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IDENTITY

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Our Approach

State partnership, leverage, convergence.

PEOPLE

Governance

General Body and Executive Committee.

BRLF Team

Full team with photos and roles.

TRUST

Transparency

RTI, audits, and legal documents.

Meet the BRLF team
Visit Team page

PROGRAMMES

Programmes

Filter by state, theme, type, status.

APPROACH

Thematic Focus

Nine themes across rural livelihoods.

Capacity Building

Eight programmes for rural professionals.

Research and Knowledge Management

Studies on Adivasi livelihoods.

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PROOF

Impact in Numbers

Reach across six themes.

STORIES

Stories

Stories, blog and films in one filterable hub.

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Press kit, mentions, releases and social.

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REPORTS

Annual Reports

Eleven years in English and Hindi.

Working Papers

Research publications.

DATA AND DOWNLOADS

Brochure and Profiles

BRLF Profile and Case for Support.

LEARN

CB Modules

Field-facing modules in local languages.

CONVENINGS

Convenings

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Active procurement RFPs.

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Our Governance

At BRLF, our governance structure brings together senior representatives from the Government of India, state governments, civil society, academia, financial institutions and development practitioners. Our General Body and Executive Committee comprise experienced leaders who provide strategic direction and oversight for our work on creating sustainable rural livelihoods and tribal development.

General Body
members

50+ members across government, civil society, academia and institutions

Executive
Committee

Executive Committee comprising key governance representatives

  • Updated September 2026

President

Shri Girish Yashwant Prabhune

Founder – Punaruththan Samarasata, Gurukulam, Pune
Padma Shri Awardee (2021)

President

Shri Girish Yashwant Prabhune

Founder – Punaruththan Samarasata, Gurukulam, Pune
Padma Shri Awardee (2021)

About the speaker

Girish Y. Prabhune (b. 1952, Pune) is President of BRLF and a veteran Indian social worker and activist, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2021 for Social Work. Since the early 1970s he has worked to uplift India’s nomadic communities, beginning with relief work during the 1972 Maharashtra drought and nearly a decade spent living among nomadic groups such as the Pardhi, Waddar, Kaikadi and Gondhali in Nimgaon Mhalungi village, Pune district. With Laxman Mane, he helped found the Bhatke Wimukt Vikas Parishad, organising nomadic tribes across several Maharashtra districts and fighting court battles for their rights. He is credited with persuading 50,000 Dalits at Deekshabhoomi, Nagpur, to remain within the fold rather than convert to Buddhism. In 1993 he started a school in Yamgarwadi village, Osmanabad district, for children of nomadic tribes, which continues to operate today. Later in his career he founded the Punarutthan Samarasata Gurukulam in Chinchwad, Pune, which runs schools and residential facilities for Pardhi children.

General Body members

The General Body serves as the apex governance body of BRLF and includes elected, nominated and ex-officio members who provide strategic direction and oversight to BRLF’s initiatives. State government seats are ex-officio positions held by the current Principal Secretary (Rural Development) of each partner state.

President

1 of 1

Member Name

Shri Girish Yashwant Prabhune, President

Designation

Founder, Punaruththan Samarasata Gurukulam, Pune · Padma Shri 2021

Member Secretary

1 of 1

Member Name

Chief Executive Officer, BRLF

Designation

Member Secretary

Government of India

4 of 4

Member Name

Secretary

Designation

Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India

Member Name

Secretary

Designation

Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India

Member Name

Secretary

Designation

Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India

Member Name

Joint Secretary (in-charge of BRLF)

Designation

Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India

State Government

9 of 9

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of Jharkhand

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of Chhattisgarh

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of Odisha

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of West Bengal

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of Rajasthan

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of Gujarat

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of Maharashtra

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of Madhya Pradesh

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of Telangana

Eminent Persons

18 of 30

Shri Dibyendu Sarkar, IAS (Retd.)

Ex-MGNREGA Commissioner, Government of West Bengal

View Profile

Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, IAS (Retd.)

Former Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India

Shri Kumar Sanjay Krishna, IAS (Retd.)

Former Chief Secretary, Government of Assam

Shri Shashi Bhushan

Chairman and Chief Functionary, SATHI

View Profile

Prof. A. B. Ota

Director and Special Secretary, SCSTRTI and the State Tribal Museum

Shri R Subrahmanyam, IAS (Retd.)

Former Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India

Shri Arvind Sardana

Distinguished Educator and Researcher, Madhya Pradesh

View Profile

Ms. Seema Purushothaman

President, Indian Society for Ecological Economics

View Profile

Shri Manoj Basumatary

Innovative Social Entrepreneur, Assam

View Profile

Shri Harsh Chouhan

Social Activist and Tribal Rights Advocate, Madhya Pradesh

View Profile

Ms. Roopa Mehta

Sasha Association for Craft Producers, Kolkata

Dr. Shantha Sinha

Former Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

View Profile

Shri Sunil Chavan

Hon. Director, Dr. M L Dhawale Memorial Trust

Mr. Biraj Patnaik

Executive Director, National Foundation for India

View Profile

Lt. Gen. D. B. Shekatkar (Retd.)

PVSM, AVSM, VSM · National Convener, Forum for Integrated Security in India

View Profile

Ms. Ashwini Kulkarni

Founder, Pragati Abhiyan, Nashik

Shri Devaji Bhai Tofa

Gram Sabha Mendha Lekha, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra

State Government

9 of 9

Member Name

Chairperson

Designation

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

Member Name

Chairperson

Designation

State Bank of India

Member Name

Chairperson & Managing Director

Designation

Central Bank of India

Member Name

Chairperson & Managing Director

Designation

Bank of India

Institutions – Philanthropic / Academic / R&D

4 of 7

Dr. Richa Kumar

Professor of Sociology and Science & Technology Studies, IIT Delhi

View Profile

Prof. Sonajharia Minz

Former Vice Chancellor, Sido Kanhu Murmu University, Dumka

View Profile

Shri Ravi Pratap Singh

International Development Consultant & CEO, Ecosys Development Foundation

Dr. Nilanjan Ghosh

Vice President, Development Studies and Head, Kolkata Centre, ORF

Executive Committee members

The Executive Committee serves as our operational governance body, responsible for overseeing the implementation of decisions and priorities approved by the General Body. It provides guidance on programme implementation, institutional matters and operational decisions, and comprises representatives from government, civil society, financial institutions and sector experts

President

1 of 1

Member Name

Shri Girish Yashwant Prabhune

Designation

Founder, Punaruththan Samarasata Gurukulam, Pune · Padma Shri 2021

Member Secretary

1 of 1

Member Name

Chief Executive Officer, BRLF

Designation

Member Secretary

Government of India

4 of 4

Member Name

Secretary

Designation

Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India

Member Name

Secretary

Designation

Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India

Member Name

Secretary

Designation

Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India

Member Name

Joint Secretary (in-charge of BRLF)

Designation

Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India

State Government

3 of 3

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of Jharkhand

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of Chhattisgarh

Member Name

Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary

Designation

Rural Development, Government of Odisha

Eminent Persons

11 of 14

Shri Sunil Kumar, IAS (Retd.)

Former Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India

Shri Nagendra Nath Sinha, IAS (Retd.)

Former Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India

Shri Shashi Bhushan

Chairman and Chief Functionary, SATHI

Prof. A. B. Ota

Director and Special Secretary, SCSTRTI and the State Tribal Museum

Shri R Subrahmanyam, IAS (Retd.)

Former Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India

Shri Harsh Chouhan

Social Activist and Tribal Rights Advocate, Madhya Pradesh

Dr. Shantha Sinha

Former Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

Ms. Roopa Mehta

Sasha Association for Craft Producers, Kolkata

Shri Sunil Chavan

Hon. Director, Dr. M L Dhawale Memorial Trust

Lt. Gen. D. B. Shekatkar (Retd.)

PVSM, AVSM, VSM · National Convener, Forum for Integrated Security in India

Shri Arvind Sardana

Distinguished Educator and Researcher, Madhya Pradesh

Institutions – Financial

2 of 2

Member Name

Chairperson

Designation

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development

Member Name

Chairperson

Designation

State Bank of India

Institutions – Philanthropic / Academia / R&D / PSUs / Trade

2 of 5

Prof. Sonajharia Minz

Former Vice Chancellor, Sido Kanhu Murmu University, Dumka

Shri Ravi Pratap Singh

International Development Consultant & CEO, Ecosys Development Foundation

  • Updated XX August 2026. The General Body meets annually. The Executive Committee meets quarterly. The CAG Audit was conducted twice, in 2 phases, till FY 2017-18, with no major observations.

See full compliance documents

Our compliance documents, annual reports, audited statements, FCRA filings, and RTI disclosures are publicly available on our Transparency page and are updated within 30 days of any new filing.

View Transparency

Shri Dibyendu Sarkar

IAS Retd., Former MGNREGA Commissioner
West Bengal
About the speaker
Dibyendu Sarkar retired in 2021 as an IAS Officer in the rank of Secretary to the Government of West Bengal. A post-graduate in English and Sociology, he spent 35 and a half years in the civil service. Shri Sarkar has wide-ranging experience in training, research and extension activities and served as Director, B.R. Ambedkar Institute of Panchayats & Rural Development (BRAIPRD), West Bengal at Kalyani, Nadia.
He played a key role in promoting activities supportive of the consolidation of self-help groups as Secretary, Self-help Groups & Self Employment Department, Government of West Bengal. He led the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA programme at the state level as Commissioner for more than seven years, and coordinated activities pertaining to Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) as Mission Director in the state. He has also worked in the Communication for Development section in UNICEF, West Bengal and Assam.
Post-retirement, he provides support to several CSOs in an advisory capacity. He is the founder Director and CMD of Ecovocal Solution Private Limited, incorporated to work in the domain of environment-sensitive sustainable development, and Director of another agricultural biotech company, Smart Farming India Private Limited.

Shri Shashi Bhushan

Chairman and Chief Functionary
Supporting Association for Thematic and Holistic Initiatives (SATHI)
About the speaker
Shashi Bhushan is a senior social activist with nearly three decades of experience in community engagement, leadership development and institution-building in Uttar Pradesh’s voluntary sector. He serves as Chairman and Chief Functionary of the Supporting Association for Thematic and Holistic Initiatives (SATHI), a network of 469 grassroots civil society organisations promoting integrated rural development. Influenced by Gandhian philosophy and Gram Swaraj, he participated in the 1974 Sampurna Kranti Andolan led by Jayaprakash Narayan, spending 10 months in jail, which solidified his commitment to social change. Associated with SATHI since 2004 and elected Chairman in 2008, he guides its strategic direction and institutional strengthening; his career began in 1996 as Project Coordinator for PANI’s Khoj project, followed by roles including Project Director for Sure Start (Basti) and Programme Director for the Community Health Programme with Tata Trusts. His focus areas include nurturing young development workers, women’s empowerment, maternal and child health, sustainable livelihoods and participatory local governance, with an emphasis on building resilient grassroots institutions through non-violent activism.

Shri Arvind Sardana

Distinguished Educator and Researcher
Madhya Pradesh
About the speaker
Shri Arvind Sardana is a seasoned educator and researcher in social sciences who has worked extensively with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) on national curricula, including authoring the Social and Political Life and Economics textbooks, and with various state governments to refine social studies programmes. His interdisciplinary work focuses on teaching economics to school students through ethical, conceptual and real-world lenses, challenging rote learning and promoting critical thinking, with an emphasis on citizenship education, pedagogy, textbook development and resource adequacy under the Right to Education Act. With a background in economics, he has authored influential papers including “Teaching Economics in Schools” and “Resource Requirements for Right to Education: Normative and the Real,” among others. His work advocates for inclusive, reflective education that fosters democratic values and societal awareness.

Ms. Seema Purushothaman

President
Indian Society for Ecological Economics
About the speaker
Ms Seema Purushothaman is an Ecological Economist and current president of the Indian Society for Ecological Economics, who retired as a professor from the School of Development at Azim Premji University, Bangalore. Her empirical, conceptual and action research spans agrarian communities in peri-urban zones, rural landscapes and forest peripheries, reflected in two co-authored books and numerous other publications. She serves on the leadership board of the Global Alliance for Inter and Transdisciplinarity, in line with the National Education Policy’s emphasis on interdisciplinary learning. Her book “City and the Peasant – Urbanisation and Agrarian Change in Southern India” examines how urbanisation transforms agrarian communities, while her co-edited volume “Conservation and Poverty Reduction in Forest Fringes” explores addressing degradation for community benefit. She is currently studying how urban food cultures inequitably influence farming communities and consumers, including how demand for fresh produce from Bangalore is transforming small farmers in its peripheries, and educating indigenous youth on securing and managing their Community Forest Rights.

Shri Manoj Basumatary

Innovative Social Entrepreneur
Assam
About the speaker
Shri Manoj Basumatary is an innovative social entrepreneur and pioneer in Assam’s agribusiness sector, known as the “Pig Man of Assam” for his groundbreaking work in commercial piggery. Born and educated in the region, he graduated with honours from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, in 1995, and went on to become chief manager at the State Bank of India. In 2014, driven by a vision to uplift rural economies, particularly among tribal communities with a history of pig rearing, he left banking to co-found Symbiotic Foods Private Limited with partner Khanindra, starting with just 25 sows and two boars. Based in Tezpur, his enterprise has grown into India’s largest pig breeding company, promoting scientific and ethical farming practices that boost productivity and sustainability. His work earned him the Assam Gaurav Award in 2021, the state’s highest civilian honour, for revolutionising piggery and creating employment opportunities. He serves on the boards of several NGOs in Assam, mentoring small farmers and promoting pork-based businesses, and his journey continues to inspire youth entrepreneurship that blends corporate expertise with grassroots innovation to address food security in Northeast India.

Shri Harsh Chouhan

Social Activist and Tribal Rights Advocate
Madhya Pradesh
About the speaker
Shri Harsh Chouhan is a social activist and tribal rights advocate from the Bhil tribe of Madhya Pradesh. He served as Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) from February 2021 until his resignation in June 2023, eight months before his term ended, in protest against the Forest Conservation Rules 2022, which he argued diluted protections under the Forest Rights Act 2006. Educated in engineering at SGSITS Indore, with an MTech from IIT Delhi and a degree in Journalism & Mass Communication, he chose grassroots work over corporate opportunities and has spent over three decades in tribal activism, particularly in Jhabua district, associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram and Janjati Suraksha Manch. He founded the Shivganga project and the Halma movement for tribal development, focusing on water conservation, community empowerment and education, drawing students from IITs and IIMs to learn sustainable practices in Jhabua. His legacy emphasises self-reliance, environmental conservation and the integration of social development with cultural preservation.

Dr. Shantha Sinha

Former Chairperson
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
About the speaker
Dr Shantha Sinha, a Padma Shri and Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, is recognised for her community leadership and efforts to end child labour and promote education. She served as the first Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Government of India, for two consecutive terms from its inception in 2007, working on issues including child labour, trafficking, corporal punishment, child abuse and access to education. She is Founder-Secretary of the Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiya Foundation (MVF), a Hyderabad-based NGO working to eliminate child labour by withdrawing children from work and mainstreaming them into schools. She is also a retired Professor of Political Science at the University of Hyderabad, combining academic work with grassroots child rights activism.

Mr. Biraj Patnaik

Executive Director
National Foundation for India
About the speaker
Biraj Patnaik serves as Executive Director of the National Foundation for India (NFI), India’s pioneering independent domestic philanthropic organisation established in the early 1990s. A seasoned development professional with nearly three decades of experience, he previously served for almost a decade as Principal Adviser to the Commissioners of the Indian Supreme Court on the landmark Right to Food case. He co-founded the Mitanin community health worker programme in Chhattisgarh, training and deploying 70,000 workers to strengthen rural healthcare, and has been instrumental in India’s Right to Food campaign since its inception, contributing to pro-poor legislation such as the National Food Security Act. He holds a postgraduate degree in management from the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA), and was a Chevening Gurukul Senior Scholar at the London School of Economics.

Lt. Gen. D. B. Shekatkar (Retd.)

National Convener
Forum for Integrated Security in India
About the speaker
Lieutenant General D. B. Shekatkar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, is a retired Indian Army officer commissioned in 1963 into the Maratha Light Infantry, and currently serves as Chancellor of Sikkim University. He chaired the Committee of Experts constituted by the Ministry of Defence to recommend measures for enhancing combat capability and rebalancing defence expenditure, submitting its report in December 2016; the Ministry subsequently used it to frame key action points and an implementation roadmap. He has also worked extensively on issues of militancy, including Maoist insurgency, and is regarded as an expert on how India should address this challenge.

Dr. Richa Kumar

Professor of Sociology and Science & Technology Studies
IIT Delhi
About the speaker
Ms Richa Kumar is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Science and Technology Studies (STS) in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Delhi, where she has spent 20 years studying the intersection of agriculture, food, human health and the environment. She has published “Rethinking Revolutions: Soyabean, Choupals and the Changing Countryside in Central India” (Oxford University Press, 2016) and co-authored the State of Rural and Agrarian India Report 2020, among other works. Her research and teaching interests span the Sociology of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Change, Sociology of Food, Nutrition, Toxicity and Health, and Rural and Agrarian Policy, and she leads the IIT Delhi Grand Challenges Project measuring agrochemical body burden and its implications for public health and regulation (2020–2025). She is a member of the Steering Committee of the National Coalition for Natural Farming and a recipient of the inaugural Elizabeth Adiseshiah Memorial Award (2019) and the New India Fellowship (2010). She completed her PhD at the Science, Technology and Society Program at MIT, Cambridge, USA.

Prof. Sonajharia Minz

Former Vice Chancellor
Sido Kanhu Murmu University, Dumka
About the speaker
Ms Sonajharia Minz is an Indian academic and researcher on tribal issues, currently a professor at the School of Computer and Systems Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University. She served as Vice-Chancellor of Sido Kanhu Murmu University in Dumka from May 2020, when she was appointed by then Governor of Jharkhand Draupadi Murmu, until June 2023. She hails from the Oraon tribe of Gumla district, Jharkhand, and, having faced discriminatory treatment at school, has long engaged with the constitutional rights of marginalised and underprivileged students, Dalits, Adivasis, people with disabilities and women. With a commitment to mainstreaming tribal languages, art and culture, she introduced new programmes such as Santal Culture Studies and certificate courses on tribal design, art and craft at Sido Kanhu Murmu University. She serves as UNESCO Co-Chair in Transforming Indigenous Knowledge Research Governance and Rematriation, a role she was reappointed to for a four-year term in June 2025.