Aadiwasi Janjagruti

What Aadiwasi Janjagruti does

Aadiwasi Janjagruti is a non-profit hyperlocal journalism initiative operating as a project under Ulgulan for Social Change Foundation (CIN U85300JH2019NPL013376), registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and headquartered behind the post office in Dhadgaon, Nandurbar district, Maharashtra. Founded by Nitesh Bhardwaj during his 2017 SBI Youth for India Fellowship and co-built with five tribal youth (Rakesh, Arjun, Naresh, Deepak, and Kalpesh Pawara), the organization trains local tribal volunteers to produce short films and documentaries in Pawari, Bhilori, and Ahrani dialects on issues including child labour, open defecation, sickle cell disease, COVID-19 vaccination, government schemes, water access, and corruption. Distribution is multi-modal and offline-first: mobile projector screenings in 200+ villages and hamlets, WhatsApp peer-to-peer sharing, and a YouTube channel with 7,000+ subscribers.

Name

Aadiwasi Janjagruti

Legal name

Ulgulan for Social Change Foundation

Website

https://aadiwasijanjagruti.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aadiwasi Janjagruti is a non-profit hyperlocal journalism initiative in Nandurbar, Maharashtra, that trains tribal youth to produce and distribute mobile-filmed documentaries in Pawari, Bhilori, and Ahrani languages across 200+ villages to bridge information gaps between tribal communities and local government.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hyperlocal Community Media

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Issue & Advocacy Documentaries (MPADADAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Short-Form Documentaries (MPADADAC)

Keywords

• Hyperlocal journalism
• Community media
• Tribal awareness
• Grassroots reporting
• Mobile journalism

Headquarters

HQ city

Nandurbar

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. YouTube channel revenue: The YouTube channel, with 7,000+ subscribers, generates revenue through advertising. A percentage of this revenue is shared with volunteers (approximately 70%), with the balance kept for organizational setup and further projects.
2. Local business advertising: Local businesses and stores place advertisements on the Aadiwasi Janjagruti platform, providing a revenue stream. This is supported by the large and engaged local audience the platform has built.
3. Grants and prize money: Aadiwasi Janjagruti receives grant funding from organizations including SBI Foundation (Rs 30 lakh grant as part of the SBI YFI Sahyog programme), as well as prize money from various awards. These funds are used to pay volunteers and support organizational activities.
4. In-kind donations: People donate used laptops and mobile phones to support the organization's operations. Donations are tax-exempted under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Aadiwasi Janjagruti produces hyperlocal short films and documentaries in Pawari, Bhilori, and Ahrani tribal languages, shot and edited entirely on mobile phones by trained tribal youth volunteers in Dhadgaon block of Nandurbar district, Maharashtra. The content covers social issues (child labour, open defecation, COVID-19, sickle cell disease, government schemes, corruption) and is distributed via YouTube, WhatsApp, and mobile projectors across 200+ villages and hamlets. Supporting services include the Jaagriti college newspaper, mobile journalism training, government scheme awareness, misinformation busting, and grassroots leadership development.

Product overview

Aadiwasi Janjagruti is a non-profit initiative under Ulgulan Foundation that pioneered hyperlocal journalism in Nandurbar, Maharashtra. The organization operates as a service-focused social impact entity rather than a technology product company. Its core offerings consist of hyperlocal short films and documentaries produced by tribal youth on social issues (child labour, open defecation, COVID-19, water supply, corruption), distributed via YouTube, WhatsApp, and mobile projectors. Supporting services include the Jaagriti bilingual college newspaper, mobile journalism training using Power Director app, misinformation busting through village volunteers, government scheme awareness programs, and grassroots leadership development. All content is created in local tribal languages (Pawari, Bhilori, Ahirani) to ensure accessibility and resonance with the target communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hyperlocal Short Films and Documentaries Short films and documentaries produced by tribal youth in Pawari, Bhilori, and Ahrani languages on social issues such as child labour, open defecation, COVID-19 awareness, water supply, and corruption. Shot and edited entirely on mobile phones and distributed via YouTube, WhatsApp, and mobile projectors across 200+ villages.
• Jaagriti College Newspaper A bilingual (Marathi and Hindi) 4-page college newspaper designed, edited, and distributed entirely by tribal students from Dhadgaon block, covering college news, faculty/alumni content, and student creative work.
• Mobile Journalism Training Training programs for tribal youth in Dhadgaon block on mobile video production, scriptwriting, camera techniques, and basic editing using the Power Director app to create hyperlocal content in Pawari, Bhilori, and Ahirani languages.
• Misinformation Busting Program Village volunteer network that debunks fake news and misinformation through hyperlocal communication and short films, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic (50+ videos produced in 2021).
• Government Scheme Awareness Service Creating awareness about government welfare schemes and entitlements in tribal languages, helping villagers access benefits and combat corruption related to scheme disbursements.
• Grassroots Leadership Development Program to encourage youth participation in Gram Panchayat, develop leadership skills in potential grassroots leaders, and foster community engagement through civic participation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6 bore wells dug in Amkhedi village after documentary on water crisis was shown to Block Development Officer
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BAIF Development Research FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounder Nitesh Bhardwaj worked with BAIF in Dhadgaon for 13 months under the SBI Youth for India fellowship programme, focusing on Market Linkage of Forest Products. BAIF provides institutional support and field infrastructure for rural development projects in the region.
• Gram Panchayats and Block Administration (Dhadgaon, Nandurbar)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGram panchayats and block administration request Aadiwasi Janjagruti films for display at their meetings. The Block Development Officer reviewed documentary videos and directed action on village issues. The District Collector gifted mobile phones and projectors to volunteers. The relationship is collaborative: administration uses Aadiwasi Janjagruti content to drive scheme implementation.
• Digital Empowerment FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAwarded Aadiwasi Janjagruti the 'Social Media for Empowerment Award 2020-21' under the Citizen Media and Journalism category. The Digital Empowerment Foundation also features the organization on its platform (SM4E), providing visibility and credibility.
• SDSN Youth Network, Quality Council of India, Pune International Centre, National Innovation FoundationminorOthersThese organizations have recognized Aadiwasi Janjagruti's work, providing legitimacy and credibility. Each has acknowledged the organization's innovative use of technology for hyperlocal tribal journalism.
• Maharaj Janardan Poharya Wadwi College, DhadgaoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNitesh Bhardwaj partnered with Dr H.M. Patil, Principal of Dhadgaon College, to start a campus newspaper 'Jaagriti' and train students in journalism and filmmaking. This partnership was the genesis of the Aadiwasi Janjagruti model, training the core team (Rakesh Pawara, Arjun Pawara, Naresh More, Deepak Pawara, Kalpesh Pawara).
• YouTubecoreTechnology or IntegrationYouTube serves as the primary hosting and distribution platform for all Aadiwasi Janjagruti video content. The channel generates advertising revenue (shared with volunteers) and reaches audiences beyond the immediate geographic area. The channel has over 7,000 subscribers.
• Forest Department (Nandurbar)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Forest Department approached Aadiwasi Janjagruti to make a short film on environmental issues, indicating cross-government adoption and a paid or recognition-based partnership for content creation.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Scroll.in: Major independent digital news outlet that has covered Aadiwasi Janjagruti's work. Operates in the broader digital journalism and civic-accountability space but at national scale and in mainstream languages.
• The Quint: Large digital news platform that has profiled Aadiwasi Janjagruti. Operates in the broader digital journalism and social-impact storytelling space but as a mainstream English-language player.

Direct peers

• Gram Vaani: Social-tech organization operating community media and IVR-based platforms for rural India. Comparable to Aadiwasi Janjagruti in deploying low-tech, community-embedded communication infrastructure to surface citizen voices in underserved geographies.
• BOOM Live: Fact-checking and misinformation-busting news platform. Directly comparable to Aadiwasi Janjagruti's misinformation-fighting videos in tribal languages, especially the COVID-19 vaccine awareness content.
• CGNet Swara: Citizen journalism platform operating in Chhattisgarh's tribal belts, enabling local reporters to file stories via mobile. Directly comparable to Aadiwasi Janjagruti's model of tribal-language community reporting and government accountability.
• People's Archive of Rural India (PARI): Archive and journalism platform documenting life across rural India through images, text and video. Comparable in mission of capturing under-reported rural and tribal realities, though more archive than active community mobilization.
• Khabar Lahariya: Rural India's women-led digital news outlet producing hyperlocal journalism in multiple Hindi dialects. Comparable to Aadiwasi Janjagruti in its focus on local-language reporting, grassroots reporter networks, and distribution via digital and offline channels.
• Youth Ki Awaaz: India's citizen journalism platform for youth contributors covering social issues. Overlaps with Aadiwasi Janjagruti's volunteer-driven, issue-focused content model, though at greater scale and in mainstream languages.
• The Better India: Impact-focused digital media platform covering positive stories from rural and underserved India. Comparable in framing grassroots impact narratives, though with a national English-language audience rather than tribal-language hyperlocal focus.
• Video Volunteers: India-based nonprofit that trains local community correspondents to produce hyperlocal journalism on issues like health, corruption and gender. Closest analogue to Aadiwasi Janjagruti's model of training local citizens as reporters using accessible technology.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ajanjagruti
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZXnTO9ggpwzPePn0BIS4OQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/aadiwasijanjagruti
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aadiwasijanjagruti
• Instagraminstagram.com/ajanjagruti

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Aadiwasi Janjagruti