the people who have the potential to be the change makers for the future of the country and the world at large. Though we receive thousands of applications for the Fellowship every year, the challenge remains in tapping the right blend of people who are truly passionate towards rural development and will take the Foundation’s vision forward in as many regions as possible. To solve the problem, our rigorous screening process helps us to filter the most befitted talent pool who go out and implement meaningful interventions in rural areas. This helps to stay consistent and scale up our work in the development sector.
Q. What role does the SBI Foundation play in promoting corporate social responsibility and sustainable development across the State Bank Group, and how does the Youth for India program fit into this broader strategy?
A. SBI as the tagline suggests is a banker to every Indian. In its vision for India & abroad, the State Bank Group aims to serve individuals in the remotest of the parts with solutions that enhance the quality of living. Be it banking, healthcare, education, livelihood, environment, diversity inclusions, etc. the SBI Group is working collectively towards achieving these goals and serving the people as much as possible.
Supporting the same efforts, SBI Foundation, the CSR arm of the State Bank Group, comes with its many programmes that go a step forward in the direction to improve socio-economic well-being of society with a special focus on the marginalised sections. So the SBI Foundation programme Gram Sewa works for the holistic developments of villages, while Jivanam aims to provide access to quality healthcare to the underprivileged, and more.
Youth for India Fellowship programme renders support to the same vision, and offers a ready framework to the youth of the country to work with the rural communities and offer sustainable solutions for the socio-economic upliftment at the very grassroots level.
Q. How does the programme contribute to building a pipeline of young leaders and change-makers who are committed to driving social and environmental impact in India? What's your long-term objective in this?
A. The SBI Youth for India Fellowship allows the youth who have limited or no knowledge about the social sector, to experience first-hand the lives of rural masses. During the 13-months that the Fellows living with the rural communities, get to witness the problem areas that plague the growth of the region. These, if intervened with timely and innovative solutions, can bring about a lasting change in the lives of the natives and give a huge impetus to development work being carried out at grassroots level.
As a long-term vision, through the Youth for India Fellowship, SBI Foundation aims to create a trusted gateway for talented youth to flow into rural development, thereby reviving the grassroots development machinery and benefit marginalized communities.
Note: SBI Foundation is currently accepting registrations for 11th edition of SBI Youth for India Fellowship program. The aspiring applicants can register at www.youthforindia.orgThe deadline to apply is May 31st, 2023.
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