India's poverty reduction journey stands as a testament to effective policy-making and robust economic growth. The percentage of population living below the poverty line declined from 22.5% in 2011 to below 5% in 2024, lifting over 200 million people out of poverty. This transformation has been enabled by significant infrastructure development and sustainable livelihood creation across multiple dimensions. Digital infrastructure, anchored by IndiaStack, has revolutionized service delivery and financial inclusion. Physical infrastructure development has enhanced rural connectivity and basic amenities.

The remaining pockets of poverty however require more nuanced approaches to sustainable livelihood creation. The country still has large, deep pockets of multidimensional poverty i.e. the absence of access to basic needs like education, healthcare, and decent living conditions, beyond a lack of income or resources, and roughly 230 million people remain vulnerable. This leaves the most excluded living on less than 2 meals a day, tied to unpredictable wage labour, owning no or little land or productive assets, and holding little to no savings.

Addressing this multidimensional poverty is key to India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat. With the goal of catalyzing such inclusive development and creating resilient livelihoods, The/Nudge is an action Institute working towards a poverty-free India, within our lifetime, in collaboration with government, markets and civil society.

Adopting an evidence-rich graduation approach to poverty alleviation, The/Nudge Institute’s Economic Inclusion program – formulates an answer to important questions: What does it truly mean to escape poverty? How can one earn more money, own more assets, and be able to pursue a life with more agency? Our Economic Inclusion journey for 25 million Indians, has reached 10 states with various state and central government partners, driving the scale up to cover more than 1.25Mn people.

Take the story of Reena Didi, for instance: for years, she migrated from Jharkhand to Varanasi to work in the punishing heat of brick kilns. While she did grueling work, her children often had to drop out of school – perpetuating a cycle of intergenerational poverty. After graduating from the Economic Inclusion Program, what truly changed for her – apart from an increase in income, assets, and savings – was her agency: she was able to manage her household and her children’s education, and even learned how to negotiate prices at the market.

Reena didi’s story is one of thousands of women – tending to kitchen gardens, growing tomatoes and gourd, rearing goats, running thriving businesses, and no longer living with constant worry and guilt. The benefits don’t stop at the women, either – they often reinvest them into their families and communities, scaling change.

Through consumption grants, livelihood assets, and financial literacy training, The/Nudge, through public-private partnerships, is helping families escape economic exclusion and secure sustainable incomes.

Beyond direct economic inclusion, The/Nudge is also nurturing India’s brightest minds – problem solvers and social entrepreneurs – to tackle the country’s most pressing, wicked problems and increase access to livelihood solutions for the country’s marginalized communities. The incubator, accelerator and grand challenges have supported 200+ social entrepreneurs including 17 Forbes 30U30, 3 EarthShot Prize winners, 1 Time Magazine cover and more.

The path to a Viksit Bharat is one that requires a strong collective showcase – with governments, businesses, social enterprises, and individuals coming together. Recognizing the importance of global partnerships to scale this change and sustain its momentum to supercharge India’s inclusive development story, The/Nudge (North America) has been organizing events in the United States, bringing together entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and changemakers for dialogue on India’s journey towards poverty alleviation, and for showcasing The/Nudge Institute’s impact along with our various partners and supporters.

Having just wrapped up ‘Bay Area Gets The/Nudge’ – a convening at Stanford where 200+ socially conscious changemakers came together, including Vinod Khosla (Founder, Sun Microsystems and Khosla Ventures), Anu Baharadwaj (President, Atlassian), Srinivas Narayanan (VP, OpenAI) etc., The/Nudge is all set to bring their impact stories to New York.

‘New York Gets The/Nudge’ will happen at Harvard Club of New York on 27th March 2025, for an evening of conversations on poverty alleviation, and The/Nudge’s mission and commitment to supporting India on this journey. An inspiring evening awaits, with distinguished attendees such as Ashish Shah (Chief Investment Officer, Goldman Sachs), MR Rangaswamy (Founder, Indiaspora), Anu Bharadwaj (President, Atlassian), Maneesh Dir (ex-MD, Apple India), Deepak Raj (Founder, Raj Associates), and Jaideep Khanna (Founder, Ananta-OM Management) etc.

Set up with support from 100+ eminent philanthropists, 40+ corporates and 15+ foundations, The/Nudge is contributing towards a "poverty-free India, within our lifetime". To explore how you can participate in this movement, please reach out to fundraising@thenudge.org or RSVP for the event here.