by anouradha bakshi | Aug 6, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
FCRA or Foreign Currency Regulation Act is something NGOs aspire to as it allows them to get funds from foreign countries. Today FCRA is out of the closet. The government wants to amend it and the opposition is up in arms.
Wonder why?
Till date the FCRA did not have stringent rules and many were misusing the money. You had 50% available for administrative cost which could mean anything: the spa cost of the top person, entertaining friends and so on. Some time back, the government amended it to 20%.
Working areas were defined loosely and could be interpreted to suit any situation. Rigorous reporting was not mandatory and it was a free for all. When you said you ran an NGO people looked at you in a strange way. And many thought all NGOs were dishonest.
A guest in a TV programme, an eminent one at that, stated that NGOs should not get money from abroad and raise their needs from within the country. Well my dear Sir this is what we have wanted for decades but were never able to do. At best we raise 10 to 15% from India and that too painfully.
Some may wonder why do we need NGOs at all. Good question. I can only talk about education and women’s empowerment as that is the field we work in. When we started over a quarter century ago, schools were in a poor state and drop out rates alarming. Sadly they still are. Over 1 lac schools in India run with ONE teacher.
We arrested drop out rates, pushed children back in school and ensured that they complete their schooling with honourable marks. Today we are busy redesigning our approach to meet XXI century skills in a job market hijacked by AI.
Were we successful? I leave it to you to decide: 4 of our alumni made it to the IIT, we have chartered accountants, journalist, lawyers, engineers, dental assistants, army officers and more. In my humble opinion NGOs are still needed in the field of education.
Over the years we have grown as Project Why is not a static but a dynamic organisation ready to answer any WHY that comes its way. Our needs have also grown and no matter how we packaged ourselves funds from India were not forthcoming. We have survived thanks to the generosity of Indians living abroad and whose heart still beats for India.
However we have ALWAYS complied with all government. regulations, and always used all the money we received for the stated purpose. I am quite flummoxed when I hear on debates that some NGOs do not use even 10% of what they get!
When I look at the new FCRA bill that is to be tabled in Parliament. I feel no panic at all. We have met most of what is asked barring maybe not shared our social media handles:)
That NGOs should be up in arms because they are asked to use the money for the purpose stated and give detailed account of how it was used to me it is a no brainer. Frankly, if you are doing good and honest work there should be no problem so why the hue and cry.
I am at a loss
by anouradha bakshi | Aug 2, 2026 | Anou's Blog
“I want to be a doctor” are words that I have heard innumerable times for over 25 years. Every time you ask a child what she aspires to be doctor is often the answer you get.
For the past few days the hallowed entrance examination you need to pass in order to get admission in a medical college is in the news following the disturbing exam paper leak. This led to 12 aspirants taking their own lives.
Nothing is more tragic than the death of a young soul. No wonder students are angry and have taken to the roads. They definitely had reason to do so and we all supported them. The Cockroach Janta Part (CJP) was the result of this anger. The protest began but sadly was soon hijacked by political parties, each one looking for their pound of flesh; each one looking at a possible new vote bank. The cause of the children was soon forgotten.
I am not going to recount the incidents of the past few weeks. Everyone knows what happened.
I would like to delve deeper and share some thoughts based on the work I have done with children of underserved communities for over a quarter of a century.
For the past 25 years we at Project Why have been working with children of a lesser God. We have helped thousands of children succeed in their studies and gain employment. As I said at the beginning of this post I want to be a doctor are words I have heard every so often, and each time my heart breaks as I know that this is one dream I cannot fulfil.
True NEET is a tough exam and may not be for these children many would think. You are both right and wrong. My children can crack NEET as you will be surprised to know that many of them are super bright. But in the present scenario, to crack NEET you often need to. join a coaching institute that comes at a heavy cost that parents of these children cannot afford. As you would have realised much of the leaks that have happened is because of the coaching mafia. I think we should borrow a page from China’s playbook. China banned for-profit private tutoring and coaching for core school subjects under its sweeping “Double Reduction” policy. The major goals of this nationwide crackdown are to reduce student stress, lower family living costs, and shift academic responsibility back to public schools. It is laudable for sure but has its own problems.China has seen the emergence of underground clandestine tutoring.
However I strongly feel that something needs to be done to regularise and monitor all coaching institutes.
Over 2.3 to 2.4 million students apply for the NEET UG exam annually, competing against a total of approximately 1,36,939 MBBS seats. This pool includes roughly 63,296 government seats and 73,643 private and deemed university seats across 823 medical colleges. Now the cost for each is astronomicalThe average total course fee for an MBBS degree in India ranges drastically from ₹30,000 to ₹15,00,000 in government colleges, compared to ₹40,00,000 to over ₹1.5 Crore in private colleges and deemed universities. I do not have to spell out the fact that these costs cannot be met by lower middle class and middle class families and loans are not easy to get when you live in a slum and your parents do not have steady jobs. So even if you clear NEET the door slams shut! Your family cannot afford it.
You can now understand why my hear breaks when I hear the words: I want to be a doctor. And what is even more disturbing is knowing that many of these children have the intelligence and motivation to succeed.
Becoming a doctor is not for the underprivileged. I wish people understood that, So you see even if papers are not leaked medicine is only for the privileged. Many aspiring students go to smaller countries like Uzbekistan or Ukraine to fulfil that dream even if it means that they will have to take another examination to be able to practice in India.
I came across a very interesting article by the former UGC Chairman Prof Sukhadeo Thorat entitled: Why India’s higher education needs greater public investment. It is a must read.
The article concludes with these words: India’s higher education journey reflects remarkable progress in expansion and diversification. However, the next phase of transformation must focus on equity, quality, employability, and affordability to ensure that higher education becomes a genuine instrument of social mobility and national development.
And if the CJP truly wants to work for the betterment of education than it has to look deeper at the aspirations of all children.
Food for thought.
by anouradha bakshi | Jun 20, 2026 | Anou's Blog
As I write these words, lacs of students from across India and even outside are writing their NEET retest! The retest was ordered as numerous leaks of question papers were discovered after the initial exam. Paper leaks are not new. They have been happening for years with impunity. Often instigated by the coaching industry who would go to any level to ensure their students pass the said examination.
In the past few weeks, there have been many articles about the state of our education each one more horrifying than the other. There is only one common denominator :nobody really cares about children! Education has been in the news for more reason than one. First and foremost this year marks a sea change as new books have been introduced in line with the NEP (New Education Policy 2020) and require the teaching fraternity to adopt new and challenging changes in their approach towards education. What was/is hoped is that education will transition from rote learning to comprehending and acquiring skills that relate to the XXIst century employment scenario. Laudable indeed but is it feasible in the present state of our education system.
New books I said! Well first of all the school year commenced on April 1st but many books are still not available. In Odisha books are filled with aberrations and have, hold your breath, 1678 errors! Sample some: Sir Isaac Newton is described as the greatest pilot, a photo of the Karnataka Assembly was identified as the Odisha assembly, the Hampi temple was labelled as the Konark Sun Temple. Temperature is labelled as pressure. Equinox is replaced by Equator!!
Class VII books have the most errors: 705.
As always a high level committee has been formed to look inti the matter. Wonder what they will say?
So much for books.
Now let us look at the ground situation of schools across the land. The Niti Ayog Repor, titled ‘School Education System in India — Temporal Analysis and Policy Roadmap for Quality Enhancement’, highlights the ‘pyramid’ problem.
The education system currently resembles a sharp pyramid, housing 14.71 lakh schools and 24.69 crore students. The drop our rates are still very high. While the country boasts of 7.3 lakh primary schools, that number plummets to 1.64 lakh at the higher secondary level. Four out of every 10 children who enter the system drop out before completing higher secondary education. only 5.4% of schools offer a continuous journey from Grade 1 to 12. For the vast majority of students, moving up through the grades requires changing institutions multiple times. Girls are the first to drop out as high schools are often located far from their homes and parents are reluctant to send their daughters alone.
To add to this, close to 7,993 schools across the country reported zero enrolment. While these schools appear operational in administrative records, they no longer serve any student population. These schools, despite zero enrolment, continue to receive financial and human resources due to the lack of updating of records, showing the difference between on-ground reality and planning, Many schools do not have water facility or electricity. You may wish to read the article.
The reason I share all these facts is twofold. One is to highlight the sate of schools, and the other to show that implementation of the NEP looks like a long way happening.The new education policy wants to teach AI from class III. My simple questions is: are the 7.3 lac primary schools and their teachers ready to do it?
Children are our future and education that meets the challenges of today is the only way out. It is sad to see the way students are treated. Because of paper leaks lacs of students have to study again for their exam resulting in unnecessary stress and mental distress. Six students committed suicide. Recently a new form of marking in class XII resulted in students wanting heir papers rechecked. The problem was that they would miss some admissions schedules. But who cares.
We do at Project Why.
We have begun computer skills and English from class I ! The children are also introduced to AI but are also taught to use AI responsibly by making them aware of the amounts of water and electricity the ginormous data centres use. We teach our children to think out of the box and be creative. We teach them critical thinking and communication in order to maker them ready for the job market that awaits them.
by anouradha bakshi | May 21, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
I have been trying to write this post for some days now. Each time I decide to do so, another article appears in the press and compels me to change my approach.
OK let us put this in context.
Over the past weeks there have been a plethora of news articles on education. Based on the New Education Policy the CBSE has release its syllabus for 2026-27. For those of you who have been reading my blogs, you know how much I have been harping about how useless and unproductive the education system was in today’s world and how it needed to be turned on its head to incorporate the skills our children will be needing to navigate the employment scenario that awaits them and how we at Project Why have begun incorporating these skills in our teaching approach. So when my eyes fell on the title of an article that read: Rote to reasoning: How CBSE is resetting the way students think, learn and grow I was pleasantly surprised and decided to delve further into the changes that one expected. But before I could do so, another article appeared entitled Papa don’t preach: CBSE’s parenting guide raises concerns about overreach I fell of my chair and felt the need to address it immediately.
Before we delve further into the subject let me share my take on all policy changes specially in education. Think tanks with eminent personalities sit around a table and conjure wonderful policies that look perfect on paper and reflect all the desires of the ruling dispensation. Then these are translated into curricula that would be implemented across the country. Now for some statistics; There are 1.5 million schools in India catering to 280 million children and employing teachers 9.8 million teachers. So whatever policy conjured has to be implemented 1.5 million schools. This sets the scale of things we are addressing. This is what I wanted to discuss in this blog till I read the article mentioned.
But first the reason why I fell off my chair and one more statistic. If there 280 million children in school and we take an average of our kids by family we re talking of 70 million families.
As if is changing curriculum was not enough the CBSE decided to enter our homes! As is said in the article The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has quietly taken on a new role, not just educating children, but guiding how parents raise them too. Through its recent parenting guidelines and outreach, the board is stepping beyond the classroom into homes, nudging families on everything from screen time to emotional well-being. Remember we are talking of 280 million children. The 60 page framework looks like a playbook for parenting. Parenting is no longer private but drawn into the institutional framework of schooling. This is disturbing and discomforting.
It defines what parenting should look like: Bedtime rituals, mealtimes, stories, songs are not extras… They are the primary curriculum of early childhood.” People are uncomfortable with the tone that does not feel like a suggestion but an instruction. Parenting is not one size fits all. How does a mother of let us say 3 school going children living in a tiny hovel and working the whole day set bedtime rituals – often there are no beds or one shared by many – mealtimes, tell stories etc. She often has to deal with a drunk husband who puts on the TV loud and blaring and if she says something would probably be beaten back and blue. The article goes on to say Parenting has never been seen as a standardised activity in India. It is shaped by culture, class, language, family structures, and lived realities. What works in a dual-income urban household may not necessarily work in a small-town joint family. And yet, this calendar reads like there is a single, ideal way to raise a child… one that can be documented, scheduled, and rolled out across schools. This is nothing short of concerning.
The parenting guidelines given seem to be more for middle class urban literate families but our 70 million families are not that. I wonder if anyone who drafted this has even visited a slum dwelling let alone spent one night there. I for one resent anyone telling me how to bring up my child and yes though I understand the need to talk about mental health and the effect of screens it can only be gentle. We at Project Why have a Parent Project Partnership that runs well without diktats.
by anouradha bakshi | Apr 3, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
This little girl all dressed up for her second birthday is looking ahead at her future: what does it hold for her, she wonders. Let in unfold and be a mystery.
Tomorrow she will be 27010 days or 74 years old. Time to look back at the mystery and answer the one question that has always troubled her: when it is time to go can I look into a mirror and not have to look away. The little girl is me!
When I look back at the years gone by what first comes to mind is the abundance of love I was smothered me by my two doting parents whose only child I would be. It was pure unconditional love something I would understand much later in life. This love did not translate in abundant toys or making every wish come true. It was the time my mother and father spent with me, the stories they told me, the long moments of silence when nothing needed to be said, the gentle whisper, the loving embrace each one leaving indelible traces that would slowly make me into who I am. The values never spelt out but always shared as stories or gestures to emulate taught me long ago that giving was the most important thing in your live. Giving without expecting. Just giving. I first felt it viscerally in my gut at the age of three when my eyes were staring at the man without a coat in winter and not at the pranks of his bear. I still feel the same gut wrenching when I hear any street hawker walking by my window trying to sell wares nobody buys anymore. With malls and ten minutes delivery Apps and houses now transformed into many flats who goes down to the street to buy a few vegetables and smile at the vendor. Does anyone ask herself the question: will his family eat tonight?
I remember a friend sharing an anecdote from Star Wars asking what are the three most important words in the world? And no it is not I Love You; it is PLEASE HELP ME. I was never on Starship Enterprise but these words were seared in my soul a long time ago.
Life took over: studies, jobs, marriage children and now grandchildren and all the responsibilities that come with them. The love of my parents was still there, still unconditional. and my only strength and anchor but then by 1992 I lost both of them and my life became a dark bottomless abyss. For many years I could not find a way to get out of it.
But then I remembered a silent promise made to myself when I discovered the village my ancestor left way back 1890 and that still looked frozen in time. I realised that fate has given me everything though I should have been like the women of this village: illiterate and a grandmother at 30. Again the twist in my gut and the question: what can you do to help.
That is when a series of serendipitous occurrences happened and somehow at the dawning of my sixth decade I was prompted to create Project Why. Miracles after miracles, some big, some small and some unbelievably large came our way and in a a few short years we were reaching out to over 1000 children. Every time I felt I had hit rockbottom and would have to pack up and shut the door, a shot of abundance came my way. My helping journey was not over. Even the terrible diagnosis of MM in 2020 did not have the power to alter my course.
Along the way I understood many things. First and foremost there are innumerable good souls in this world and we at Project Why were blessed to build a network of such people that I call the Project Why Family. Next that honesty is the only way to follow; the rewards will come.
Today there are thousands of children who have completed their education and a great number has joined us as teachers at Project Why. Others have become successful in many ways. Four of our alumni have got admitted to IITs!
All this sounds great. But that is not the end of the story. Project Why has also been a spiritual journey for me, one where I have redefined my own religious beliefs. I do not need to visit any temple, go on any pilgrimage. I see God every day in the eyes of all my Project Children. I have also realised along this path that the first soul you must learn to love is YOU. You are your only lifelong friend and only if you love yourself can you help and love others.
I have often quoted St Exupery’s Little Prince where the fox tells the Little Prince that it is only with the heart that one can see rightly. what is essential is invisible to the eye. For seeing with your heart you have to open it and let love flow. I understood that my becoming a recluse was not withdrawing from the world it was allowing me to open the door of my heart to allow myself to walk in. To help anyone you need to learn to look with your heart.
And the last lesson of this journey as on 4 April 2026 is to learn to surrender completely to whoever you believe in and hand Her/Him the reins of your life. The more you surrender, the more the Universe fulfils you.
Today I am ready to go as I know that I can look at the mirror and give myself a pat in the back while I Thank the Lord for everything I was blessed with.
by anouradha bakshi | Mar 27, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
Every child deserves more than a place in a classroom. True inclusion means understanding, acceptance and the support needed for every child to thrive. This story is about one little girl with ADHD whose experience reminds us that admitting a child to school is only the beginning. Making her feel that she truly belongs is the real challenge.
It is not enough to invite them to the party, you must ask them to dance
It took a long time for schools in India to be inclusive but today there are by law. Today schools in Delhi are legally mandated to be inclusive, following the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. All government and private schools must admit children with disabilities, provide reasonable accommodations (e.g., special teachers), and ensure a barrier-free environment.
Sadly some disabilities like ADHD or ODD are not included in RPwD Act yet. I hope they will one day.
A little girl was admitted into a private school in Nursery. She was diagnosed with the above mentioned issues. She is bright, witty, intelligent and full of beans but can also be defiant and difficult. But that is par to the course. Her first year in school went well though a little turbulent. But the next one was nothing short of a nightmare. Being very dark as she is from the South she was racially profiled as being ‘black”! This hurt her immensely. A core symptom of her issue is acting impulsively and thus picking up things that do not belong to her. This little girl did so and the only way the teacher found to deal with it was put her bag outside the class thus profiling her again and leaving her bewildered.
Adopted children often spend their early life in indifferent orphanages deprived of love or any human contact. They go into survival mode that often translates in such issues. The child cried for help in her own way: scribbling on her school books and other methods a little brain could conjure till one day she garnered her courage and voiced her pain: Please change my school!
Her mother did try to approach the school but in spite of all. efforts nothing changed and it was decided to change her school
When she was given her Transfer Certificate she was shocked to read that the reason given for the withdrawal was HEALTH ISSUES. This last profiling would become part of her educational journey and could hamper admission into another school or be a slur she would carry for life.
It is easy for law makers to make changes that rock the boat as they are not the ones to implement them. Including differently abled children does not just mean making a few alterations and accommodations. It is sensitising the staff, it is understanding that the slightest misstep can result in lifelong trauma and a feeling of rejection. Handling children with physical disabilities is easier but those with mental issues whose brains are not wired like ours requires extreme sensitivity and deep compassion.
Yes Education is a Right of all children born in this land, and inclusivity is the way to go but this should be done with great responsibility. I am sharing this personal story in the hope that someone who can make changes will read it.
It is not a complaint against a school. It is a gentle warning that in our rush to make changes that look good on paper we forget we are dealing with tiny lives.
Children with mental issues may have IQs higher than others but are wired differently. You need to enter their world.
This illustration says it all
Remember it is not enough to invite them to the party; you must ask them to dance
