Assam Centre for Rural Development

What Assam Centre for Rural Development does

Assam Centre for Rural Development (ACRD) is a registered non-government organisation founded in 1995 in Guwahati, Assam by Late Dr Lily Mazinder Baruah — youngest daughter of Bharat Ratna Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi, Bharat Ratna awardee and Assam's first Chief Minister. The organisation delivers integrated rural development services across eight districts of Assam (Kamrup, Kamrup Metro, Baksa, Tamulpur, Dhubri, Dibrugarh, Hailakandi, Lakhimpur), serving tribal communities, persons with disabilities, trafficked women and girls, at-risk children, BPL families, and rural populations with limited healthcare access, with active programme footprint across 700+ villages. ACRD's service portfolio spans six verticals — Health (Mobile Dispensary Project, SBI Sanjeevani Clinic on Wheels), Education (ASHA for Education school infrastructure, NCLP Gyan Setu Kendras), Disability (Community-Based Rehabilitation Programme), Child Rights (CHILDLINE 1098 sub-centres, Access to Justice for Every Child), Trafficking (Navajeevan Rehabilitation Home), and Livelihood (Vocational Training Centre/LILY, SBI Gram Seva, Gram Saksham) — delivered through a network of district and field offices, mobile medical units, a residential rehabilitation shelter, vocational training centres, and community-based structures.

ACRD's core service-delivery assets are operational rather than digital: two Mobile Medical Units staffed with doctor, lab technician, pharmacist and driver (20,352 beneficiaries served between March 2023 and February 2024), a JJ Act 2015-registered Navajeevan shelter that has rehabilitated 350+ trafficking survivors since 2008, a Community-Based Rehabilitation framework organising 28 village-level Disabled People's Organisations, and CHILDLINE/Access to Justice programmes that rescued 1,544 children via CHILDLINE (April 2016–March 2023) and stopped 241 child marriages (May 2023–March 2024). ACRD has no proprietary software, no mobile app, no API, and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities; technology is limited to equipped OPD vans, the government-provided CHILDLINE 1098 helpline, a website, and social media.

The business model is community-led and grant-funded. ACRD identifies beneficiaries door-to-door, forms SHGs and village committees, and delivers services free of cost, then secures implementation funding through government scheme partnerships (Ministry of Women and Child Development Ujjawala/Shakti Sadan, Ministry of Labour NCLP, Ministry of Tribal Affairs Mobile Dispensary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment CBR), institutional CSR (primarily SBI Foundation across Gram Seva, Gram Saksham, Sanjeevani, Project Nirmal, Sashakti; plus ASHA for Education USA, Embassy of Japan, LIC Golden Jubilee Foundation, NSDL, SBI Mutual Funds, SBI CAP Securities, Caritas India), and individual donations. ACRD was ranked among the top 50 of 161 partner NGOs in Phase 2 of the Just Rights for Children Alliance Access to Justice programme, and is currently expanding via a new shelter MoU (April 2025), Sanjeevani geographic extension (Dhubri, Hailakandi from January 2025), and Access to Justice Phase 3 expansion into Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur.

Name

Assam Centre for Rural Development

Legal name

Assam Centre for Rural Development (ACRD)

Website

https://acrdghy.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Assam Centre for Rural Development is a 1995-founded Guwahati-based NGO operating across 8 districts of Assam, delivering integrated health, education, disability, child rights, anti-trafficking, and livelihood programmes to rural, tribal, and vulnerable populations through government grants and CSR partnerships (primarily SBI Foundation).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Rural Development / NGO Community Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Educational Support Services (611710), Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519), Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability Facilities (62321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Access & Quality (International Development) (BPAGABAE), Education Systems & Skills Technical Assistance (BPADAEAI), Developmental Therapy / Early Childhood Special Instruction (EDACAFAG)

Keywords

• Rural development services
• Community rehabilitation programs
• Child protection services
• Anti-trafficking interventions
• Vocational livelihood training

Headquarters

HQ city

Guwahati

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices14 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants & Scheme Implementation: ACRD depends largely on government funds to implement developmental programmes, including schemes from the Ministry of Women and Child Development (Ujjawala/Shakti Sadan), Ministry of Labour and Employment (NCLP), Ministry of Tribal Affairs (Mobile Dispensary), and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. ACRD acts as an implementing NGO for these schemes.
2. CSR Funding: ACRD receives CSR funding from corporate partners including SBI Foundation (SBI Gram Seva, Gram Saksham, SBIF Sashakti, Project Nirmal, Sanjeevani Clinic on Wheels), SBI CAP Securities (school sanitation), ASHA for Education Stamford Chapter (education infrastructure), LIC Golden Jubilee Foundation (vehicle), Embassy of Japan (vocational training), NSDL and SBI Mutual Funds (Sanjeevani co-funding).
3. Individual Donations: ACRD accepts individual donations via its donation page, with bank account details provided for direct transfers. Donations support ACRD's ongoing community development work.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Assam Centre for Rural Development (ACRD) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1995 that implements multi-sectoral community development programs across rural Assam. Its offering spans community-based rehabilitation for persons with disabilities, child protection (CHILDLINE 1098 and anti-trafficking interventions), residential rehabilitation, mobile health services (Sanjeevani Clinic on Wheels, Mobile Dispensary), vocational/livelihood training through the LILY Vocational Training Centre, and education and child rights programming delivered in partnership with government departments and corporate CSR funders.

Product overview

Assam Centre for Rural Development (ACRD) is a non-government organisation dedicated to the development of rural and disadvantaged communities in Assam. The organisation operates multiple social development programmes across distinct verticals: Education (National Child Labour Programme, ASHA for Education support), Health (Mobile Dispensary, SBI Sanjeevani Clinic on Wheels), Disability (Community-Based Rehabilitation Programme), Child Rights (CHILDLINE, Access to Justice for Every Child), Trafficking Prevention (Navajeevan Rehabilitation Home), and Livelihood (Vocational Training Centre, Grassroot Grants Project, SBI Gram Seva, Gram Saksham). ACRD also implements infrastructure and sanitation projects including Project Nirmal and SBI CAP Securities school sanitation initiatives. These programmes are primarily funded through partnerships with government ministries (Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Labour), SBI Foundation, ASHA for Education, Embassy of Japan, and other institutional donors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Navajeevan: Rehabilitation home for women and girls rescued from trafficking, operating since 2008
• SBI Sanjeevani Clinic on Wheels
• Gram Saksham
• Gram Seva
• Project Nirmal
• LILY (Livelihood Intervention for Local Youth)

Products and services

• CHILDLINE 1098 Service 24x7 telephone-based helpline (1098) for children in distress, providing rescue, referral, and counselling services to children in need of care and protection across the districts served by ACRD in Assam. Delivered in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Child Development / CHILDLINE India Foundation.
• Navajeevan Rehabilitation Home Residential rehabilitation home providing short- and medium-term shelter, care, counselling, and rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities and survivors of trafficking and abuse, including referral for medical, legal, and educational support. Targeted at marginalized women, children, and PwDs in Assam.
• Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Programme Community-based rehabilitation programme delivering disability-inclusive services (assessment, therapy, assistive devices, livelihoods, social inclusion) for persons with disabilities in rural Assam, working through community workers and local referral networks.
• SBI Sanjeevani Clinic on Wheels Mobile health unit (operated under CSR sponsorship) that dispatches doctors, medicines, and diagnostics to remote villages in Assam, delivering primary healthcare, basic diagnostics, and referrals to underserved rural populations who lack access to fixed health facilities.
• Mobile Dispensary Project Outreach mobile dispensary delivering primary healthcare services to remote rural communities in Assam, complementing stationary health facilities via field visits and pharmacy dispensation.
• LILY Vocational Training Centre Vocational training centre providing trade-based skill development (tailoring, computer, beautician, and other livelihoods) to marginalized youth, women, and PwDs in Assam, with placement support and linkages to self-employment/market opportunities.
• National Child Labour Programme (NCLP) Implementation Implementation of the Government of India NCLP scheme — running special training centres that mainstream child labourers back into formal education while providing supplementary nutrition, stipends, and vocational inputs. Delivered as an implementing NGO partner of the Ministry of Labour.
• Access to Justice for Every Child Legal aid and access-to-justice programme for children — providing legal representation, support through Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB), Child Welfare Committee (CWC) processes, and diversion/rehabilitation support for children in conflict with the law in Assam.
• Project Nirmal Sanitation and hygiene programme (under CSR / institutional sponsorship) supporting construction and use of household toilets, sanitation behaviour-change communications, and waste-management support in rural Assam villages.
• SBI Gram Seva Programme CSR-sponsored integrated village development programme (under SBI Foundation) covering health, sanitation, livelihood, and education interventions in selected rural clusters of Assam, delivered under the 'Gram Seva' framework.
• Gram Saksham Programme Community empowerment / village capacity-building programme strengthening gram panchayat and community-level institutions, with convergence support for access to government schemes in rural Assam.
• ASHA for Education Programme Education sponsorship programme (in partnership with ASHA for Education) supporting disadvantaged rural school children in Assam with educational materials, scholarships, and supplementary learning inputs.
• SBI CAP Securities CSR Initiative SBI Capital Securities–sponsored CSR initiative funding rural development and welfare activities in Assam under the broader SBI Foundation / SBI group CSR portfolio.
• Grassroot Grants Project Small-grants programme channeling seed funding to community-based organizations and local groups in rural Assam to address locally identified priorities (health, education, livelihood, women's collectives).

Quantifiable outcome

• 350 girls rehabilitated through Navajeevan Rehabilitation Home
• +10 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Indian Medical Association, Assam State Branch; GNRC Hospital Guwahati; Guwahati Eye Centre; Lions Eye Hospital Guwahati; Biswabahu Foundation; NEMCARE Hospital Guwahati; Sarathi Hospital NalbariminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023Specialised health camps conducted under the Sanjeevani Clinic on Wheels initiative in collaboration with these medical institutions and hospitals, providing specialised healthcare services (physiotherapy, ENT, dentistry, ophthalmology, etc.) in remote villages.
• Just Rights for Children AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2023ACRD is a partner NGO implementing the 'Access to Justice for Every Child' initiative aimed at preventing and eliminating child trafficking, child sexual abuse, child marriage, and ensuring justice and rehabilitation. ACRD was among the top 50 of 161 partner NGOs in Phase 2 (May 2023 – March 2024), and entered Phase 3 in June 2024 expanding to Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur.
• Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI), KumarikataminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2017ACRD collaborated with RSETI in Kumarikata under the SBI Gram Seva programme to provide skill training and resources (piglets, saplings, sewing machines, weaving loom stands) to beneficiaries.
• CHILDLINE India FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2016ACRD ran two CHILDLINE 1098 sub-centres in Boko and Rani Block of Kamrup district from April 2016 to March 2023, rescuing and restoring children in distress through coordination with police, CWC, and government departments.
• District Legal Services Authority (DLSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACRD works closely with DLSA across multiple districts to ensure comprehensive support and protection for trafficking victims, child protection cases, and persons with disabilities, including helping victims obtain victim compensation.

Scale indicators20 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Prerana: Mumbai-based anti-trafficking NGO running shelter homes and prevention programmes for women and girls, directly comparable to ACRD's Navajeevan Rehabilitation Home and trafficking vertical. Both NGOs focus on rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration of trafficked women and girls under Ujjawala/Shakti Sadan schemes.
• Sense International India: Disability-focused NGO supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in India. Comparable to ACRD's Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) programme and DPO formation work for persons with disabilities in rural Assam.
• Operation ASHA: NGO delivering last-mile health services (tuberculosis, maternal/child health) to underserved rural and tribal populations across India. Comparable to ACRD's rural mobile health delivery and community health worker model serving tribal communities.
• Sanlaap: Kolkata-based anti-trafficking and child protection NGO operating shelter homes and rehabilitation programmes in West Bengal and Eastern India. Comparable to ACRD's trafficking and CHILDLINE work, with similar regulatory frameworks (JJ Act 2015) and government scheme dependencies.
• Piramal Swasthya: Piramal Foundation's healthcare delivery arm running mobile medical units, telemedicine, and primary health programmes in rural and underserved India. Directly comparable to ACRD's SBI Sanjeevani Clinic on Wheels mobile OPD model.
• Bachpan Bachao Andolan: Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi's national child rights and anti-child-labour NGO. Operates comparable child rescue, NCLP-type programming, and child marriage prevention work, overlapping directly with ACRD's Access to Justice and child rights verticals.
• Childline India Foundation: National CHILDLINE 1098 coordinating body under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, of which ACRD was a sub-centre operator from 2016-2023. Directly comparable in child protection helpline operations, rescue protocols, and government scheme integration.
• BAIF Development Research Foundation: Large Pune-headquartered rural development NGO focused on livelihood, livestock, agriculture, and community development for tribal and rural populations. Comparable to ACRD's livelihood vertical (Gram Seva, Gram Saksham) and community-embedded development approach.

Broad incumbents

• ActionAid India: Federation member of ActionAid International, working on women's rights, child rights, education, and disaster response across India. Overlaps with ACRD's trafficking, child rights, and rural community development focus, but at a significantly larger national scale.
• CARE India: Large international NGO with extensive India operations in health, education, livelihood, and women's empowerment. As a broader incumbent in development space, CARE India operates overlapping thematic verticals (health, education, gender) at a much larger scale than ACRD.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Assam-Centre-for-Rural-Development-100064566167271
• Instagraminstagram.com/acrd_95/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/assam-centre-for-rural-development

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Assam Centre for Rural Development