ROSHNI - Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action

What ROSHNI - Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action does

ROSHNI - Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action (ROSHNI-CWCSA) is a non-profit technical support unit established in 2018 and embedded within the Department of Development Communication and Extension at Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi. Operating under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, it serves as the designated knowledge management and capacity building hub for DAY-NRLM's Food, Nutrition, Health and WASH (FNHW) interventions, reaching approximately 9.96 crore Self-Help Group members across 656 districts. The organization is technically and financially supported by UNICEF India.

ROSHNI's core deliverables are programmatic rather than technological. The flagship Swabhimaan Programme (2016-2020) and its successor Swabhimaan 2.0 (2021-present) are multi-sector integrated interventions that test and incubate gender-responsive approaches to improving nutritional outcomes for women and adolescent girls through women-led collectives. Swabhimaan 2.0 covers 28 districts across 6 states (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Assam, Madhya Pradesh) and adds integrated nutrition/obstetric/mental health counselling, tele-based monitoring, and the proprietary 3X3X3 gender transformative framework. Supporting offerings include Training and IEC materials, Process Evaluation and Research services, Gender Transformative Interventions, and capacity building via a Fellowships and Internships programme. Impact evaluation is conducted in partnership with AIIMS, IIPS, and University College London.

The business model is grant-funded and non-commercial. Revenue derives from UNICEF technical support grants and government allocations routed through the MoRD-Lady Irwin College partnership, with no product sales, licensing, or fee-for-service revenue. The organization operates with a lean core team of approximately 5 staff supplemented by consultants, and routes field delivery through Community Resource Persons (Poshan Sakhis, Kishori Sakhis, Mangun Mits) embedded within DAY-NRLM's SHG federations and State Rural Livelihoods Missions. Distribution channels are exclusively governmental and community-based, with no commercial sales motion.

Name

ROSHNI - Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action

Legal name

ROSHNI - Centre of Women Collectives Led Social Action

Website

https://roshni-cwcsa.co.in

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ROSHNI-CWCSA is a non-profit technical support unit at Lady Irwin College, Delhi, that assists India's DAY-NRLM in scaling food, nutrition, health, and WASH interventions for women and adolescent girls through Self-Help Groups across 656 districts, funded by UNICEF and MoRD.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Development Consulting Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Agriculture, Food Security & Nutrition Technical Assistance (BPADAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Maternal, Infant & Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) Programs (BPADAJAC), Social & Behavior Change Communication (SBCC) for Nutrition (BPADAJAK), Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH), Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (MNCH) Programs (BPADAIAC)

Keywords

• Nutrition interventions
• Women collectives
• Capacity building
• Knowledge management
• Gender transformative

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grant Funding: ROSHNI operates as a technical support unit funded through MoU with Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and Lady Irwin College. UNICEF provides technical and financial support. No commercial revenue generation.
2. Institutional Partnerships: Funding support from UNICEF India and government allocations under DAY-NRLM for FNHW interventions. The organization does not generate revenue but receives grants for knowledge management and capacity building services.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ROSHNI functions as a technical support and knowledge management unit providing programmatic guidance, capacity building, evidence generation, and research support to India's DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission) on Food, Nutrition, Health and WASH (FNHW) interventions delivered through women Self-Help Groups and their federations. Its core deliverables are the Swabhimaan and Swabhimaan 2.0 programmes, gender transformative interventions, training/IEC tools, and process evaluation/research services, supported by UNICEF India and embedded in Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi.

Product overview

ROSHNI-CWCSA is a technical support unit housed at Lady Irwin College that serves as a knowledge and capacity building hub for DAY-NRLM's FNHW (Food, Nutrition, Health and WASH) interventions. The core offerings consist of the Swabhimaan Programme and its successor Swabhimaan 2.0, which are multi-sector integrated programmes designed for women collectives to improve nutritional status through community cash grant mechanisms. These are supported by Gender Transformative Interventions, Training & IEC Materials, Process Evaluation & Research, and Capacity Building programmes (Fellowships and Internships). The organization functions as a programme implementation support entity rather than a technology product company, focusing on social behavior change communication, community mobilization, and evidence generation for nutrition outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Swabhimaan Programme A multi-sector integrated programme designed for women collectives to improve the nutritional status of women and adolescent girls. Tests delivery of 18 nutrition-specific and sensitive interventions covering food/nutrient intake, micronutrient deficiencies, health services access, WASH, and pregnancy prevention, delivered through SHGs and Village Organizations in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha.
• Swabhimaan 2.0 Next-generation intervention building on Swabhimaan, adding integrated counselling for nutrition, obstetric and mental health, tele-based methods, and gender transformative approaches. Expands to 28 districts across 6 states (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Telangana, Assam, Madhya Pradesh) with COVID-19-sensitive adaptations.
• Gender Transformative Interventions Gender transformative approach for nutrition interventions engaging men and families. Uses the proprietary '3X3X3' strategy targeting husbands, mothers-in-law and dais through Pariwar Chaupal meetings, Maitri Baithaks and Gram Sabhas to address gendered nutrition outcomes.
• Food, Nutrition, Health and WASH (FNHW) Interventions Comprehensive interventions addressing food security, nutrition, health and water-sanitation-hygiene outcomes for women and adolescent girls through women collectives, aligned with DAY-NRLM's Dashasutra strategy and POSHAN Abhiyan.
• Process Evaluation & Research Evidence-based research and process evaluation services to strengthen FNHW programmes, including monitoring of programme implementation and outcome documentation across multiple states.
• Fellowships Programme Year-long paid fellowships for development research and communications focusing on nutrition programmes, gender transformative actions, disaster risk reduction, and maternal depression in the context of women collectives.
• Internships Programme Internship opportunities for motivated young people interested in social media, documentation and advocacy related to FNHW work with women collectives.

Quantifiable outcome

• Increased sanitary napkin use among adolescents from 36% (2016) to 62% (2018)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 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

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2024MoRD has renewed a five-year MoU with Lady Irwin College for ROSHNI to serve as technical support unit to DAY-NRLM. ROSHNI provides knowledge management, policy guidance and convening support for FNHW and gender-transformative interventions under POSHAN Abhiyaan.
• UNICEF IndiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNICEF provides technical and financial support to ROSHNI. It supports the Swabhimaan programme and Swabhimaan 2.0, contributing to capacity building, evidence generation, and programme design for FNHW interventions.
• Lady Irwin College, University of DelhicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for ROSHNI-CWCSA. The centre is embedded in the Department of Development Communication and Extension. Lady Irwin College provides academic infrastructure and faculty support.
• DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary government partner for which ROSHNI serves as technical support unit. ROSHNI assists DAY-NRLM to improve FNHW outcomes across 9.96 crore SHG members in 656 districts, working on Dashasutra Strategy implementation.
• State Rural Livelihoods Missions (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementation partners for Swabhimaan and Swabhimaan 2.0 programmes. State missions anchor the programme in coordination with departments of health, civil supplies, social welfare, agriculture and public health engineering.
• International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerIIPS conducts baseline and midline evaluations for Swabhimaan programme. It provides technical support for impact evaluation in collaboration with AIIMS and University College London.
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAIIMS leads impact evaluation of Swabhimaan programme in Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, with technical support from IIPS and UCL.
• UNICEF India CollaboratorssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with various NGOs and resource persons for development of capacity building tools and methodologies, as mentioned in Swabhimaan documentation.
• FNHW Expert Consultation ParticipantsminorOthersExpert consultation organized by DAY-NRLM with UNICEF support to gain insights from field experiences for enhancing FNHW interventions.
• NCEARD (National Centre of Excellence and Advanced Research on Diets)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated centre at Lady Irwin College working on maternal nutrition guidelines and technical assistance to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Linked resource centre for NCEARD under ROSHNI website.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Population Foundation of India: PFI works on reproductive health, family planning, and women's empowerment through community engagement and government technical support, intersecting with ROSHNI's maternal nutrition and family planning focus areas.
• MAMTA Health Institute for Mother and Child: Indian NGO working on maternal, adolescent, and child health and nutrition through community platforms and government partnerships, with technical assistance and capacity-building functions similar to ROSHNI.
• Nutrition International (India): Nutrition International provides technical assistance and micronutrient supplementation programming across India, addressing similar FNHW outcomes through government partnerships, comparable to ROSHNI's technical support function.
• Welthungerhilfe India: German development NGO implementing nutrition, WASH, and rural development programmes in India through women collectives and SHG federations, with a comparable technical assistance and community-led model.
• PRADAN: Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) operates deeply within India's SHG and DAY-NRLM ecosystem to promote rural livelihoods and women's empowerment, sharing ROSHNI's model of working through women collectives for development outcomes.
• Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation (BRLF): BRLF is a Section 25 company set up by the Indian government to support DAY-NRLM and tribal livelihood programs through civil society partnerships, making it a closely comparable technical support and capacity-building entity in the same ecosystem.
• Alive & Thrive (India): FHI 360-managed initiative that designs and tests maternal nutrition and IYCF interventions in India using community platforms, mirroring ROSHNI's evidence-based, SHG-anchored approach to nutrition behaviour change.

Broad incumbents

• PATH India: Global health organization operating across maternal, neonatal, and child health with technical assistance to government programmes in India, providing broader portfolio reach but overlapping with ROSHNI's MNCH and nutrition mandate.
• World Food Programme India: WFP India is a larger UN agency addressing food security and nutrition across multiple ministries and states, offering overlapping capabilities in FNHW but at broader portfolio scale rather than ROSHNI's niche SHG-embedded focus.

Emerging players

• Centre for Health Research and Development (CHRD): Indian research and implementation organization focused on health systems strengthening and nutrition interventions with academic anchors, comparable in structure and niche focus to ROSHNI's technical support model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Roshni_CWCSAInd
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCHpqo0V4WKcEC4WlH2gMdRg
• Facebookfacebook.com/roshnicwcsa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/roshni-cwcsa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ROSHNI - Centre of Women Collectives led Social Action