Impact of Nagrik Vikas Kendras as Social Change Agent

Field-notes from Jharkhand and West Bengal by Dr. Shiraz Sheikh

In India welfare schemes have been part and parcel of government policies.  In the current scenario both the state and central governments have initiated range of welfare schemes to offer social and economic security to the impoverished citizen.  The Nagrik Vikas Kendra (NVK) – a flagship program of Vison 2026 believes that these social welfare schemes are rightful entitlements of the underprivileged citizen.  However, it has been observed that the awareness about these schemes among its potential beneficiaries are inadequate or at time missing. The Vision 2026 has taken initiatives to make people aware and access benefits of these social welfare schemes through NVKs in the hinterlands of rural India.

At presently there are 31 NVKs run under the Vison2026 programs which enable underprivileged segments of society to live a life of self-sufficiency and dignity by getting access to different welfare schemes offered by the Central and State governments. As standard practice of the HWF all Vision2026 projects are regularly evaluated and monitored. In this process 8 NVKs from Jharkhand and West Bengal were evaluated.  

The evaluation was not limited to the quantitative parameters and was also assessed on qualitative indicators.  To measure whether the intervention made any substantial impact beneficiary feedback were collected. During our field assessment we found encouraging and grassroots changes due to the presence of NVKs. In these reports some of the stories of changes are shared.

Read the stories:

West Bengal

https://www.hwfindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/NVK-West-Bengal-Success-Stories.pdf

Jharkhand

https://www.hwfindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/NVK-Jharkhand-Success-Stories.pdf