SoochnaPreneur, Delhi (2025)

11/04/2019

Chunni Devi lives with her husband in Alwar’s Belaka village. The only financial support she received was the pension but to withdraw the amount she had to travel afar.

Her frail body and weak eyesight made it difficult for her to commute, leaving her helpless. Half of the pension amount used to be spent just on travel alone. During this time, she came across SoochnaPreneur Gurudev and conveyed her problems.

Gurudev, without delay, managed to link her pension and bank account. He also enrolled her under Ujjwala Yojna and within few days, she received her LPG connection.

Isn't it heartwarming?

19/03/2019

Sundari lives in Untvaal village, Alwar district in Rajasthan with her family. Belonging to a Below Poverty Line (BPL) family, she’s eligible to receive ration however, in the past two years, she went to ration dealers to receive her due ration but all in vain.

In a despicable situation when hope seemed a faraway dream, Sundari came across Poonam. Upon hearing her story, Poonam found out that Sundari’s name was still present in the central list of Public Distribution System. Poonam submitted her documents and soon Sundari started receiving her due ration and needless to say, it restored her hope.

08/03/2019

From not been allowed to step outside as a young girl to being invited to be the sarpanch of her village, Omwati's life has come full circle. She is a SoochnaPreneur who equipped with empowers people by providing them information & means about govt schemes & services at their doorstep

Today we're celebrate her for

18/02/2019

Chautalya Devi lives with her sons in a small village in Alwar district, Rajasthan. Her sons and their families never had time for her and it made her feel helpless. With age catching-up with her, only hope remained is the widow pension.

Every month she spent a huge sum on transporting to her bank for the pension but in vain. When dependency on her sons completely overshadowed her, she broke down.

Then, she met Sushila and was astounded to come across an empowered woman. Sushila applied for the pension on behalf and a month later, she started receiving it. This is a story of how a woman equipped with a mobile app (MeraApp) is empowering other women in the villages.

Here in the picture, Sushila filling up the necessary documents on behalf of Chautalya Devi

12/02/2019

Shalu’s life came to a pause when she lost her husband. Poverty and lack of relevant information only made it harder for her to understand the system to receive her husband’s death certificate and, thus, couldn’t apply for a widow pension.

She tried to reach out to the panchayat but in vain. Looking at all the other closed doors, Shalu met Sangita who started from the scratch.

She got Shalu to arrange all necessary paperwork, reprimanded the panchayat secretary for ignoring Shalu’s plea, submitted the application for a death certificate, as well as an application for the widow pension; extending her support till service delivery.

This photo was taken by one of the field staff when Sangita helped Shalu receive the widow pension, of course through (the entitlement mobile app).

04/02/2019

We can't keep calm!

We have been nominated for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prize 2019! But we need your help to win it and continue our work towards providing information to entitlement.

Deadline: February 10

To vote for us, click here: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/stocktaking/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2Fnet4%2Fwsis%2Fstocktaking%2FPrizes%2F2019%2FVote

WSIS Process

04/01/2019

Antro Devi got married half-a-century ago but lost her husband within 2 months into the marriage. All her hope of starting a new family was also gone with him and she moved back to her maternal family.

She started living with her brother and his family but the thought of being a burden on them kept her wide awake at nights. Unfortunately her brother also passed away within a few months and it was her nephew who then started taking care of her. She never thought, she could repay his love and caring, but wanted to contribute to the household.

Few years later, Antro came to know about the Widow Pension Scheme and crossed every hurdle to get the form filled in the Gram Panchayat office but all in vain. She tried a few times but nothing worked in her favour. In her desperation, she even tried to submit application for the pension scheme with the help of a mediator but the situation remained pretty much the same.

Her miseries came to an end when a Soochna Seva team visited her village and Antro narrated her story to them. After listening to her woes, the team registered and submitted her form. Her wait was finally over and she started receiving Rs. 750 monthly pension. Her face was glowing with happiness as she thanked the team for helping her out. A “thank you” is all she could manage.

27/12/2018

From Osama Manzar's journey, here is another story of empowerment.

Champe Khan has spent his life in poverty. A dwarf and having zero literacy, things haven't been good. But he is a gifted folk singer and performed in several countries.

But, having nil literacy, Champe didn't know about the government schemes and his disability entitlements. But Narpat, the SoochnaPreneur, helped him to apply for pension, house and all other entitlements.

Amidst the poverty and information darkness, these stories are refreshing to listen to!

26/12/2018

In the last couple of months, Osama Manzar travelled to some of the remotest areas of the country. He penned down the stark reality people live in. One such story is of Shankar Lal's from Barmer district, Rajasthan.

Shankar Lal belongs to schedule caste and works as SoochnaPreneur. He has worked hard for 4 years to be digitally empowered to serve hundreds of citizens in the villages to avail government schemes and entitlements and know their rights, without paying any bribe.

Sharkar says, "all kinds of people come to the Soochna Seva to avail government benefits. But the upper class people still live under the shadow of casteism. It may take another 50 years for our villagers to become completely empowered to exercise their rights and entitlements. But I am trying my bit to make these people aware and empowered".

In rural India where people still live in information poverty, and where casteism is prevalent, Shankar's story is a breath of fresh air.

19/12/2018

Despite extreme poverty, Rajaram was taking care of his family of five however, two years ago; an unfortunate accident left a big scar on his life. Rajaram lost his one leg and along with that all hope. The accident not just crippled him but left his whole family shattered as he was the sole breadwinner for them. In the event of finding no employment, the family's financial situation went so grim that soon affording medical expenses of Rajaram became impossible.

The Soochna Seva team informed Rajaram’s family about various government schemes for disabled people but Rajaram didn’t even have a disability certificate due to which he was devoid of any relief from the government. The team’s first priority was to get his disability certificate done as soon as possible. After obtaining the certificate, the team on behalf of Rajaram applied for the State Scheme for Disabled.

After many hassle, Rajaram started receiving monthly Rs 500 grant to support his household expenses. The pension amount is still very meagre so the team is preparing to apply for Paalanhaar Yojna to provide more support to the family. Under this scheme, the family will receive Rs 1000 per child to help in their education.

The whole family looks forward to the day they start receiving the relief. Their hope bound hearts aim for a better tomorrow.

13/12/2018

Information poverty is still very much prevalent in rural India. And, over 30 crore people live in below poverty line.These people are deprived of information about govt. schemes and benefits, leading to being deprived of their rights and entitlements.

Now , an android-based mobile application is facilitating accessing of govt. schemes much easier for the rural population.

A one-day workshop was organised by Digital Empowerment Foundation and Qualcomm in Ranchi on how SoochnaPreneur equipped with MeraApp is working on bridging the gap between govt. entitlements and citizens and helping the rural population come out of information darkness.

11/12/2018

After losing her husband a few years ago, Itiyo Devi in her early 30s, has been raising her child alone. It’s not been easy for her as the little embroidery work that she does is barely enough to earn the mother and the child full-square meal a day. Further, her problems aggravate during the monsoon when her straw hut begins to leak and they again start everything from the scratch.

Not long ago, she got to know about Rajasthan Govt’s Karyashala Yojana, under which BPL (Below Poverty Line) families belonging to the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes receive Rs. 10,000 to sustain their business. With much hope, Itiyo submitted her application form to the authorities who, however, rejected it without any reasoning or justification. A few days later, she happened to meet a Soochna Seva fellow and conveyed about the rejection, the Sevak decided to take up the matter and find the reason for her ineligibility.

When they found none, a team of two from Soochna Seva reached out to the Block Development Officer and the Village Secretary for clarification. The result of these meetings was swift and joyful.

Within days, Itiyo received the first instalment of Rs. 4,000. This motivated more women in the block, whose applications had been rejected without a clarification, to get together and submit their applications again. The end result-well many of them have already received some money while others wait in line for their turn.

04/12/2018

Husband and wife Nakhataram and Haua Devi both in their early 60, live in a village called Rani Gaon in Barmer district of Rajasthan. While the man no longer is fit to work as a labourer, the woman strives hard at a rock mine; their children, meanwhile, are married and live with their respective families away from the village. The frail bodies of both the husband and wife cannot take up any more physical labour.

At a community meeting, Soochna Seva fellows learnt that the couple has applied thrice for an Old Age Pension, but received no response from the authorities despite multiple follow-ups with the village secretary.

Aligned with the mission of the project, the fellows invited the elderly couple to the Soochan Seva Kendra the next day with all relevant documents, following which their application was submitted to the authorities once again. This time, the Soocha Sevaks followed-up with the authorities on a weekly basis, and within the next couple of weeks the couple started receiving their pension and they couldn't be happier.

29/11/2018

Gabri Devi, in her early 50s along with her husband started working as daily wage labourers and 30 years later, it is still continuing. Poverty coupled with hunger and old age has made their lives miserable. “We accepted our miserable state as the norm”, says Gabri.

Neither did they have Aadhaar card (primary govt. ID) nor they had (Below Poverty Line) card and as a result of that, they lived their lives without electricity. Gabri had difficulties completing her household chores at evening or night due to having problem with her vision. Apart from this, the physical activities took a toll on her body. The couple managed to earn somewhere closer to Rs 1,200 through NREGA scheme and sometimes earn around Rs 600 to 700 by working odd jobs. Gabri never conceived so the thought of who would take care of them gives them sleepless nights.

The Soochna Seva team after meeting her collected all her documents and pushed for her to receive pension which she was eligible of. However, receiving a PPO (Pension Plan Order) is a tedious process as it involves 6 levels of permissions from government offices right from the panchayat to the district level. But finally, when the PPO cards were issued, Gabri was one of the receivers. The Soochna Seva team also opened her bank account under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna. The team’s effort to better the society is commendable.

20/11/2018

Aasi Devi, an 80-year-old resident of Asalaram village in Rajasthan, still stands strong with her frail body. She has been living a life devoid of any governmental assist, which she is well deserved off. “I didn’t know anything about the government’s benefits up until now. I always thought this was how I am supposed to live the rest of my remaining life, without any support”, says Aasi Devi.

An ageing woman, she was not enrolled under any government scheme or entitlement. Neither she was aware about the pension schemes, nor did she know the way to receive them. “I was desperate to receive some pension; you can see my health conditions. I didn’t even know who to approach”, says Aasi Devi.

But help arrived in the form of the Soochna Seva team when they visited Baytu Bhopji. Information was needed and Soochna Seva team shared ample information with the residents. It was important to let the community members know the benefits in availing these schemes. Team Soochna Seva helped Aasi Devi to apply for an old-age pension where she started receiving Rs. 750 each month.

“Thank you for helping me out, you all lot [Soochna Seva team] really saved me”, smiles Aasi Devi as she wipes away her tears.

17/11/2018

Nesar Ansari’s (29) life was marred with terrible financial woes. The sole bread-earner, he works as a daily wage labourer in Patratoli village in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Destitute and worried, he was desperately looking for a flicker of hope.

Well hope arrived in the form of ! During this time, a team of SoochnaPreneurs were conducting camps at Nesar’s village to help people avail government schemes. Nesar got to know about the Labour Insurance Scheme and its benefits.
The SoochnaPreneurs helped him in applying for the scheme and a few weeks later, he received his insurance card. Happy and proud, he now looks forward to a secured future for his family.

SoochnaPreneur