Eklavya India Foundation

Last updated

Eklavya India Foundation
FoundedMay 2017
Founder Raju Kendre
TypeEducation, Nonprofit organisation
FocusEliminating educational inequity in india, grassroots leadership
Location
Area served
India
Website eklavyaindia.org

The Eklavya India Foundation is a non-profit organisation based in India. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Eklavya India Foundation was founded in May 2017. [3]

The foundation works with first-generation college students [4] from historically marginalised groups, such as Adivasi, Dalit, nomadic tribes, and OBC's to help them access higher education, break the cycle of poverty, and become role models in their communities. [5] [6]

Programs and activities

Eklavya serves as a support system, providing mentorship, training, and guidance to first-generation learners from historically underrepresented communities of Maharashtra. This empowers them to pursue education at premier Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) while fostering grassroots leadership in academia, policy, law, media, and development. The foundation trains students for undergraduate and postgraduate educational opportunities and conducts career-building training programs for graduates. [7] [8] [9]

Since 2017, 500,000 students [10] from rural and tribal areas participated in career awareness workshops organised by the foundation. With their help, 2000 first-generation students were able to enroll in 100 different Universities and fellowship programs including Central Universities, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Indian Institutes of Technology, and Indian Institutes of Management, among many others. In all, they have provided 0.8 million hours of career counseling and mentoring, [11] [12] [13] [14] and facilitating scholarships valued at more than USD 7 million. [15] [16]

Global Scholars Program

The Eklavya Global Scholars Program (GSP) helps students prepare for master's and PhD programs in top universities worldwide, focusing on humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields. [17] [18] [19] The program addresses the underrepresentation of students from marginalised communities in India at the Global level, the pilot batch saw over 60 first-generation students, with 50 receiving offers from Ivy League and tier-2 universities in Europe and the United States. [20] [21] [22]

The Eklavya Foundation worked with more than 150 scholars in its first two cohorts of Master's and PhD programs, supporting them with their application processes. Seventy-five scholars have been accepted into worldwide universities, including Harvard, Columbia, and Georgetown in the USA, and the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Edinburgh, and SOAS in the UK and several other academic institutions. [23]

Eklavya is incubated at Echoing Green, SOAS London, [24] [25] NRCEL at IIM Bangalore, and The Nudge Institute in Bangalore. [26] [27]

Awards

References

  1. "How an NGO is giving wings to the dreams of students from marginalised communities to pursue higher studies abroad | Pune News – The Indian Express". 2024-03-16. Archived from the original on 2024-03-16. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  2. "Raju Kendre: Farmer's son connecting youth from tribal & marginalised communities with India's top educational institutions". 2024-03-16. Archived from the original on 2024-03-16. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  3. "Raju Kendre: Empowering First Generation Learners". Forbes India. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  4. Khan, Bilal. "Raju Kendre: Farmer's son connecting youth from tribal & marginalised communities with India's top educational institutions". 30stades.com. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  5. "Melghat to Pune via Eklavya Movement: A Journey Of Dreams and Aspirations". 2023-12-11. Archived from the original on 2023-12-11. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  6. "From the hinterland of Vidarbha, an edu movement places first-gen learners in top institutes". The Times of India. 2021-08-05. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  7. "Eklavya India Foundation rolls out 3-day higher education workshop drive in Kargil | The Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh | India" . Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  8. "From the hinterland of Vidarbha, an edu movement places first-gen learners in top institutes". The Times of India. 2021-08-05. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  9. Sethu, Divya (2021-07-13). "Farmer's Son Helps 125 Marginalized Students Access Higher Education & Fellowships". The Better India. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  10. "Social Action Award 2025 | Study UK". study-uk.britishcouncil.org. Archived from the original on 2025-08-06. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  11. "Melghat to Pune via Eklavya Movement: A Journey Of Dreams and Aspirations". 2024-03-16. Archived from the original on 2024-03-16. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  12. "यवतमाळ : आदिवासी आश्रमशाळांतील ३५ विद्यार्थ्यांना नामांकित संस्थांमध्ये प्रवेश, 'एकलव्य'सह आदिवासी प्रकल्प कार्यालयाचा पथदर्शी उपक्रम". Loksatta (in Marathi). 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  13. Taneja, Nidhima (2022-09-04). "After JNU, IIT, tribal students at Yavatmal's Eklavya now dream global—Chevening to DAAD". ThePrint. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  14. Sethu, Divya (2021-07-13). "Farmer's Son Helps 125 Marginalized Students Access Higher Education & Fellowships". The Better India. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  15. "Four SOAS alumni win British Council Study UK Alumni Awards | SOAS". www.soas.ac.uk. 2025-04-16. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  16. "ब्रिटीश कौन्सिलचा 'ग्लोबल अल्युम्नी अवॉर्ड' राजू केंद्रे यांना, या यादीत येणारे एकमेव भारतीय". Loksatta (in Marathi). 2025-08-27. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  17. "परदेशात शिक्षण घ्यायचंय? काळजी कसली करता, एकलव्य आहे ना...!". Maharashtra Times (in Marathi). Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  18. "How an NGO is giving wings to the dreams of students from marginalised communities to pursue higher studies abroad". Indian Express. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  19. "From Rural Vidarbha to the World Stage: Raju Kendre's Pursuit of Excellence and Social Impact". 2024-03-16. Archived from the original on 2024-03-16. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  20. "Eklavya's study abroad initiative will 'create leaders with empathy': Raju Kendre". news.careers360.com. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  21. Taneja, Nidhima (2022-09-04). "After JNU, IIT, tribal students at Yavatmal's Eklavya now dream global—Chevening to DAAD". ThePrint. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  22. "Host of institutes in Pune open up options for students who wish to migrate to US, Europe". The Indian Express. 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
  23. "Eklavya Global Scholars Program cohort 3 launches tomorrow; selection process". Careers360. 2024-04-13. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  24. "Raju Kendre: Empowering First Generation Learners". Forbes India. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  25. Peddulwar, Anita (2022-02-09). "लोणार के राजू केंद्रे फोर्ब्स पत्रिका की सूची में". www.bhaskarhindi.com (in Hindi). Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  26. "Eklavya Foundation". csi.thenudge.org. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  27. Ramesh, Anusha (2022-01-20). "The/Nudge Incubator Announces Cohort 8 : Meet The 15 Early Stage Non-Profits Solving For Poverty Alleviation In India At Scale [Part 1]". thelogicalindian.com. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  28. "तरूणाईच्या कार्याला होणार झी युवा सन्मान पुरस्काराने सलाम; गुढीपाडवाच्या दिवशी पहा झी युवा सन्मान!". Zee 24 taas (in Marathi). 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  29. "Raju Kendre: Empowering First Generation Learners". Forbes India. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  30. "Raju Kendre in Forbs 30 Under 30 : उच्च शिक्षणाच्या माध्यमातून तळागाळातील नेतृत्त्व उभं राहावं हा प्रयत्न – चेवनिंग स्कॉलर राजू केंद्रेंसोबत संवाद". ETV Bharat News (in Marathi). 10 February 2022. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  31. Writer, Staff (2024-08-09). "Four Startup Founders from Nigeria, 40 Others Selected for Echoing Green 2024 Cohort of Fellows". Tech | Business | Economy. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  32. "Inlaks Shivdasani Fellows for Social Engagement 2023: Dipesh Agarwala, Fakirappa. S. Harijan, Raju Kendre and Rucha Satoor". Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation Blog. 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  33. "Breaking down barriers: How Raju Kendre is redefining opportunities for India's marginalised communities | Chevening". 2025-09-01. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  34. "Maharashtra Gaurav 2025: Zee24 TAAS to showcase success stories that define the state's soul on 24th May 2025 - Passionate In Marketing Maharashtra Gaurav 2025: Zee24 TAAS to showcase success stories that define the state's soul on 24th May 2025". Passionate In Marketing. 2025-05-23. Retrieved 2025-09-01.
  35. "brief introduction of selected loksatta tarun tejankit awards winner zws 70". Loksatta (in Marathi). 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2025-09-01.