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Investing In Women’s Leadership For Good Governance
Over 18 Years Of Facilitating Change
Foregrounded in the 73rd constitutional amendment of 1992, The Hunger Project India started working with elected women representatives at the local self-governance level in 2001. Over the years, THP India’s strategies have consistently aimed at empowering women in gram panchayats to be effective leaders.
Over the last two decades, we have successfully engaged with 1,97,121 elected women representatives We’re currently working in the five states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Through multiple programmatic interventions, THP India’s strategy is geared towards building the leadership of elected women representatives and strengthening their skills and capacities to be effective leaders on the ground.The focus is on enabling elected women to leverage the public office and exercise their “voice” and “power” to address issues of sustainable development, gender equality, and social justice. The intervention strategies are closely aligned with the five-year term of the panchayat administration.
Fundamental Working Principles
Through our work to empower women leaders, we have recognised these principles as being fundamental to The Hunger Project. We challenge ourselves to ensure that each of our strategies builds on these principles.
Gender Equality
Decentralisation
Inclusion
Collaboration
Accountability
Social Justice
Watch Hansa Lodhiyal – A Portrait of Courage – Uttarakhand
The daring ex-President of Dhanachuli village council (Uttarakhand), Hansa was elected as the president of the van panchayat (forest council) in 2020. She passionately speaks about access to forest resources, equity, and justice.
Building a Better Future
These are the beautiful people behind THP India. Get to know the staff.
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Governing Council
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National Office Staff
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State Team
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01Governing Council
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Pari Jhaveri
ChairPari comes with 20-plus years of experience across Executive Search, Human Resources, Media and Advertising, FMCG, and Education domains. She started her career with Ogilvy Advertising where she set up the country’s first brand social responsibility business practice. Subsequently, Pari founded the search firm Third Sector Partners. She has been a board member and served on boards of innovative nonprofits and social enterprises. She also co-founded Katalyst, an initiative that prepares young women from disadvantaged backgrounds for leadership roles, thereby creating a wider talent pool for India Inc. Pari has previously served as Chief Operating Officer at Sesame Workshop, India. Currently, Pari leads ‘Purpose Leaders’ a bespoke leadership executive-life coaching and C-suite and Boards search and counseling with a presence in key mature and emerging markets. She is a performing arts enthusiast trained in theatre and classical music. She has served on the juries of film festivals and other such forums, and her work reflects a creative amalgamation of arts, culture, business, creative leadership, and innovation. She holds an M.A. in International Relations and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, Boston, USA. She has B.A. and M.A. degrees in psychology, social sciences, and non-profit and business management from the University of Mumbai, India.
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Preeta Lall
TreasurerPreeta is a development professional with 30 years of experience encompassing grassroots institution building, provisioning technical assistance to national and subnational governments, and shaping and managing bilateral assistance in the governance sector. She is currently a consultant to a range of subnational initiatives in India aimed at strengthening localisation of SDGs. She led the secretariat of Local Governance Initiative and Network (LOGIN), a multi-stakeholder Asian network that facilitated peer learning on good governance, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and citizenship, from 2013-2021. Preeta was also a Senior Thematic Advisor at the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in India. During her time at SDC, THP India received multi-year grants. She holds a B.A. (Hons) in Economics from Sriram College of Commerce (SRCC), New Delhi, and has earned an M.A. in Rural Management from the Institute of Rural Management, Gujarat, India.
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N.K.Malhotra
SecretaryMr. Malhotra was a former staff at THP India and has served as the Director of Administration for over 17 years. He has over 45 years of experience in administration and personnel management in the government and the development sector. He holds an M.A. in Management from Birmingham University, UK.
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Krishna Menon
MemberKrishna Menon is a Professor of Gender Studies, School of Human Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi. She is the former Co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Feminist Journal of Politics. She has published books and papers on feminist theory and politics, debates within political theory, and issues in Indian politics. Her analyses of social movements in India and commentaries on feminism, women’s rights, and democracy draw on diverse sources of knowledge and expression. She has taught at the Department of Political Science, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi.
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Kaadambari
MemberKaadambari is a legal professional with 20+ yrs. of expertise. She is the Managing Partner at UCOL (Advocates and Consultants), a law firm with a pan-India presence. An advocate at the Delhi High Court, her practice traverses a diverse spectrum of litigation practice covering all aspects of disputes from corporate to commercial, civil, and criminal including arbitrations and mediations. She is currently Standing Counsel for the National Highway Authority of India, and Senior Counsel with the Ministry of Law & Justice (Union of India), amongst many others. She serves as the Secretary General of two NGOs namely Women in Law & Litigation (WILL) and AOL Foundation. In 2021, she was honoured by the India Forbes “Legal Powerlist 2020” as one of India’s Top Individual Lawyers for Excellence in Law. She has co-authored two books namely “Tis Hazari Nama” (2016) and “50 Years of Justice: Delhi High Court” (2017). She is an alumna of the Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi, and the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.
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Debarpita Banerjee
MemberDebarpita has 25 years of experience across diverse sectors in advertising and marketing and is an evangelist for Women in Leadership positions in the sector. She launched and hosted fireside chats under the umbrella of “She Can She will”- an initiative to inspire and ignite middle-level women to reach leadership positions. She is currently the CEO, FCB India & Fuel Content India. In the past, she has worked with iconic brands like India Today, Coca-Cola, Horlicks, National Geographic, Google, Vistara, Dominos’, Uber, to name a few. Debarpita is a St. Xavier’s College graduate with a post-graduation in Mass Communication and an Executive Education Program in Business and Management from the Columbia Business School, New York. Passionate about travel and exploration and fascinated with technology, she recently launched an app- MadMaps, that will help travellers make hyperlocal discoveries easily.
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Ayush Chauhan
MemberAyush is one of the co-founders of Quicksand, a multi-disciplinary design and innovation consultancy working at the intersection of business, development, and culture in India. He promotes design for social development by connecting the best practices of design with development programmes to address the pressing and complex issues of social equity, public health, and education. He is also part of the Board of Directors at the William J. Clinton Foundation in India. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He is a recipient of the prestigious Yale World Fellowship in 2012. An avid triathlete in the past, Ayush firmly believes in its potential to move humanity forward. Ayush is also a fitness enthusiast but in constant battle with the inner foodie.
02National Office Staff
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Seereen Akhtar Choudhury
Research Data AssociateSeereen joined THP India as Research and Data Associate in 2023. Before this, she was a core member of the team that developed the open educational resource platform called VIKALP, which aids in digital learning, in association with HCL Foundation and the government of Uttar Pradesh. She has also worked across thematic areas of gender, education, livelihood and skill development. She has an M.A. in Sociology and Social anthropology from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Her broader interest lies in understanding gender and sexuality, feminist discourse, kinship and political sociology.
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Ruchi Yadav
Senior Director – Strategy and ProgrammesRuchi leads strategic management, programme design, policy and operations at THP India. She also supervises the capacity building and MEL teams in the organisation. While at THP, she has mentored over 60 grassroots CBOs across multiple states on issues of women’s political leadership, adolescent girls’ empowerment, social justice, and local governance. Most recently, she has engaged with multiple stakeholders in Asia on advancing women’s political participation in local government institutions. Prior to joining THP India, she worked on women’s rights and human rights issues in South Asia and South East Asia, with a short stint in advertising early in her career. She is vitally interested in the intersections of gender with politics, religion, caste, and class. Ruchi holds an MA in International Development from the School of International Service, American University, Washington DC. In 2012, she was awarded the Yale World Fellowship.
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Paritosh Sasmal
Interim Director/Director - FinanceParitosh oversees finance, accounts and audits. Financial compliance of all grants and partners’ budgets are also monitored by him. He has over 18 years of experience in finance management of NGOs. He holds a BA of Commerce degree from Vidyasagar College, West Bengal.
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Darshan Surendranath
Senior Programme OfficerDarshan supports and oversees programme implementation in Odisha and Karnataka. Darshan has a background in child rights, volunteering, and the corporate sector. He holds an MA in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, Maharashtra.
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Kanika Kaul
Senior Programme OfficerKanika joined THP India in 2018 and oversees programme implementation in two states – Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. Formerly, she was with the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) working on research and capacity building on Gender Responsive Budgeting and other issues relating to women such as fiscal policy measures for addressing violence against women. Her work has largely focused on strengthening governance processes to enhance their gender responsiveness. Prior to that, Kanika worked with THP India for five years. She holds an MA in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
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Veda Bharadwaja
Senior Programme OfficerVeda joined THP India in 2010. She anchors THP India’s advocacy strategy as well as the adolescent girls’ portfolio. She also oversees programme implementation in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Veda has worked on women’s economic, social and cultural rights and strongly believes in the human rights framework to advocate for women’s political rights. Veda holds an MA in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi) and an MA in Governance, Development and Public Policy from the Institute of Development Studies (UK).
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Surbhi Mahajan
Senior Programme OfficerSurbhi joined THP India in 2018 in the capacity of senior communications officer. She has an MA in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies (University of Sussex), and an M.Phil/MA from Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi) in Modern History. She is also a volunteer member at Make Every Woman Count, a London based women-led organisation working on African women’s rights. Prior to this, she worked as a programme officer at the Women’s Fund Asia. Her interests include understanding discourses around gender, social justice, and utility of visual representation in documenting change narratives.
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Bharani Sundararajan
National Programme OfficerBharani is the grants administrator of THP India partner organisations. She supports budget development processes and coordinates with partners on compliance and financial reporting. Additionally, she manages the Country Director’s office in Delhi. She holds a Diploma in Computer Science and Engineering from Pallavan College, Tamil Nadu.
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Ganga Gupta
National Coordinator:TrainingGanga is a master trainer with THP and has been conducting training workshops across THPs programme intervention areas since 2005. She has an excellent command over training skills, participatory methodology and has a deep understanding of issues related to gender, governance, women’s rights and women’s political leadership in rural India. She is also invested in empowering adolescent girls and conducts trainings on life skills, leadership and citizenship for them. She has over 30 years of grassroots experience in the rural development sector and brings invaluable insights to programmes. Most recently, Ganga co-lead training on women’s leadership and their role as public office holders in Bhutan. She holds a BA in Humanities from the University of Rajasthan.
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Amit Goyal
Assistant Administrative OfficerAmit supports the administration and the finance team and also looks after IT processes at the National office and 6 state offices. He holds a MBA (Human Resource) from Symbiosis College, Pune, Maharashtra.
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Shiw Shankar Mahato
Accounts OfficerShiw is responsible for book-keeping and voucher scrutiny, while also assisting in filing tax returns and Statutory reports. He holds a BA degree in Commerce from Ranchi University, Jharkhand.
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Nidhi Kumari
Senior Administrative AssociateNidhi is responsible for travel bookings and also handles administrative duties. She has been with The Hunger Project since March 2007. Nidhi holds BA degree in Science from Magadh University, Bihar.
03State Team
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Bihar
Shahina Perween,
Shahina Perween
Programme OfficerShahina oversees programme planning and implementation in Bihar. Her understanding of women’s rights is reflected in the design of programmatic interventions, training of elected women representatives, creating innovative communication material, and conducting media interactions. She was the coordinator of the THP ‘Fact Finding Team’ to study the cases of gender-based violence during Panchayat elections in 2006. Shahina is an avid writer and contributes to opinion pages in the Hindi and Urdu press. She is also invited to speak at various public forums on women’s political leadership, empowerment of adolescent girls and governance. She holds an MA in Zoology and Journalism from Makhanlal Chaturvedi Rashtriya Patrakarita Evam Sanchar Vishwavidyalay, Bhopal.
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Karnataka
Vinodh P., Somasekher Alkod, Padmini Ananth
Vinodh P.
AccountantVinodh handles administration, financial reporting for Karnataka state office, and reviews the accounts of partner organisations. Prior to joining THP India in 2019, he worked with SATHI in Bangalore for over 13 years. He holds a BA in Commerce from Bangalore University and is currently pursuing his MA in Commerce from Gitam University, Visakhapatnam as well as Post Graduate Programme Development Management (PGPDM) from S.P. Jain Institute of Management, Mumbai, India.
Somasekher Alkod
State Programme LeadSomasekhar oversees strategic planning, operations, and partner management. He brings an innovative approach to programme design. He has over 15 years of experience, having worked with reputed organisations like EveryChild (UK) and National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (New Delhi). He holds an MA in Physics from Kalburagi University in Karnataka and another MA in International and Humanitarian Aid from Humanitarian Aid Study Centre (HASC) Proyecto Kālu, Spain.
Padmini Ananth
Sr. Programme AssociatePadmini coordinates program interventions and reporting. She has 20 years of experience working with elected women representatives in Gram Panchayats and has undertaken several research studies on Village Development Plan and Gender Budgeting. She holds an MA in Economics from Karnataka State Open University, Mysore.
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Madhya Pradesh
Shibani Sharma, to fill
Shibani Sharma
State Programme LeadShibani oversees programme implementation and partner management in MP. Her areas of interest include capacity building, networking, and advocacy. She is frequently invited as a guest speaker at various public fora, including radio stations to talk of women’s role, achievements, and challenges as elected leaders. Prior to THP, she has also undertaken social research and worked on issues of livelihood, micro-finance, and gender. Shibani holds an MA in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics and Diploma in Law and Gender from National Law Institute University.
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Odisha
Hariar Debata, Sukanta Mohapatra
Hariar Debata
AccountantHarihar looks after accounts, finance, logistics and administration in THP Odisha State office. He also oversees the financial monitoring of partner organisations. He holds an MA in Commerce from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India. He carries with him more than 23 years of experience in accounting.
Sukanta Mohapatra
State Programme LeadSukanta oversees programme implementation and partner management in Odisha, bringing in strategic thinking and innovation to programme design. He has over 25 years of work experience spanning both the corporate and development sector. His varied experience makes him highly adaptive and creative. He is also one of the Master Trainers at THP and co-leads trainings across THPs programme areas and in South Asia. Sukanta holds an MA in Economics from Sambalpur University, Odisha.
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Rajasthan
Renuka Sharma, Virendra Shrimali, Astha Rastogi
Renuka Sharma
Sr. Programme AssociateRenuka Sharma joins THP India as a senior programme associate based in Rajasthan state office. She has worked on various issues such as family planning, maternal and child health, adolescents health (SRH), early childhood development (ECD), and nutrition. Renuka has a B.A. in Arts from Kanoriya Girls College, Jaipur, and an M.A. in Social work from Vardhmaan University, Kota. Currently, she is also pursuing a distance learning course on food and nutrition from IGNOU.
Virendra Shrimali
Programme OfficerVirendra oversees programme planning and implementation. He is deeply invested in advancing women’s political leadership at the grassroots level and has been with THP for over 20 years. He has in-depth knowledge of Panchayati Raj Institutions and government programmes in the state. He holds an MA in Economic Administration and Financial Management from Ajmer University.
Astha Rastogi
AccountantAstha looks after state accounts statements and the preparation of programme budgets. She also reviews the accounts of partner organisations and is responsible for financial reporting in the State. She holds an MA in Intellectual Property Rights from Indira Gandhi National Open University, Delhi and has completed her BA in Commerce from the University of Rajasthan.
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Uttarakhand
Kamla Bhatt
Kamla Bhatt
Programme Officer Kamla oversees program implementation & partner management. She is exceptionally skilled in community mobilisation. Kamla has over 20 years of development sector experience in Uttarakhand and has a deep understanding of issues related to gender, women’s rights, panchayats, governance, education, and livelihood. She holds an MA in Economics from Kumaon University, Nainital and is currently pursuing her MSW from Uttarakhand Open University.
Be a part of the THP India Team
Our Partnerships and Collaborations That Have Enabled Change
American Jewish World Service, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, BMZ (Germany), Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, DASRA, Forum Syd (Sweden), Mariwala Charity Trust, New Zealand High Commission, Ribbink Van Den Hoek Foundation (Netherlands), Royal Norwegian Embassy, The Asia Foundation, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Population Fund, UN Women
Current Partners
Previous Partners
Kanika Satyanand
Director, Treasurer, ChairpersonKanika initiated the process of supporting grassroots initiatives in rural, urban and tribal areas through fellowship programs.andnbsp;She currently holds positions as Programme Advisor and member of the Board of Trustees of FORRAD (Foundation for Rural Recovery andamp; Development), member of the SRUTI Executive Board, and member of the Ethics Committee of the Action for Autism.
