Nudge Institute

The/Nudge Institute, formerly The/Nudge Foundation, is an Indian non-profit action institute established in 2015 with the aim to contribute to "a poverty-free India."

The/Nudge Institute offers 11 programs across 3 distinct centres: the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), the Centre for Rural Development (CRD), and the Centre for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (CSDE).

Evolution
Atul Satija is the Founder and CEO of The/Nudge Institute. Satija established The/Nudge Foundation on September 23, 2015, with a focus on poverty alleviation. Exploring the needs of the underprivileged youths in the slums of Bangalore, they identified a lack of skills, leading to the inception of Gurukul on November 1, 2015. Gurukul began as a 90-day residential program, centred on 3 skills: life, learning, and job skills for underprivileged youth.

In 2022, The/Nudge Foundation was rebranded as The/Nudge Institute.

Centres and Programs
The/Nudge Institute aims to address the challenge of poverty, with focus on urban and rural livelihoods. In urban livelihood, the institute focuses on developing life skills, digital and financial literacy, and job skills. In rural livelihoods, it focuses on agriculture, dairy, and related services.

The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation (CSI)
The/Nudge introduced NCore, an initiative for entrepreneurs with programs like the NCore Alpha, a startup bootcamp. NCore’s mandate changed from bringing talent into the sector to building a thriving livelihood ecosystem.

NCore’s name was changed to Center for Social Innovation to reflect this switch along with the institute launch. The Centre for Social Innovation aims to nudge India's top talent into solving India's most pressing social challenges on a large scale.

Initiatives under CSI are,


 * 1) Incubator: Through the Incubator program, The/Nudge Institute has supported early-stage non-profits working on India's most pressing livelihood challenges. Under the program, social entrepreneurs are offered with an INR 15 lakh grant and dedicated support to bring their vision to life.
 * 2) Accelerator: Through the Accelerator program, The/Nudge Institute supports high-potential non-profits working on livelihood challenges to accelerate their growth and build for impact. Social entrepreneurs are offered up to INR 2 crores of grant support through the Accelerator program.
 * 3) Indian Administrative Fellowship (IAF): IAF is an 18-month program for corporate sector leaders to partner with visionary civil servants to create large-scale change and deliver a positive impact.
 * 4) Prize: The/Nudge Prize encourages entrepreneurs to create tech-first solutions addressing underserved developmental problems. It is supported by catalytic risk capital from various funders.
 * 5) Forum: The/Nudge Institute also runs the Forum – a global think tank and a platform for collaborative efforts towards unifying India's livelihood ecosystem. Forum's flagship event is the premier livelihoods convening - charcha.

The/Nudge Centre for Rural Development (CRD)
Centre for Rural Development targets extreme poverty.

Initiatives under CRD are,


 * 1) End Ultra Poverty (EUP): Introduced in 2018, the EUP aims to uplift ultra-poor women-led households from extreme poverty through the ‘Graduation Approach’. The program is currently active in six states: Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and West Bengal - with a combined population of 14 million ultra-poor households.
 * 2) Asha Kiran: It was initiated in 2020 as Asha Kiran - The Hope Project, to rebuild the lives of migrant workers and aid their recovery from the pandemic. In 2021, the program pivoted towards building sustainable livelihood for rural women, offering participants a supplementary source of income through backyard goatery and poultry farming.

The/Nudge Centre for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (CSDE)
CSDE focuses on bridging the skill gap prevalent among underprivileged youth by providing them with essential skills to access opportunities in the formal sector.

Recognition and partnerships
The/Nudge Institute has gained recognition and support from various stakeholders, including governments, philanthropic organisations, non-profit organisations, and corporations.