Malnutrition and Sanitation in India

This is an edited version of Rohini Nilekani and Pavan Srinath’s discussion on malnutrition and sanitation in India. This conversation took place on the sidelines of the Takshashila-Hudson conference, “Shaping India’s New Growth Agenda: Implications for the World” in Bangalore on August 1-2, 2014. Over the last two decades India has made a lot of […]

Make good, affordable books accessible to kids: Rohini Nilekani

BANGALORE: One story was narrated to hundreds of children across the country on Saturday, thanks to the initiative of Pratham Books, headed by Rohini Nilekani. Rohini speaks to STOI on the importance of reading and why it lags among children. View PDF

We need to create physical and virtual libraries everywhere

The work of governments and ngos over the past two decades has certainly helped millions of children, all first-generation learners, get into school and take their first steps towards reading. However, for a vast majority, there is almost nothing joyful or interesting for them to practise their newfound skills on. The children of our elite […]

Philanthropy in India Is Taking Its Own Route

A debate was going on about a government proposal to make it compulsory for companies to spend 2% of their net pro?ts on corporate social responsibility (CSR). Rohini Nilekani, philanthropist and chairperson of Arghyam, a foundation she set up with a private endowment to work on water and sanitation issues in India, says she has […]

Jaipur Literature Festival, 2013 | A Surrogate Life

This is an edited version of a conversation at the Jaipur Literature Festival, 2013, between Kishwar Desai, Jaishree Misra, and Rohini Nilekani, as part of the Rajasthan Patrika Series.     Often, I find myself wishing that the subject of my book, “Stillborn” was not as relevant as it is today. But when we look […]

Christian Science Monitor Profiles Rohini Nilekani of Pratham Books

In case you missed it, the Christian Science Monitor recently published a wonderfully inspiring story about Rohini Nilekani, the Bangalore based philanthropist who founded Pratham Books, a nonprofit publishing company that provides low cost books to millions of poor children across India. View PDF

Rohini Nilekani pours her wealth into getting books to India’s poorest children

When she found herself suddenly wealthy, the Indian philanthropist founded Pratham Books, a nonprofit publisher that uses innovative ways to put low-cost books in the hands of millions of kids. “My mission is to put a book in every child’s hand,” says Rohini Nilekani That’s an ambitious goal anywhere, but especially in India, where there […]

Talk Time – Rohini Nilekani in conversation with tanmoy goswami – The Smart Manager

SMART SUMMARY: In 2008, United Airlines allegedly broke a $3500 custom made guitar belonging to Canadian musician Dave Carroll. Following many rounds of fruitless dialog, during which the company’s managers relentlessly cited ‘policy’ and refused to compensate the musician, Carroll made a music video called United Breaks Guitars that had amassed 10 million views on […]

Charge of the compassionate brigade

Modern society is classified into different segments. First you have the state, as represented by elected officials and lawmakers, politicians, ministers, bureaucrats and other organs of the state. Then there are the commercial bodies — companies, chambers of commerce and other market players. The third segment (there is a fourth, the underworld and the mafia, […]

Our mission is safe and sustainable water for all

in the third of Mint’s “Joy Of Giving Week” interview series, Rohini Nilekani, chairperson and founder of Arghyam, talks about the foundation she set up to address the problem of one of India’s scarcest resources—water. View PDF