sanchayan profile

Copyright Sanchayan Society

Sanchayan

Enhancing income and enabling qualitative financial inclusion for the youth, urban migrants and rural populations through a gendered approach to savings, financial literacy and microfinance using technology

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Contents

GENESIS OF

SANCHAYAN

FINANCIAL INCLUSION &

LITERACY

SANCHAYAN VERTICALS

TARGET GROUPS

RESEARCH &

MONITORING2

FUTURE PLANS

BOARD OF ADVISORS

SANCHAYAN TEAM

GET INVOLVED

CONTACT US


Genesis of Sanchayan – Meena’s story

A 21 year old Meena has just got a job in a call centre in Gurgaon. She earns Rs. 8,000 per month which is directly credited to her salary account. This is Meena’s first bank account. However, she does not know how to operate it. She is yet to learn how to write a cheque or make a demand draft. This story is not just that of Meena but of a majority of the workforce in India.

Youth of our country are sincere, hard-working, focused and aim at becoming successful managers, doctors, lawyers, teachers, scientists, etc. There is one

aspect however that can better prepare them for the future and that is

“financial education”!

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Genesis of Sanchayan – Yash’s story

Yash, a 15 year old student has collected Rs. 1,000 in his piggy bank. He is quite excited as he plans to buy a new pair of shoes. Yash may not understand the significance of spending Rs.1,000 now rather than saving it, but he does know the value of money, considering that it took him more than 3 months to save this amount.

In life, you have to make many decisions that will affect your future. An important decision is whether or

not you will take your money seriously and be financially responsible.

Preparing the next generation for future challenges is a big

responsibility. With countries defaulting and facing economic crisis, the complexities of managing finances

are out in the open!

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Rosmin is a final year student of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing, Asia’s oldest nursing college. Rosmin is very happy as she has just got an internship with a hospital in New Delhi which pays her Rs. 7500 per month. The hospital has also opened a savings account in Rosmin’s name and her salary gets transferred there every month. On average, she manages to save Rs.3,000 out of this which lies unused in her bank account. She realises that ‘Money not invested is Money lost’ as the prices of everything keeps going up. She is keen to invest her savings, but does not have a demat account nor any knowledge about the investment opportunities available in the market.

Rosmin is not an exception but a common example of the average Indian youth who lacks adequate financial knowledge!

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Genesis of Sanchayan - Rosmin’s story


Sanchayan team member imparting financial education to Farmers as part of World Bank supported National Agriculture Innovation Project (NAIP) 6

Genesis of Sanchayan


International Gateway for Financial Education (IGFE), created by the OECD is a database of the various financial literacy programs being undertaken globally. This database lists the following programs for India:

Government programmes in India:

• Project Financial Literacy, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), (www.rbi.org.in)• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), (www.sebi.gov.in)

Civil society programmes in India:

• The MoneyMatters Financial Literacy Project, Sanchayan Society (www.SanchayanSociety.org)

OECD Recognition

Click the link below for further information.

http://www.rbi.org.in/FinancialEducation

http://www.sebi.gov.in/

http://www.sanchayansociety.org/

http://www.financial-education.org/document/27/0,3343,en_39665975_39667053_40247579_1_1_1_1,00.html


Vision and Mission

• VISIONEnhancing income and enabling qualitative financial inclusion for the youth, urban migrants and rural populations through a gendered approach to savings, financial literacy and microfinance using technology

• MISSION Financial Literacy: Disseminate financial literacy to Youth and Adults and

the underprivileged sections. Financial Access: Facilitate the inclusion of the underprivileged section

into the mainstream banking and financial services industry. Financial Security: Spread awareness and knowledge so that the youth

and adults are protected from risks. Financial Advocacy: Work with the government and regulators to provide

basic financial products and services for the youth. Financial Market Deepening: Promote maximum utilization of available

financial products and services among the Indian public. Financial Education: Complement the existing academic curriculum in

schools and colleges by addition of financial literacy workshops to create smart future investors. 8

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The above diagram illustrates Sanchayan’s core philosophy about the interconnected concepts of Financial Literacy, Financial Education, Financial Knowledge and the critical issue of Financial Inclusion. Sanchayan believes that once the process of financial literacy starts at the elementary level, this will lead to the second step of financial education which will further serve as a platform for the spread of informal financial knowledge sharing among the common man. Literacy, education and knowledge would empower the common man to be included in the financial system. Therefore, financial literacy is only the first step to this entire process and is the foundation for creating financial inclusion.

Financial Knowledge

Financial EducationFinancial Empowerment Pyramid

Bottom-up Approach

Sanchayan Philosophy


Key Capabilities

• An organization focused 100% on financial literacy and inclusion • Exploring the qualitative aspect to the issue of “Access to Finance”, by clubbing financial

inclusion with financial literacy to ensure access along with knowledge dissemination• Committed core team in place to conceptualize and test financial literacy modules and

different delivery models• Comprehensive understanding of the twin issues of financial inclusion and financial literacy• Extensive experience in conceptualization and implementation of different financial literacy

programs for diverse groups• Thorough understanding of the target groups’ needs• Ability to form strategic institutional tie-ups for program testing and launch among different

target groups • Financial literacy training team in place to conduct financial literacy programs in Delhi/NCR

(exploring innovative, low-cost models to soon expand to major and tier-2 cities) • Comprehensive training strategy for professionals/bankers/microfinance staff/corporate

employees to enable them to conduct financial literacy programs• Tie –ups with financial institutions for financial inclusion initiatives• Tie-ups with regulatory authorities and financial institutions for joint financial literacy drives

(in process)• Research and documentation of the twin issues of financial inclusion and financial literacy

(whitepapers to be released shortly)• Continuous feedback collection and measurement to understand the impact of financial

literacy programs• Financial management systems in place to monitor and deploy funds as per targets

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Financial Inclusion & LiteracyWhat is financial inclusion and literacy?

Financial Inclusion is “The process of ensuring access to appropriate financial products and services needed by vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low income groups at an affordable cost in a fair and transparent manner by mainstream Institutional players.”

Financial Literacy is “simply the ability to understand finance. It is the process by which people improve their understanding of financial products, services and concepts. This empowers them to make informed choices, avoid pitfalls, know where to go for help and take other actions to improve their financial well-being. It is the sum-total of awareness, knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about savings, investments, borrowings and expenditure.”

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Copyright Sanchayan SocietySource: Invest India Incomes and Savings Survey 2007 by IIMS Dataworks12

Financial Inclusion & Literacy situation in India

In India, where a majority of the poor earn less than $2 a day, the primary aim of the Central Government, Regulatory Authorities and Financial Institutions is to include the rural & urban poor in the financial system by providing them access to banking and other financial products and services at a low cost, in a convenient and timely manner. In a country as large and diverse as India, spreading financial inclusion and awareness across the length and breadth of India would require the regulatory authorities, stock exchanges and financial institutions to come together on a single platform and make joint implementation efforts; however this is not being done

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Sanchayan Verticals

Sanchayan Youth Finance

Program

School students

College students

NGO youth

Sanchayan Suraksha Point

[SSP]

Women

Urban Migrants

Labourers

Sanchayan FLIPTech

Farmers Clubs

SHGs

Microfinance

borrowers


Sanchayan Youth Finance Program (Financial education for formal and informal institutions)

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VERTICAL 1 Youth (Schools, Colleges and NGO Youth) – Sanchayan imparts literacy to teenagers & youth associated with formal as well as non-formal schools, colleges and educational institutes and partner ngos.

The need for financial education for this segment arises due to the following reasons: Increased resources with the privileged section of the children and

youth leading to irresponsible handling of money Children are losing the culture of savings and are inculcating wasteful

consumption habits Need for financial education for the underprivileged so that they can

plan for financial security and an independent financial future


Sanchayan Suraksha Point (SSP)(Financial inclusion & literacy for urban migrants/labourers)

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VERTICAL 2 Urban Migrant Communities – This will be one of the world’s few (if not first) venture which seeks to serve the unbanked, uninsured, excluded urban poor/migrants/labourers

In the cities, Sanchayan’s focus is on working with the different resettlement colonies, slums and unauthorized zones where the majority of the urban poor live in Delhi and NCR like Madipur, Kotla Mubarakpur, Burari, Nizamuddin,Timarpur, Badarpur, Jahangirpuri, Madipur and other zones where the majority of the urban poor live. Sanchayan’s work in this areas stems for the need to: Create Awareness about various financial products, services and systems like informal

savings, lending practices and other financial transactions Emphasis on Risks associated with different financial schemes like informal remittance

mechanisms, matkas, chit funds, loan sharks, etc which lead to loss of hard-earned savings for the urban poor

Bringing the marginalized and the excluded into the fold of the mainstream financial services and banking industry

Indirectly Influencing the use of remittances back home, wherein the urban poor have some a say in the use of remittance money towards education for the children and other productive purposes

Financial Planning for the urban poor so that they can plan for emergencies and become financially secure in the long run

Cheaper and Safer ways of undertaking financial transactions


Sanchayan FLIPTech(Financial literacy drives for rural populations earning livelihoods)

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VERTICAL 3 Rural Communities with an emphasis on Livelihoods - Even basic awareness drives related to financial inclusion & literacy, which is presently not happening, can help achieve a lot in the rural sector. The Indian Government’s, RBI’s, Banks’ and Financial Institutions’ focus is only on ‘Financial Inclusion’ without first providing adequate ‘Financial Literacy’ to the millions of rural populations who are excluded from the formal financial system. Whereas Sanchayan’s focus is on making the common citizen financially literate so that he/she can make independent & informed financial decisions and individually undertake the process of becoming included in the formal financial system, thus leading to financial inclusion, thereby achieving the objectives of the Indian Government, Regulators and Financial Institutions. This process of knowledge-sharing is not happening as of now!! Sanchayan seeks to empower the rural masses to be self-reliant and to plan for a financially secure future.


Everyone wants to be financially responsible. Financial issues affect all aspects of your everyday life such as plans for a family and a home, cost of living etc.

To be financially literate requires a few simple steps that includes being aware of the power of money and being responsible with money.

Sanchayan Society aims to disseminate financial literacy to future investors:• School Students• College Students• Underprivileged Youth • Underprivileged Adults• Agricultural and Industrial Labourers• People engaged in un-organized sectors• Physically challenged people• Underprivileged section in rural and urban areas like cooks, maids,

farmers, fruit and vegetable vendors, tea stall owners, etc

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Target Groups


• Feedback process through questionnaire• Post workshop monitoring and evaluation• Document the access to financial services pre and post workshop• Online support mechanism for beneficiaries• Research into the level of financial literacy and awareness in India

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Research and Monitoring


Sanchayan Society seeks to spread financial literacy and awareness among the youth and adults through the Sanchayan Financial Empowerment Program. The future goals include:

1. Launch of farmers financial literacy drive in rural areas2. Joint financial literacy drives with public and private banks3. Launch of the Sanchayan Model in other cities and towns across India 4. Development of Teachers and Parents Financial Literacy Program5. Tie ups with NGOs across India for joint program implementation

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FUTURE PLANS


PRESS COVERAGE


Prof. Anand Sharma (Independent Advisor)

Dr. Anand Kumar Sharma, formerly Chair Professor Railway Finance, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, currently Professor and Chairperson Finance area at Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, has been a trainer for the last thirty years. His areas of research interest include infrastructure finance, public procurement, public private partnership and public policy. A large section of the country’s civil services including members of the IAS, IPS, and Finance and Accounts services of central and the state governments have benefited from his deliberations. Dr Sharma, a member of Indian Railway Accounts Service (1981 Batch), has served the ministry in various capacities. He has been the Executive Director, Railway Board (Ministry of Railways), Government of India, Deputy Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer, Western Railways. Dr. Sharma has been a member of Task Force for numerous government initiatives, including the one constituted by Cabinet Secretary on ‘Revision in Norms for Public Procurement’. Here he served as Member secretary.

He was a visiting Scholar at Graduate School of Business (GSB), Stanford University. He received his training in Financial Management on Capital Investment Appraisal and Asset Management at Manchester Business School. He shared his perspectives with management students of IIM, Bangalore through the elective Managing Public Private Partnership. He has led more than eighty management development programs and workshops for participants across nations. Many of these were conducted in association and consultation with the World Bank.

Dr. Sharma started his teaching career at Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University in 1975. He earned his Ph.D. in Finance from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, University of Bombay. Prior to this he completed his Masters from Delhi School of Economics (academic scholarship recipient) and L.L.B from University of Delhi.

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Board of Advisors


Sanjeev Vasudev (Independent Advisor)Sanjeev moved to the development sector after a career in the private sector spanning two decades in the fields of finance, communications, and Internet technologies. Since 2000 Sanjeev has been working in the development sector, first with a multi-lateral organisation and now manages a development consulting company and an NGO focused on the cause of agriculture. Beyond this, he is on the Board of an NGO doing exemplary work in the field of woman and child development in areas of health and education. A brief profile of these organizations is given below:

STADD Development Consulting Pvt. Ltd.: STADD works in the South Asia region in areas of rural livelihoods, natural resource management and technologies. Over the years it has built a strong track record of assignments handled for institutions such as IFAD, CFC, UNCTAD, UNDP-GEF, and ICIMOD, to name a few. Please view www.stadd.com to know more.

SocietySTADD: This not-for-profit institution is working to further development causes such as agriculture, water, and rural infrastructure. Among one of the major initiatives supported by SocietySTADD is the Professional Alliance for Conservation Agriculture (PACA) that is advocating the cause of Conservation Agriculture. Please view www.conserveagri.org to know more.

SSMI: Swami Sivanand Memorial Institute (SSMI) is a four-decade old institution involved in various programs of the government such as ICDS (Jehangirpuri - 16,000 children), Mid-day Meal Scheme (Chandigarh - 25,000 children), Gender Resource Centre (West Delhi - 8 GRCs), Eye and Dental Clinic for the under-privileged, and an aided school (Balwadi to Xth standard - 1,000 children). Beyond these regular activities, SSMI is involved in matters of policy working closely with the government. www.ssmi.in

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Board of Advisors

http://www.stadd.com/

http://www.conserveagri.org/

http://www.conserveagri.org/


Inderjeet Singh Basra (Independent Advisor)

Inderjeet brings with him a rich experience of the Indian development sector. He has more than 22 years of diverse industry experience. He started his career with hospitality industry and then moved to the development in the year 2000. He has been working in the development sector mainly with bi-lateral donors. He started with Canadian International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDA) and presently working with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Along with Sanchayan Society, Inderjeet is also associated with “Kalgidhar Trust”, an NGO in Himachal Pradesh, doing exemplary work in the field of health, education, women empowerment and rural development. Inderjeet is also pursuing a post-graduate programme in management from Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, one of the reputed and premier business schools in India.

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Board of Advisors


Avik Kedia (Founder, Sanchayan Society) Avik brings with him a rich experience having worked with some of the leading international audit, tax and advisory firms. During his corporate career with the global consultancy firms, Avik has been involved in assignments of leading Indian corporate groups like DLF, Ranbaxy, Bharti Airtel and many other large corporate houses. This has given him a valuable insight into how organizations are established and managed successfully. As part of his consulting stint, Avik has travelled widely throughout the country, which gave him the opportunity to see the low level of financial literacy and investor awareness prevalent in India. An in-depth research in the issue reinforced his conclusions when he found that only 3.5% of the population were actually participating in the markets and investing. This was the turning point in his career, when Avik decided to take a break from his promising finance career to establish Sanchayan Society to spread awareness about banking, financial planning and investing among the common man, especially the youth. Avik worked tirelessly from scratch to establish Sanchayan Society, a venture dedicated to financial literacy for the young adults and the youth. Avik has conducted extensive number of workshops on financial literacy for the youth covering topics ranging from the importance of saving and budgeting to the basics of banking and investing. He is now working on expanding financial literacy and awareness across the country to tier-2 cities, towns and remote villages, and has tied up with various ngos for joint implementation and resource-sharing. Sanchayan Society has recently been recognised by OECD for its innovative approach to financial literacy and awareness in India. Avik has been an avid investor in the capital markets since his college days and has accumulated significant practical experience in investment concepts and theories which he now shares with the MBA students of Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, where he teaches Corporate Finance on weekends. Avik’s interests range from tracking global markets to reading business books and sharing first-hand investing knowledge with young adults. Avik is a chartered accountant and a commerce graduate from Hindu College, University of Delhi.

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Sanchayan Team


Chidambara Sagar (Founder, Sanchayan Society)

Chidambara is a freelance art consultant and a professional trainer for outreach programs which has given her an excellent insight into the minds of young adults. She planned and managed the first ever in India ‘The Dream Museum Project’, launched by the Devi Art Foundation in collaboration with Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong. For Sanskriti Foundation, she conceptualized, designed and delivered a two day residential workshop for children on International Museum Day and for outreach on Geddes Fellowship she interacted with the students of Mirambika school. Chidambara has been actively working to create awareness around various social and cultural issues. She was instrumental in the organisation of SOIMA’09, a month long international training program for adults. She is also associated with Sagar NGO and Archaeological Survey of India as a supervisor and consultant-trainer for training art-historians, museologists and conservators. Chidambara is a dynamic, talented and passionate individual who has been the inspiration for Sanchayan Society to become what it is today. Chidambara believed in the need for financial literacy among the teenagers and youth and was instrumental in setting up Sanchayan Society. Being a non-finance person, Chidambara brings with her a fresh outlook and perspective on financial literacy for the youth. Chidambara is responsible for volunteer management, coordinating with participating institutions, program design and refinement and development of games, videos and soft modules. Chidambara holds a masters’ in History of Art from National Museum Institute and is a graduate from St. Stephens College, University of Delhi.

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Sanchayan Team


• Volunteer with us• Join us on Facebook• Follow us on Twitter• Support a workshop

www.SanchayanSociety.org

GET INVOLVED

http://twitter.com/


Contact Us

Office Address: 16, Vikram Vihar Extension, Lajpat Nagar – Part 4, Delhi – 110024

• Mr. Avik [email protected]+91 95602 28484

• Ms. Chidambara [email protected]+91 98105 72277

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mailto:[email protected]

