Nehru Foundation for Development (NFD) was established by Dr. Vikram A. Sarabhai in 1965 as a registered charitable trust, to promote basic study and thinking on current problems of development. The foundation is dedicated to promoting development both at the individual and the societal level.

The main objective of the Foundation is to help create substantial participation of people in thinking and developing ideas/proposals relating to the problems of development. Such participation helps to generate development alternatives and enrich the decision making process of the country. The strength of NFD lies in facilitating community driven, people-centered sustainable development, through creating innovative models, village level institution strengthening, capacity building, demonstration projects, training, education, documentation, information dissemination and policy advocacy. It focuses largely on exploring new ideas and communicating its thoughts.

NFD runs a number of educational activities in the fields of science, mathematics, environment, natural resource management, health and nutrition. Its educational programmes reflect the development priorities of the country. Activities are guided by the Councils of Management consisting of eminent people in the respective field from across the country. NFD promotes its aims, thoughts and objectives by way of planned projects and programmes through its affiliated institutions, VASCSC, VIKSAT, CHETNA, CEE, NFD Heritage Initiatives and KHAMIR.

VASCSC (Vikram A. Sarabhai Community Science Centre)

VASCSC, was created as a facility where people concerned about the quality of science education could come together to try out new ideas and methods for teaching Science. The Centre’s mandate is to stimulate interest, encourage and expose the principles of science and scientific method in the community and also to improve and innovate various areas of science education.

The activities undertaken by the Centre include mathematics workshops, exhibit making workshops,  science mobile exhibitions in rural areas,  paper-plane making, glider making and model rocketry workshops, eco club, hobby centres, star gazing and advanced astronomy club, mini planetarium shows, science films , computer training for kids and teachers, development of educational material, teacher orientation programmes, etc. (More details on www.vascsc.org)

VIKSAT (Vikram Sarabhai Centre for Development Interaction)

VIKSAT was established in 1977, the second of the several activities that were initiated by the foundation towards all round development of the society. VIKSAT, engaged in promotion of participatory management of natural resources, believes that the goal of sustainability in natural resources development and management can be achieved only through decisive participation of the local communities aided by an enabling role of the government agencies.

VIKSAT aims, through interaction of Government and Non-Government Organisations and People’s institutions, for strengthening of People’s Institutions with active participation of men and women from all sections of the community for equitable, gender sensitive, sustainable development and management at natural resources.

The thrust areas of VIKSAT include Forestry, Land and Water. To enhance meaningful participation in Natural Resources Management, VIKSAT has been working towards imparting community skills related to group organization, institution building, training and other resource support. (More details on www.viksat.org)

CHETNA (Centre for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness)

Founded in 1980, CHETNA’s mission is to empower and enable disadvantaged women, adolescents and children to undertake responsibility of their own, their families’ and communities’ health. CHETNA supports government and non-Government initiatives through two resource centres, CHEITAN- a child resource centre and Chaintanyaa- the women’s health and development resource centre.

CHETNA’s activities focus on awareness raising and sensitizing, capacity building of individuals /organizations in documenting experiences, developing and disseminating education/training modules/materials, networking and advocating issues concerning children, adolescents and women. Over the past two decades, the activities have broadened in the field of nutrition, health, education and development from a "Rights" perspective. The activities reach out to disadvantaged and marginalised children, adolescents and women from rural, tribal and urban areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. (More details on www.chetnaindia.org)

CEE (Centre for Environment Education)

Centre for Environment Education (CEE) was launched as a national institution engaged in developing programmes and material to increase awareness about the environment. CEE was established in 1984 as a Centre of Excellence in Environmental Education, supported by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India.

CEE's primary objective is to improve public awareness and understanding of the environment with a view to promoting the conservation and wise use of nature and natural resources, leading to a better environment and a better quality of life. To this end, CEE develops innovative programmes and educational material, and builds capacity in the field of Environmental Education (EE). It undertakes demonstration projects in education, communication and development that endorse attitudes, strategies and technologies that are environmentally sustainable. CEE is committed to ensuring that due recognition is given to the role of EE in the promotion of sustainable development.

Recognizing the complexity and vastness of the task, CEE works in partnership with a range of organizations. The strategy has been to collaborate with others across fields to build synergies, achieve a multiplier effect, enhance effectiveness and widen the range of programmes. Efforts are made to inform EE with diverse views on key environmental issues and to bring in learnings from international as well as Indian experiences.

CEE has a network of 30 offices across the country, including Regional cells in the Central, East, North, North-East, Southern and Western zones, as well as several State, Field and project offices and campsites facilitating effective coordination, monitoring and follow up of countrywide programmes in environmental education. (More details on www.ceeindia.org) 

Heritage Initiative

Heritage Initiative is a relatively recent activity of the Nehru Foundation for Development started in September 2002 to address issues on Urban and architectural conservation. Its mission is to enable the civic society and the government to take pride and participate in the process of conservation of cultural heritage, which promotes a sense of belonging and is an expression of the community’s pride and identity. 

The Heritage Initiative works in the field of restoration and conservation of heritage structures/sites. Its activities have been creating awareness among communities about their traditional built heritage, networking and institutional capacity building, initiating restoration efforts, enabling government facilitation and acting as an interface amongst the concerned citizens, government and private sectors to achieve the holistic mission of urban conservation.

KHAMIR (Centre for Kachchh Heritage, Arts, Music and Information Resources)

KHAMIR is a joint initiative of NFD and the Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan towards setting up an education, training, demonstration and interpretation facility in the areas of Craft, Environment, Heritage Conservation and Education for Kachchh. The joint initiative was born of a desire to focus on the long term sustainable development of Kachchh after the devastating earthquake.

The word Khamir in the local language kachchhi means intrinsic pride, a trait aptly associated with the people of the region living in the harsh, arid land and known for their resilience and self pride.

The first major initiative of KHAMIR is the KHAMIR Craft Resource Centre (CRC), supported by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Government of Gujarat. Its main objective is to revitalize the crafts of Kachchh, in an attempt to ensure that practice of traditional skills would result in sustainable incomes for the artisans of the area.

 For more details, please contact

R.K. Shah
Secretary & Chief Accounts Officer
Nehru Foundation for Development
Thaltej Tekra, Ahmedabad - 380 054
Phone: +91 79 26857123, 26858020, 2688002-09 Extn-282
Fax: +91 79 26853873
Email: aarkesha@nfdindia.org / aarkesha@icenet.net
Website: www.nfdindia.org

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