Swades Foundation, set up by entrepreneur couple Ronnie and his wife Zarina Screwvala (the erstwhile owners of UTV and Disney India) and promoters of Unilazer Ventures & UpGrad and producers of many films, is reshaping rural India by bringing about mindset change at the grassroot level to empower communities to take control of their futures.
There have been tangible results since the foundation was started by them in 2012 with a clear mission to bring about social change at the village level.
“From the very beginning, we were clear that our focus would be on rural India,” said Ronnie Screwvala in an interview. “That decision is proving even more relevant today because, if India wants to become a developed nation by 2047, it must carry its 600 million rural citizens along,” he told The Hindu.
Someone who does not believe in shifting of millions of people to cities, which are not designed to withstand that level of migration, he said “Rural problems must be solved within rural India.”
Guided by the motto, ‘Swa Se Bane Des’ or ‘I make my own country,’ the Foundation today works across over 1,300 villages across Maharashtra, building a model of empowerment that is sustainable, and community led.
By the end of this year, it expects to expand from 11 to 17 blocks in Raigad, Nasik, Palghar, Thane, and Nandurbar districts of Maharashtra.
One of their biggest milestones that has been achieved is the shift from ‘giving’ to true community involvement to transform lives.
In the interview Zarina Screwvala said “We really worked very hard to address something which is now our biggest strength. We recognised that there is this thing called mental poverty, and mental poverty is the lack of hope.”
“For hundreds of years, it’s been like this. ‘I can do nothing. I’m helpless’ – This helplessness is really what broke our hearts, and we decided we must try to bring about mindset change. And we struggled and we created something called a Village Development Committee (VDC). Now this is the magic formula,” she said.
“When people feel that they are in control of their own destiny. That mindset changes and we have developed a model to convert peoples’ mindset to reach success,” she added.
To bring about a mental shift, Swades Foundation had set up Village Development Committees (VDCs), where villagers volunteer their time and undergo rigorous training to have a mindset change.
“We don’t push corporate-style goals or deadlines. Communities must invite us in. Change has to come from within,” Ms. Screwvala explained.
“The transformation is powerful villagers unite, take ownership, and drive change themselves. They invite the government to implement schemes, build infrastructure, and improve livelihoods. They identify the poorest families and sustain progress,” she added.
The most important outcome of this is giving people a chance to dream of a better future, or what Swades Foundation calls a ‘Dream Village.’ “So far, it has celebrated 250 such Dream Villages, with a goal to scale this to 1,000,” she added.
“These serve as beacons, inspiring other villages,” Ms. Screwvala noted. “With every new block we enter, our ability to change mindsets and move villages towards becoming ‘Dream Villages’ has become faster,” she added.
This model has already proven to be one of strong impact, according to a 2022 Dalberg study.
“For every rupee we spend, there’s a 21x social return on investment across various dimensions — socio-economic growth, health, and overall well-being of the community,” said Ms. Screwvala, highlighting how their focus has always remained on building a community-driven, holistic model of development.
To tackle the various dimensions of poverty, Swades’ interventions span four pillars: water and sanitation, health, education, and economic development.
Water being is the bedrock the Foundation has built nearly 35,000 household toilets with water connectivity—making more than 1,500 hamlets open defecation free—and implemented over 760 drinking water schemes, bringing taps into almost 48,000 homes and impacting more than 2.3 lakh lives, it said.
In health initiatives the Foundation has trained 2,628 community health workers, known as Swades Mitras, who provide door-to-door care. They and optometrists have collectively screened over 6.7 lakh people for vision problems. The Foundation said it has also screened and tested over 45,000 children for anaemia, supported 183 children with life-saving cardiac operations, and facilitated 22,000 cataract surgeries with partner hospitals.
In education the Foundation said it has reached over 1.5 lakh students through infrastructure upgrades, teacher training, career counselling, and scholarships. Nearly 9,400 scholarships have been awarded so far, and 193 schools have been supported with solar power, it said.
Livelihoods is perhaps the most transformative, where Swades’ goal is to double household incomes over three to five years.
It even encourages reverse migration – recognising how people sometimes prefer staying close to their roots, where the cost of living is far lower, when rural livelihoods become viable. “When families have more income, they feel truly in control,” said Mr. Screwvala.
Through goat rearing, dairy, poultry, horticulture, and skilling initiatives, the Foundation said it has enabled thousands of households to significantly increase their annual income.
For example, 10,000 households engaged in goat rearing have seen average gains of Rs 20,000 a year, while dairy entrepreneurs earn an additional Rs 50,000 annually, it said.
Through skilling, it trained over 10,000 youth, with more than 8,000 placed in jobs or self-employment, adding a ‘significant ₹66 crore to rural household incomes in a single year.’
In a sector where funding and partnerships often dictate execution, the Foundation operates differently – through self-funding and project building, regardless of other donors, but inviting them to join the journey. “Most of our donors have had a relationship with us for almost or over 10 years,” said Mr. Screwvala.
While Deutsche Bank and HSBC have been supporting for a decade, Tata Trusts and Sun Pharma have been associated with the Foundation for five years. Honeywell is also helping in scale impact at the grassroot level.
Swades Foundation was also among the first NGOs to list projects on India’s Social Stock Exchange, raising Rs 10 crore through the platform and attracting 150 new donors. The idea was to offer transparency and legitimize giving under the regulatory framework.
The foundation works very deeply on ground, employing 275 people, of whom 95% are embedded in communities. The essence lies as much in mindset as in execution.
“When we bring people into our team, the first quality we look for is whether they have a big heart. Skills can be taught, but empathy and compassion cannot. That’s what makes all the difference,” said Ms. Screwvala.
It also has 11,000 community volunteers, including VDC members and Swades Mitras, who are mostly women, trained to deliver primary healthcare services like door-to-door checkups and eye tests.
The Foundation’s grassroots impact is reflected in the stories of its volunteers. Vidya Kule, a widow who started as a volunteer, leading tuberculosis control efforts in her area went on to become her village’s Sarpanch.
For the Screwvalas, who have built successful enterprises in media and education, Swades brings a different kind of satisfaction for them. “We are blessed enough to do this and enjoy this. It comes naturally. The idea of community-driven change is powerful—once you place it at the center of your model, you can achieve anything.”
