Rachita Vora

Rachita is co-founder and director at IDR. Before this, she led the Dasra Girl Alliance, an INR 250 crore multi-stakeholder platform that sought to improve maternal, adolescent and child health outcomes in India. She has over a decade of experience, having led teams in the areas of financial inclusion, public health and CSR, and functions across strategy, business development, and communications. Rachita has an MBA from Judge Business School at Cambridge University and a BA in History from Yale University.

Articles by Rachita Vora

Comic | This nonprofit life: Working from home webinar

This nonprofit life Ep 9 | "In captivity"

A cartoon series that captures the joys and travails of life in the development sector (adapted for the times of COVID-19).

by Rachita Vora | 1 min read

kudumbashree women preparing food in kerala-food relief

Advocacy & Government

COVID-19 and lessons from Kerala

A series of measures undertaken in the 1990s are now paying off as Kerala strives to quell the spread of COVID-19.

by Rachita Vora | 6 min read

himalaya biodiversity-mountains

“Biodiversity may be the most critical science for our survival”

How we can solve for the climate crisis in India, and why the National Biodiversity Mission is crucial.

by Rachita Vora, Saahil Kejriwal | 6 min read

Elastigirl-saving the world

Check yourself, before you wreck yourself

The first in a series of articles dedicated to exploring the relationship between inner well-being for social change in the context of India, as well as other countries in the majority world.

by Devanshi Vaid, Rachita Vora | 6 min read

Dr John Oommen-illustration

February 13, 2020

IDR Interviews | Dr John Oommen

A physician and public health specialist, Dr John Oommen shares insights from more than three decades of working on community health among Adivasi peoples, and reflects on why we need to rethink the dominant development paradigm.

by Ayesha Marfatia, Rachita Vora | 10 min read

hand on exam board-education

Philanthropy & CSR

February 06, 2020

"Philanthropy is not only for the wealthy"

Kumari Shibulal shares lessons from two decades of taking a hands-on approach to her philanthropy.

by Rachita Vora, Sneha Philip | 6 min read

Snakes and ladders_Feature Image

November 11, 2019

This nonprofit life Ep 8 | Nonprofit snakes and ladders

A cartoon series that captures the joys and travails of life in the development sector.

by Rachita Vora | 1 min read

Water & Sanitation

October 24, 2019

India has a groundwater problem

Despite being the lifeline of India’s water supplies, groundwater is overlooked by policy makers and users alike.

by Rachita Vora, Smarinita Shetty | 6 min read

October 21, 2019

Stardom by association

Have you found your connection to Nobel Prize winner Abhijit Banerjee as yet?

by Rachita Vora | 1 min read

Dr Vandana Shiva graphic_AKrishnamurthy

October 10, 2019

IDR Interviews | Dr Vandana Shiva

World-renowned scientist and biodiversity expert shares invaluable wisdom on the overlaps between indigenous and scientific knowledge, and how both can shape national and global policy.

by Saahil Kejriwal, Rachita Vora | 10 min read

Two champagne glasses illustration

September 02, 2019

Grants, as beverages

If your Tata Trust grant were a beverage, what would it be?

by Rachita Vora | 1 min read

August 12, 2019

This nonprofit life Ep 7 | "You've got the job!"

A cartoon series that captures the joys and travails of life in the development sector.

by Rachita Vora | 1 min read

This nonprofit life_rvora_nonprofit humour_feature

This nonprofit life Ep 6 | "Capacity building"

A cartoon series that captures the joys and travails of life in the development sector.

by Rachita Vora | 1 min read

IDR Interviews | Shantha Sinha

Life and leadership lessons shared by a visionary anti-child labour activist, on changing social norms at scale, building inclusive movements, and taking on the establishment.

by Rachita Vora, Smarinita Shetty | 9 min read

The Big Bang Theory Howard-Bernadette-watching-TV

“There’s a TV show for that”

With Netflix and Amazon Prime churning out more shows than you could ever possibly watch, we decided to shortlist a few for you, depending on your mood after a long day of work.

by Ayesha Marfatia, Rachita Vora | 2 min read

Lalsu Nogoti-gram sabha

IDR Interviews | Lalsu Nogoti

The remarkable story of an Adivasi lawyer and social activist who has led peoples’ movements against state development policies, and sought redress for human rights violations of his people in conflict-ridden regions of Maharashtra.

by Saahil Kejriwal, Rachita Vora | 9 min read

beedi

Advocacy & Government

February 04, 2019

Guerrilla advocacy: Lessons for civil society

Drawing from his success as an anti-tobacco activist, Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi of Tata Memorial Hospital talks about the strategic choices one needs to make while advocating with the government, and the ingenuity required to change policy.

by Ayesha Marfatia, Rachita Vora | 6 min read

non profit humour conference panel discussion

February 04, 2019

This nonprofit life Ep 5 | Panel discussions

A cartoon series that captures the joys and travails of life in the development sector.

by Rachita Vora | 1 min read

September 06, 2018

IDR Interviews | Dr Armida Fernandez

Neonatologist turned entrepreneur, Dr Fernandez shares her experiences with founder transition, and working with the urban poor. She also discusses the lack of information, resources and access to quality health services in this interview with IDR.

by Ayesha Marfatia, Rachita Vora | 8 min read

An injured child checking his height

August 30, 2018

Dr H. Sudarshan on getting it right with Ayushman Bharat

There are valuable lessons that state level universal health coverage schemes have to offer to Ayushman Bharat, particularly in light of its scheduled launch this September.

by Rachita Vora, Smarinita Shetty | 5 min read

Kamla Bhasin

August 17, 2018

Nine things we learned from Kamla Bhasin

Invaluable lessons on topics ranging from social movements, to feminism, to Bollywood lyrics.

by Devanshi Vaid, Rachita Vora | 1 min read

grassroots leadership Sujata Khandekar

IDR Interviews | Sujata Khandekar

For three decades, CORO has been at the forefront of grassroots leadership. Sujata Khandekar shares what she has learnt and unlearnt about the process of empowerment within marginalised communities, and what it takes to be truly participatory.

by Rachita Vora, Smarinita Shetty | 8 min read

This nonprofit life Ep 4 IDR

This nonprofit life Ep 4 | "Mr Shah was planning on funding you..."

A cartoon series that captures the joys and travails of life in the development sector.

by Rachita Vora | 1 min read

IDR Interviews | Kamla Bhasin

Development feminist activist, poet, author and social scientist, Kamla Bhasin, distils close to 50 years of experience and wisdom from being at the forefront of India’s grassroots feminist movement.

by Rachita Vora, Sangeeta Menon | 8 min read

This Nonprofit Life Ep 3 - Feature image

This Nonprofit Life Ep 3| "You're hired."

A cartoon series that captures the joys and travails of life in the development sector.

by Rachita Vora | 1 min read

Black Panther

February 26, 2018

9 superpowers you wish you had at a development conference

Conferences—we can’t live with or without them. But what if we had superpowers to help us get through the most annoying parts?

by Zarir De Vitre, Rachita Vora | 1 min read

This nonprofit life

January 29, 2018

This nonprofit life Ep 2

A cartoon series that captures the joys and travails of life in the development sector.

by Rachita Vora | 1 min read

nonprofit cartoon

January 22, 2018

This nonprofit life Ep 1

We introduce a new format in our humour section: a cartoon that captures the joys and travails of life in the development sector.

by Rachita Vora | 1 min read

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