Thirty years of change.
One village, one family,
one life at a time.
We work alongside the women, children, farmers, and youth of Vidarbha — not for them, but with them. Rooted in Yavatmal since 1995, Asmita Institute for Development is building a Maharashtra where no girl is forced into marriage, no child is robbed of school, and no family is left behind.
A name that means self-respect.
A mission that means transformation.
In Marathi, Asmita means identity — the quiet, unshakeable sense of knowing who you are and what you are worth. It is exactly what the communities of Yavatmal's most underserved villages have been rediscovering, year after year, through the work of this organization.
Founded in 1995 in Yavatmal, Maharashtra, Asmita Institute for Development is a voluntary organization dedicated to building futures from the ground up. We work in the Vidarbha region — one of India's most economically fragile agricultural belts — where farmer distress, gender inequality, child marriage, and malnutrition are not statistics on a page but realities that knock on doors every season.
Across Yavatmal and Buldhana districts, we work with over 50,500 families in 290 villages. Behind each number is a woman who now runs her own business, a girl who stayed in school, a farmer who broke a debt cycle that had held his family for a generation.
Our Vision
A progressive, self-reliant society built on equality — where every person, regardless of gender, caste, or economic circumstance, has access to dignity, opportunity, and justice.
Our Mission
To strengthen the capacities of women, farmers, and youth across Vidarbha — enabling sustainable livelihoods, rights, and collective community transformation.
Community-Led, Always
We design programs with communities, not for them. Local leadership is our long-term strategy.
Rights at the Centre
Dignity is not a reward for good behaviour. It is a right — every program is grounded in this belief.
Accountability Without Apology
Transparent financials, independent audits, and the standards our donors and beneficiaries deserve.
Evidence Over Assumption
Programs designed, monitored, and evaluated against measurable community outcomes.
"The greatest transformation we have witnessed is not in a field or a classroom. It is the moment when a woman from a Yavatmal village looks up and says — I know my rights, and I know my worth. That is when we know the work is real."
Trusted Impact
The people behind
30 years of impact.
A dedicated team committed to empowering communities, protecting children, strengthening livelihoods, and creating lasting social change across Vidarbha.
Mrs. Sangita Gaikwad
President
Mrs. Sheetal Warkad
Vice President
Mr. Jagdish Raut
Secretary
Mrs. Megha Chaudhary
Treasurer
Mr. Shubham Gaikwad
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)Six pillars. One purpose.
Thousands of lives.
Real development doesn't happen in one department. Our programs are deliberately interconnected — because the problems they address are.
Women Empowerment Through Self-Help Groups
580 active SHGs bank-linked under NABARD. ₹2 crore disbursed to 227 SHGs in 2024–25. Through SHG formation, legal literacy, skill training, and microfinance, we help rural women in Vidarbha build economic independence — and the confidence that comes with it.
Learn More
Child Protection — Access to Justice
In 2024–25: 64 children rescued from trafficking, 343 child marriages stopped, 60 trafficking cases addressed. We work with Child Welfare Committees, Childline 1098, and district authorities to build functioning child protection networks in Buldhana.
Learn More
Mukti Rath — Anti-Child Marriage Campaign
Yavatmal and Buldhana have some of Maharashtra's highest child marriage rates. Our year-round mobilization campaign reaches temples, mosques, gram sabhas, and schools — with 47,971 pledges taken for child marriage-free communities in 2024–25.
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Sustainable Agriculture & Water Conservation
Over 15,000 farmers trained in organic, water-efficient practices. Our Galmukt Dharan dam desilting project, implemented with Caring Friends Mumbai and the Maharashtra Government, has structurally improved water availability for agricultural communities.
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Nutrition & Health Awareness
747 women adopted kitchen gardens with measurable health improvements, 6 school gardens established, 731 community members received health camps in 2024–25. Mobile health camps address anaemia — the most prevalent preventable condition among rural women.
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Vocational Skills & Livelihoods
500 students trained since 2016. 460 passed exams. 105 placed in formal employment. 210 obtained contractor licenses. 85 started their own enterprises. 25 secured government jobs. Our Construction Supervisor programme is recognized by Maharashtra State Business Education Board.
Learn MoreNumbers do not tell the whole story.
But they are a good place to start.
Every statistic represents a specific moment: the morning a family cancelled a child's wedding. The afternoon a trafficked child was produced before the Child Welfare Committee. We track these carefully — to understand where the work lands and where it needs to go deeper.
Mukti Rath —
They called it tradition.
We called it a crime.
Yavatmal and Buldhana have among the highest rates of child marriage in Maharashtra. On Akshaya Tritiya each year — a date traditionally considered auspicious for weddings — hundreds of girls across Vidarbha are at risk. Asmita's Mukti Rath campaign was built specifically to interrupt this.
The campaign is not a one-day event. It is a year-round mobilization deploying awareness drives in temples, mosques, churches, and gurudwaras; engaging gram sabhas; training school teachers and anganwadi workers; and working with district authorities to register FIRs when prevention fails.
Learn About Mukti Rath
"I wanted to finish my studies. Asmita staff came and spoke to everyone — with patience and respect. They didn't shame anyone. Something shifted. I'm still in school."
— Pooja Tayade, Class 11, BuldhanaStories that remind us
why the work is real.
Every number in our impact data has a face, a name, and a specific moment. Here are three of them.
Renuka Raut — From Daily Wages to Daily Abundance
Renuka, 38, from Amboda village, Arni Taluka, worked as a daily wage labourer with her husband. After joining Asmita's SHG Kitchen Garden programme, she developed a 20×10-foot kitchen garden growing 12 varieties of fruits and vegetables. She now earns approximately ₹250 per day from produce sales — financially independent without leaving home.
Pooja Tayade — The Girl Who Wanted Class 11
Pooja, studying in Class 11, faced a family-arranged marriage due to financial pressure. When Asmita staff visited during awareness activities, she spoke to them. On the wedding day, the DCP Unit, Childline 1098, and Asmita counsellors visited her family — explaining the consequences compassionately. The marriage was called off. Pooja is continuing her education.
Saloni Gaiwai — Brought Home
Saloni, 17, was taken from her home while in Class 11. Her parents called Asmita's field coordinator for help. An FIR was filed. Saloni was located and the young man arrested. Asmita counsellors managed Saloni's reintegration through ongoing home visits and counselling. Today, Saloni is completing Class 12. Her face, as one field report notes simply, carries a smile.
Moments of
real change.
Every photograph is a record of something that happened in a real village, in a real district, with real families.
Your CSR investment belongs where
it can actually be felt.
The villages of Vidarbha do not make headlines as often as they should. Asmita has been building last-mile systems since 1995 — a credible, experienced, FCRA-registered partner with three decades of audited work.
30 Years of Uninterrupted Field Presence
We have not paused between grants. We have been in these villages continuously since 1995 — through droughts, policy changes, and difficult funding years. That continuity creates community trust that no new partnership can instantly replicate.
Government Collaboration at Every Level
Asmita works actively with District Collectors, SP offices, Child Welfare Committees, NABARD, MSRLM-UMED, Women & Child Development departments, and taluka health authorities. Your CSR investment operates within existing government systems.
Audited, Transparent Financials
80G certified, FCRA registered, and compliant with all CSR regulatory requirements. Annual reports published. Financial records available for due diligence. Our programmes align with CSR Schedule VII — rural development, gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability.
Programme Areas Available for CSR Partnership
Women's SHG Formation & Capacity Building
SHG formation, bank-linkage, and capacity building in Yavatmal and Washim. Schedule VII: Gender equality & women empowerment (Clause iii)
Child Marriage Prevention & Child Protection
Anti-trafficking and Access to Justice programme in Buldhana. Schedule VII: Promotion of education (Clause ii)
Vocational Skills & Livelihood Training
Government-recognized vocational training for youth in Yavatmal. Schedule VII: Rural development (Clause x)
Nutrition & Kitchen Garden Programmes
Nutrition and kitchen garden programmes across Yavatmal villages. Schedule VII: Health care & eradicating hunger (Clause i)
Sustainable Agriculture & Water Conservation
Farmer training and dam desilting projects across Vidarbha. Schedule VII: Environmental sustainability (Clause iv)
Anti-Trafficking & Access to Justice
Field-based child protection network in Buldhana district. Schedule VII: Rural development, gender equality (Clause x, iii)
Let's build something lasting together.
If your organisation is seeking a credible, experienced, FCRA-registered NGO partner in Maharashtra for rural development, women's empowerment, child protection, or livelihood programmes — we would welcome a conversation. We are 80G certified, FCRA registered, 12A & CSR1 compliant. Full compliance documentation available for due diligence.
The work, in their
own words.
"Before joining the SHG, I had no income of my own. Every rupee I needed, I had to ask for. Now I run a small business, save regularly, and my daughter is finishing school. The group didn't just give me money — it gave me a reason to believe I could manage things."
"We evaluated several NGOs in Vidarbha before committing our CSR funds. What set Asmita apart was their three decades of uninterrupted presence, the depth of their government relationships, and the quality of their documentation. Their impact reports are specific, honest, and verifiable."
"I came to volunteer for six weeks. I stayed for six months. The field work here is unlike anything I had read about in college. You are not implementing a programme — you are watching people's confidence change in front of you. That is not something you forget."
Your support doesn't travel far
before it changes a life.
Yavatmal is not a distant cause. It is a community of farmers, women, children, and young people building better futures — with fewer resources than they deserve. Every rupee reaches the field. 80G tax exemption available for all donors.
Secure · 80G Receipt · ✓ FCRA Registered · ✓ Since 1995
The most meaningful thing you can do
with your time is spend some of it
where it matters most.
We are not looking for people who want to feel good for a fortnight and leave. We are looking for people who understand that the real work is slow, specific, and relational — and who find that prospect exciting rather than discouraging.
Every conversation here begins
with the same question: how can we be useful to each other?
Whether you are a CSR manager, researcher, donor, or someone looking for a volunteering opportunity that is genuinely meaningful — we would like to hear from you.
Head Office — Yavatmal
49, Agrawal Lay-Out, Venkateshwara Nagar,
Near Arunoday Society, Bhosa Road,
Yavatmal — 445 001, Maharashtra, India
Branch Office — Buldhana
Anand Chowk, Ward No. 10, Nandura,
Taluka Nandura, District Buldhana — 443 404, Maharashtra
Office Hours
Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM IST
Send us a message
We aim to respond to all enquiries within 48 hours. For urgent child protection matters in Buldhana district, please contact Childline directly: 1098.