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India’s poverty reduction journey stands as a testament to effective policy-making and robust economic growth. The percentage of population living below the poverty line declined from 22.5% in 2011 to below 5% in 2024, lifting over 200 million people out of poverty. This transformation has been enabled by significant infrastructure development and sustainable livelihood creation across multiple dimensions. Digital infrastructure, anchored by IndiaStack, has revolutionized service delivery and financial inclusion. Physical infrastructure development has enhanced rural connectivity and basic amenities.
The remaining pockets of poverty however require more nuanced approaches to sustainable livelihood creation. The country still has large, deep pockets of multidimensional poverty i.e. the absence of access to basic needs like education, healthcare, and decent living conditions, beyond a lack of income or resources, and roughly 230 million people remain vulnerable. This leaves the most excluded living on less than 2 meals a day, tied to unpredictable wage labour, owning no or little land or productive assets, and holding little to no savings.
Addressing this multidimensional poverty is key to India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat. With the goal of catalyzing such inclusive development and creating resilient livelihoods, The/Nudge is an action Institute working towards a poverty-free India, within our lifetime, in collaboration with government, markets and civil society.
Adopting an evidence-rich graduation approach to poverty alleviation, The/Nudge Institute’s Economic Inclusion program – formulates an answer to important questions: What does it truly mean to escape poverty? How can one earn more money, own more assets, and be able to pursue a life with more agency? Our economic inclusion journey for 25 million Indians, has reached 10 states with $250M of government funding to cover 1.25M people.
Take the story of Reena Didi, for instance: for years, she migrated from Jharkhand to Varanasi to work in the punishing heat of brick kilns. While she did grueling work, her children often had to drop out of school – perpetuating a cycle of intergenerational poverty. After graduating from the Economic Inclusion Program, what truly changed for her – apart from an increase in income, assets, and savings – was her agency: she was able to manage her household and her children’s education, and even learned how to negotiate prices at the market.
Reena didi’s story is one of thousands of women – tending to kitchen gardens, growing tomatoes and gourd, rearing goats, running thriving businesses, and no longer living with constant worry and guilt. The benefits don’t stop at the women, either – they often reinvest them into their families and communities, scaling change.
Through consumption grants, livelihood assets, and financial literacy training, The/Nudge, through public-private partnerships, is helping families escape economic exclusion and secure sustainable incomes.
Beyond direct economic inclusion, The/Nudge is also nurturing India’s brightest minds – problem solvers and social entrepreneurs – to tackle the country’s most pressing, wicked problems and increase access to livelihood solutions for the country’s marginalized communities. The incubator, accelerator and grand challenges have supported 200+ social entrepreneurs including 17 Forbes 30U30, 3 EarthShot Prize winners, 1 Time Magazine cover and more.
The path to a Viksit Bharat is one that requires a strong collective showcase – with governments, businesses, social enterprises, and individuals coming together. Recognizing the importance of global partnerships to scale this change and sustain its momentum to supercharge India’s inclusive development story, The/Nudge (North America) has been organizing events in the United States, bringing together entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and changemakers for dialogue on India’s journey towards poverty alleviation, and for showcasing The/Nudge Institute’s impact along with our various partners and supporters.
They recently wrapped up ‘Bay Area Gets The/Nudge’ and ‘New York Gets The/Nudge’—two power-packed convenings that brought together some of the most influential minds in technology, philanthropy, and business to discuss India’s poverty alleviation journey and the role of innovation, capital, and partnerships in accelerating this mission.
At Stanford, ‘Bay Area Gets The/Nudge’ witnessed a room full of changemakers, including leading entrepreneurs, investors, and technologists from Silicon Valley, who engaged in thought-provoking discussions on the intersection of technology, innovation, and social entrepreneurship and how to leverage it to drive large-scale impact. The event featured insights from industry stalwarts like Vinod Khosla (Founder, Sun Microsystems & Khosla Ventures), Anu Bharadwaj (President, Atlassian), and Srinivas Narayanan (VP, OpenAI), each bringing a unique perspective on how cutting-edge advancements in AI, capital deployment, and entrepreneurship can contribute to solving India’s most pressing development challenges.
Following this, ‘New York Gets The/Nudge’ at the Harvard Club of New York saw a powerful gathering of impact-driven investors, policymakers, and philanthropists who explored the role of capital in enabling large-scale, sustainable social transformation. Esteemed leaders like Nitin Jindal (Partner & Co-Head, Global Commodities, Goldman Sachs), Deepak Raj (Founder, Raj Associates), and Jaideep Khanna (Founder, Ananta-OM Management) emphasized the role of catalytic funding, patient capital, and outcome-based financing in scaling solutions for poverty eradication. The discussions underscored the importance of investing in models that prioritize long-term, sustainable change over short-term gains. Dev Joneja (Chief Risk Officer, ExodusPoint Capital Management, LP) wrapped up the evening with reflections on the collective responsibility of leaders across sectors to create meaningful change. The event also saw the participation of notable attendees like Gourav and Saloni Varma (Managing Director, TD Securities | CFO at FreshRealm), Rahul Saxena (Adjunct Professor, Business and Economics, Kean University), etc. who engaged in insightful conversations on how global capital and expertise can contribute to India’s poverty alleviation efforts.
Both events reinforced the importance of collective action, with attendees reflecting on their own roles in shaping India’s development trajectory. These convenings are part of The/Nudge’s growing movement to bring global stakeholders into India’s poverty alleviation efforts—leveraging cross-border knowledge, capital, and networks to drive lasting change. With deepened commitments and new collaborations emerging from these gatherings.
Both events reinforced a critical truth: poverty alleviation is not just about economic mobility but about ensuring dignity, resilience, and opportunity for all. As these conversations translate into actionable, the focus remains on what matters most: creating pathways out of poverty for millions of Indians, not just for today, but for generations to come.
Set up with support from 100+ eminent philanthropists, 40+ corporates and 15+ foundations, The/Nudge is contributing towards a “poverty-free India, within our lifetime”. To explore how you can participate in this movement, please visit its website.
