State Bank of India Foundation, the Corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of State Bank Group, has invited applications for the 11th edition of the Youth for India Fellowship. Candidates can apply on youthforindia.org. The application process closes on May 31.
The 13-month fellowship provides a framework for educated urban youth – professionals or fresh graduates – to join hands and foster change with rural communities and NGOs across 17 states, as per a press statement by the SBI Foundation.
Applicants must be citizens of India, overseas citizens of India or citizens of Bhutan and Nepal.
The SBI Youth for India Fellowship works on 12 thematic areas: Health, Rural Livelihood, Food Security, Environmental Protection, Education, Water, Technology, Women’s Empowerment, Self-Governance, Social Entrepreneurship, Traditional Craft and Alternate Energy. Fellows can work on one of these twelve areas as per their interest.
“The SBI Youth for India program aims to fill the gap that exists between urban youth’s aspiration to contribute to the development sector and experience rural reality, as also supplement the lack of qualified human resources with diverse educational and professional backgrounds in the NGOs working at the grassroots level. The 13-month long Fellowship provides an active framework for the Youth to come up with sustainable development solutions for rural development and capacity building in multiple ways,” said Sanjay Prakash, Managing Director & CEO, SBI Foundation.
Over the last 10 years, Youth for India has seen active participation from hundreds of youth and 34 alumni have either founded or initiated a program, enterprise or non-profit, as per an official statement.
{{/usCountry}}Over the last 10 years, Youth for India has seen active participation from hundreds of youth and 34 alumni have either founded or initiated a program, enterprise or non-profit, as per an official statement.
{{/usCountry}}“Among some notable alumni is Siddharth Daga, Co-founder of NeoMotion, that customises Tech-Enabled Wheelchairs, who appeared on SharkTank this season. Another former Fellow is Shriti Pandey, who founded ‘Strawcture’ in 2018 and was covered in Forbes 30 under 30 in the 2021 edition for her use of technology that helps reduce pollution by compressing crop waste into agri-fibre panels for industrial and commercial builds,” it added.
Over 100 alumni of the programme go on to pursue higher studies in development domains after their SBI Youth for India Fellowship experience, and about 70% go on to pursue careers in the social sector by working in Rural Development, Public Policy/Governance, Academia, etc., the SBI foundation said.