Swades Foundation has announced a significant expansion of its rural development work in Maharashtra, extending its footprint to new districts and increasing its potential reach to more than one million people.
Building on its long-standing presence in Raigad and Nashik, the Foundation is now taking its community-led development model to Jawhar and Mokhada in Palghar district, Shahapur in Thane, and Akkalkuwa in Nandurbar, an aspirational district. Its work will also continue in Kalwan and Dindori blocks of Nashik. With this expansion, Swades Foundation will operate across five districts and 17 blocks in the state.
The newly added regions together account for an estimated 2.33 lakh rural households, representing nearly 1.2 million citizens. The Foundation has been formally welcomed by the respective Zilla Parishads and has already begun detailed baseline surveys. These assessments will guide the design of locally relevant, measurable interventions tailored to each community’s specific needs.
Swades Foundation follows a holistic development approach that integrates water and sanitation, healthcare, education, and livelihood generation. The organisation remains committed to its mission of enabling one million rural Indians to move out of poverty every five years through sustained, community-driven change.
To date, the Foundation has reached 1.1 million people, directly impacting over 600,000 lives with the support of more than 11,600 trained community volunteers. Its work has delivered over 1.3 million unique interventions and contributed ₹1.26 billion to India’s GDP through livelihood initiatives.
Commenting on the expansion, co-founders Zarina and Ronnie Screwvala said the success of Swades Foundation’s model lies in addressing both material and mental poverty, while strengthening aspiration and resilience within communities. They highlighted continued support from the Government of Maharashtra, donors, and local communities as key drivers behind the scale-up. The expansion also aligns with the Foundation’s 1,000 Dream Village Letter of Intent signed with the state government.
Welcoming the initiative, Konkan Divisional Commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi praised the Foundation’s work in Raigad and Nashik, noting the strong community ownership seen in its Dream Village model. He expressed confidence that similar progress would be achieved in Palghar and Thane, driven by local leadership and collective effort.
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