Arpana Trust

What Arpana Trust does

Arpana Trust is an Indian charitable and spiritual trust founded on 27 August 1962 by Param Pujya Ma, who bequeathed to it the entire corpus of her scriptural elucidations known as "Urvashi" — 26 Granthas (~8,000 pages), 5,000 handwritten cards, and 7,000+ audio and 2,000 video recordings spanning elucidations of the Bhagavad Gita, ten Upanishads, Japji Sahib, and Patanjali Yoga Sutras. The trust's operational footprint spans three Indian states — Haryana (headquarters at Arpana Ashram, Madhuban, Karnal), Delhi (Arpana Mandir at Defence Colony, slum programmes at Molarband and Vasant Vihar), and Himachal Pradesh (Dalhousie retreat, Gajnoi/Chamba medical center) — delivered through a 17-person core staff supplemented by active volunteers.

Arpana's business model combines three revenue streams: (1) donations and charitable contributions from Indian donors (Section 80G tax-exempt, 50% deduction) and foreign donors routed through FCRA registration and partner entities AID for Indian Development (USA) and Arpana Charitable Trust (UK); (2) one-time product sales of spiritual publications (Srimad Bhagavad Gita Rs.450, multiple Upanishad books Rs.12–400), audio/video CDs (Rs.75–2,000), and handicrafts produced by 200+ rural women; and (3) healthcare services delivered through Arpana Hospital (~5,000 eye operations annually, primarily cataract), mobile clinics, and a 35-village rural health programme. Distribution is via three physical retail outlets (Defence Colony, Madhuban Ashram, Karnal Model Town) plus direct service delivery.

The trust is governed by a Board of Trustees and managed by an Executive Director (Harishwar Dayal) since founder Param Pujya Ma's passing in April 2008. A wholly-owned subsidiary, Arpana Research & Charities Trust (established 1980), carries out the rural health and welfare operations. The trust holds SIRO recognition (Government of India, 1996), the Sasakawa Health Prize (WHO, 1993), and two consecutive Himotkarsh National Integration Awards (2000, 2001). Customer segments include rural communities (~200,000 served around Madhuban), urban slum dwellers, rural women artisans, and a global community of spiritual seekers reached via Zoom video satsangs.

Name

Arpana Trust

Legal name

Arpana Trust

Website

https://arpana.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Arpana Trust is a 1962-founded Indian charitable trust delivering spiritual knowledge dissemination, rural healthcare (5,000+ annual eye surgeries), women's empowerment (200+ handicraft families), and slum education across Haryana, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable and Spiritual Services

NAICS

Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592)

akta.pro primary industry

Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Trust Funds & Multi-Donor Pooled Funds (BPADAOAE)

Keywords

• Spiritual publications
• Rural healthcare services
• Charitable trust services
• Women empowerment programs
• Scriptural research

Headquarters

HQ city

Madhuban, Karnal

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Arpana Trust receives donations from Indian and foreign donors. Indian donations are exempt under Section 80G of Income Tax Act (50% tax exemption). Foreign donations received through FCRA registration and partner organizations like AID for Indian Development (USA) and Arpana Charitable Trust, UK.
2. Product Sales: Sale of spiritual products including books (Srimad Bhagavad Gita Rs.450, Let's Play the Game of Love Rs.400, various Upanishads), audio/video CDs (Rs.75-Rs.2000), and handicrafts made by rural women.
3. Healthcare Services: Arpana Hospital provides healthcare services to rural population. Eye department performs approximately 5,000 operations annually, primarily cataract procedures.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arpana Trust is a charitable trust that preserves and disseminates Param Pujya Ma's scriptural elucidations (Urvashi) through publications, audio/video media, and spiritual content while delivering community welfare services including rural healthcare through Arpana Hospital, women's empowerment via handicraft training, and educational programs for slum children across Haryana, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh in India.

Product overview

Arpana Trust offers a spiritual knowledge portfolio centered on Param Pujya Ma's elucidations of ancient scriptures including the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, and prayers. The core products include publications (books and magazines in English and Hindi), audio/video media (CDs, DVDs, and digital recordings), and handicrafts produced by rural women. The organization also provides community services including healthcare through Arpana Hospital, women's empowerment programmes, educational initiatives for slum communities, and rural development projects across Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi. The spiritual products (publications and audio/video materials) and charitable services (healthcare and social welfare) operate as interconnected offerings under the unified mission of revitalizing humane values.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Urvashi: The divine flow of spiritual knowledge that emanated from Param Pujya Ma, including elucidations of scriptures, bhajans, and spiritual teachings preserved and disseminated by Arpana Trust.
• Urvashi Lalit Kala Academy
• Urvashi Bhajans

Products and services

• Srimad Bhagavad Gita (Elucidation)

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero population growth achieved in target area through population control programmes
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Arpana Research & Charities TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated trust handling Haryana and Himachal Services. FCRA Reg. No 172310002. Works in conjunction with Arpana Trust for service activities.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness): Global spiritual organization with a large publishing/media arm (books, music, video), temple networks, and food-distribution and education programs. Comparable to Arpana in monetizing spiritual content through publications and media while running community welfare.
• Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust: Indian charitable trust running free super-specialty hospitals, educational institutions, and drinking-water projects. Closely comparable to Arpana in its model of funding welfare services through donations tied to a spiritual figure and a parallel focus on healthcare and education.
• Sri Aurobindo Ashram: Indian spiritual ashram running schools, hospitals, publishing, and rural development around the teachings of a single founder. Comparable to Arpana in operating an ashram, publication activities, and welfare services under a founder-anchored spiritual identity.
• Chinmaya Mission: Indian spiritual organization focused on Vedantic teaching, publishing, and running schools, hospitals, and social-service projects. Comparable to Arpana in its Vedantic content orientation, publication-driven dissemination, and integrated welfare activities.
• Art of Living (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Trust): Global Indian spiritual and social-service organization running meditation programs, rural development, education, and disaster relief. Comparable to Arpana in combining spiritual dissemination with a large volunteer network and multi-state welfare operations.
• Mata Amritanandamayi Math (Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham): Indian spiritual charitable trust operating one of India's largest networks of free hospitals, schools, and disaster-relief programs, funded through donations. Comparable to Arpana in the scale of its healthcare and education footprint and its donation-led funding model.
• Ramakrishna Mission: Major Indian spiritual-charitable trust operating monasteries, schools, hospitals, and rural welfare programs. Most directly comparable to Arpana in combining a founder-led spiritual mission with a multi-state network of hospitals, schools, and community service projects.
• Brahma Kumaris: International spiritual organization with a strong media and content-distribution arm, running meditation centers, retreats, and social-service projects. Comparable to Arpana in producing spiritual media content and combining it with community welfare programs.
• Vivekananda Kendra: Indian spiritual service organization focused on rural development, education, and healthcare in India's northeast and beyond. Comparable to Arpana in its rural-development and community-health focus backed by volunteer networks.

Emerging players

• Sankara Eye Foundation: India-focused charitable foundation running a national network of eye hospitals performing high volumes of free cataract surgeries. Comparable to Arpana specifically on the high-volume, rural cataract-care operating model that produces 5,000 surgeries a year.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arpana-trust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Arpana Trust