Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is the term commonly used for

an organization that is neither a part of a government nor a conventional
for-profit business.
Usually set up by ordinary citizens, NGOs may be funded by governments,
foundations, businesses, or private persons. Some avoid formal funding
altogether and are run primarily by volunteers.
NGOs are highly diverse groups of organizations engaged in a wide range
of activities, and take different forms in different parts of the world. Some
may have charitable status, while others may be registered for tax
exemption based on recognition of social purposes. Others may be fronts
for political, religious or other interest groups.
The term "non-governmental organization" was first coined in 1945, when
the United Nations (UN) was created. The UN, itself an intergovernmental organization, made it possible for certain approved
specialized international non-state agenciesi.e., non-governmental
organizationsto be awarded observer status at its assemblies and some of
its meetings. Later the term became used more widely. Today, according to
the UN, any kind of private organization that is independent from
government control can be termed an "NGO", provided it is not-for-profit,
non-criminal and not simply an opposition political party.
The number of NGOs in the United States is estimated at 1.5 million;
Russia has 277,000 NGOs; India is estimated to have had around 2 million
NGOs.
Though the term NGO became popular in India only in the 1980s, the
voluntary sector has an older tradition. Since independence from the
British in 1947, the voluntary sector had a lot of respect in the minds of
people - first, because the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi was an
active participant; and second because India has always had the tradition
of honouring those who have made some sacrifice to help others.
NGOs are playing a significant role in modern India. The numbers of
NGOs have increased over the past two decades. They are running parallel
to government organisations and supplementing the activities of the
government.
NGOs are found all over the country. They differ from each other in their
basic objectives. NGO can be defined as a voluntary organisation which
comes in to existence for achieving a specific purpose. Service is the main
motto of NGOs.

Features of NGOs:
NGOs have come in to existence with a particular purpose, the features of NGOs
can be understood as follows:

1. Voluntary associations:
NGOs are voluntary associations which are created by people having a
common interest.
2. Autonomous:
NGOs are autonomous bodies free from the interference of government.
They are regulated by their own policies and procedures.
3. Service Motive:
NGOs are not profit making business organisations. Rather they show a lot
of concern in social welfare aspects such as education of children,
protection of animals, wildlife, environment, improving the status of
women etc.
4. Own funds:
NGOs create and maintain their own funds. They often collect
contribution from the public. Some NGOs are also financed by private
business organisations. Some NGOs are also financed by international
authorities.

Classification of Ngos:
NGOs are classified into various categories:
On the basis of area of operation.
1. Citywide NGOs:
They are the NGOs which operate only in particular cities.
2. Nationwide NGOs:
They refer to the NGOs which operate at a National level. E.g.: Red Cross Society.
3. International NGOs:
They are the NGOs which operate at inter- national level. E.g.: CARE.
Classification based on Control:
1. Government organised NGOs:
They are the NGOs financed by the government. E.g.: Karnataka Legal Aid Board.
2. Quais autonomous NGOs:
They are the NGOs which enjoy partial autonomy and subject to the control of
Government.
3. Business organised NGOs:
They are the NGOs which are sponsored by business organisations. E.g.: Infosys
Foundation.

Role of NGOs:
NGOs are playing crucial role in the present scenario. They are trying to fill the
gaps created by the government. Their contribution is significant particularly in
the following fields.
1. Education of Children:
Some NGOs have played an important role in the education of children,
eg. : Infosys foundation is providing free text books and computers to rural
schools.

2. Development of Youth:
NGOs are conducting various programmes to develop youth and bring out
their talents E.g.: Yavanika
3. Protection of animals:
NGOs are taking sufficient care in preventing cruelty and protecting
animals. Eg.: Prani Daya Sangha.
4. Betterment of disabled:
Spastic Society of India, Alert working for the leprosy patients.
5. Development and operation of infrastructure:
NGOs can acquire and develop land, construct housing. They provide basic
amenities like wells, public toilets, and waste collection services. E.g:
Infosys has constructed Public toilets called Nirmal at many places in
Bangalore city.
6. Technical assistance and training:
NGOs provide technical assistance and training in various fields. E.g.:
Awake is a NGO providing development programmes for women
entrepreneurs.
7. Facilitating communication:
NGOs facilitate communication from people to the government and
government to people. They also facilitate communication between
organisations through networking.
8. Providing service:
NGOs take up activities such as the provision of health, family planning or
education services. E.g.: Hindu Kusht Nivaran Sangh offering services for
people suffering from the disease and providing rehabilitation
programmes. E.g.: Society for integrated development in rural and urban
areas.
9. Emancipation of women:
Some NGOs have engaged in activities pertaining to upliftment of women.
E.g.: Chaitanya, Yuvatiyara Sangha is helping the women in distress.
10. Helping in distress:
Some NGOs take up general welfare programmes in times of natural
calamity such as flood, earthquake etc. E.g.: Medhavi. NGO based at
Ahmedabad has rendered active assistance to 2, 50,000 homeless in
Gujarat after the major earthquake. Many NGOs have rendered financial
assistance for Suhami victims.
11. Protection of environment:
Some NGOs are playing a key role in protecting the environment. They
have taken up activities like afforestation, prevention of water and air
pollution etc. E.g.: Nasa Foundation, Ahmadabad, India.
12. Preventing exploitation of unorganised labour:
Some NGOs have carried out such activities as to prevent bonded labour.
E.g.: Bandhu Mukti Morcha a NGO played a crucial role in filing a public
interest litigation to prevent exploitation of labourers at stone quarries.
Thus NGOs have carried out a wide range of activities in various fields.

Limitations of NGOs:
Though NGOs are playing a key role in the development of economy, they suffer
from the following limitations:
1. Lack of financial resources:
Most of the NGOs suffer from serious shortage of funds. They have to
depend on Public contributions or sponsorship by corporates which makes
it difficult to mobilise financial resources.
2. Lack of trained staff:
The volunteers of NGOs are not specifically trained in handling problems
concerning people. Lack of accountability on the part of the staff hinders
the growth of NGOs.
3. Mismanagement of funds:
NGOs have lost confidence of the general public, quite often, it is noticed
that the NGOs misappropriate the funds.
4. Limited territory:
Most NGOs do not take up nationwide programmes. They operate only in
a limited territory.
5. Unhealthy Competition:
The increasing number of NGOs has created an unhealthy competition
among themselves which has defeated the real objectives.
6. Lack of government control has resulted in defective administration in the
NGOs.
In spite of the above limitations, it can be observed that the NGOs are
supplementing the activities of the government.
A range of techniques can be used to initiate and promote change,
such as advocacy, lobbying or campaigning:
1. Advocacy means to give a voice to people. Advocacy is a system of
actions aimed at changing attitudes, policies and practices through four
key types of activity:
Awareness-raising
Capacity development (internal and external to own organisation)

Networking with relevant government and non-governmental partners

Lobbying key decision-makers.
Advocacy can be directed at different audiences: the general public, NGOs,
politicians, governments, other decision-makers, and your own organisation.
2. Lobbying:
is the practice of advocacy with the goal of influencing a governing
body, in order to ensure that an individual's or organisations point of
view is represented in the government, and that legislation is drafted
and implemented accordingly.

In many countries, lobbying is regulated in an attempt to prevent

political manipulation and corruption. People are paid to be lobbyists.

3. Campaigning:

is the sum of actions and activities that an organisation plans or

executes in order to influence policy and to raise awareness on a
specific issue.
The aim is not only to influence policies, but also to raise public
support. A successful campaign should have a simple and strong
message that appeals to peoples emotions.
Celebrities can be very useful in conveying the messages of a campaign
to as wide an audience as possible. Typical campaigning activities
include public events such as marches or vigils, the setting up of an
exhibition, or the distribution of pamphlets and posters

An assessment of the Role of NGOs in Rural Development:

A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) is any association having a

definite cultural, economic, educational, religious or social cause or any
non-profit voluntary citizens group which is organised around specific
issues, such as education, environmental conservation, social welfare,
rural development sanitation, healthcare or human rights, on a local,
national or international level.
The NGOs have taking active participation in rural development. The rural
poor and socially depressed classes are mainly depending upon the
operations of NGOs. No particular job is particularly meant for the NGOs.
Thus, there is a huge competition among the NGOs to extend the services
for the benefit of the poor. At the same time we should not forget the
mushrooming of the NGOs for their welfare.
The following are the important activities should take up for the development of
the rural
1. Agricultural related programs:
Numerous activities can be undertaken under agriculture sector. The
jobs/projects like distributing planting materials, cattle, poultry, minor
irrigation, free medical care for cattles, safe drinking water for animals
etc.
2. Health programmes for human and non-human beings:
The works like pit drainage, housing, creation of smokeless environment,
good drinking water for animals and human beings, regular health
checkup camps etc. will improve the health conditions of the human and
non human beings.
3. Community development programs:

The community development programs like adoption of villages for

development, moral support during flood and famine period, supply of
food and drinking water during flood, common well, training programs for
the rural youths, housing projects, repair and renovation of houses etc will
satisfy the basic necessities.
The important program like training programs for the rural poor will hold
the youths from rural exodus. Even this type of training programs may
also be extended for the rural women, so that we can expect self
sustenance among this community.
4. Human Resource Development programs:
The personality development programs, skill development programs,
educational programs, integrated development projects etc will enable the
rural poor to earn bread and butter.
5. Trade and industrial promotion:
The important problem in the present context is availability of the market
for the products of rural enterprises. Therefore, an NGO has a direct link
with the government for marketing of the goods.
Apart from this, NGO can also go for training the rural youths in
fabrication works, wood works, beedi rolling, agarbathi manufacturing,
printing press etc.
6. Government support:
The government (central, state or local) support at all level is inevitable for
rural development.
NGOs alone cannot do miracles over night. Therefore, the government
should watch and ward the working of NGOs at phase wise manner. Thus,
the fund or whatever may be directly should move to beneficiaries. The
NGOs should accountable for the funds.

Some observations on NGOs:

1. A few NGOs have been operating without proper direction, organizational

development, good management practices and specific mission.
2. It is also observed from the existing literature that, some NGOs are very lack in
the areas like decision-making for right kind of developmental intervention,
managing socio-economic change and attaining sustainability,
3. There is a direct correlation between the donor funding and the continuation of
the projects undertaken by NGOs in rural areas.

Policy implications:

The following suggestions and policy implications have been made for the further
improvement in their working of NGOs.
1. A short term training programme for strengthening the managerial capabilities
of NGOs will go a long way in improving their performance and effectiveness
significantly.
2. The overdependence of NGOs on funding agencies and the syndrome of
dependency should be reduced by involving the government directly in funding
activities.

3. Donor agencies should also take active initiation in selecting the funding
projects and even selecting of NGOs too.
4. The donor agencies should go for surveying the viable projects for NGOs and
the needs of the people.
5. NGO should also accept the truth that, the funding agencies are no longer
available for the projects which are not viable.
6. Proper monitoring the activities of the NGOs and the enterprises run under the
umbrella is the need of the hour. Therefore, the NGOs should also accountable
for the funds on the one hand and the beneficiaries on the other.

Future of NGOs:
From the above discussions it is evident that the NGOs are playing a crucial role
in the development of the country. But at the same time NGOs have not been able
to achieve their actual goals because of the above discussed limitations. It is to be
noted that the number of NGOs have significantly increased. In future, NGOs
may dominate the government activities. NGOs can be highly successful by
improving their governance.

Some NGOs at work in India:

1)Smile Foundation:

Formed in 2002
Smile Foundation is to empower underprivileged children, youth and
women through relevant education, innovative healthcare and marketfocused livelihood programmes.
Smile Foundation is to deploy best possible methodology and technology
for achieving ideal SROI (social return on investment), to practice and
promote good governance. To link business competitiveness of the
corporate with social development initiatives; also to sensitize privileged
children, youth and citizens in general to promote Civic Driven Change.

2)Nanhi Kali:

Project Nanhi Kali was initiated in 1996 by the K. C. Mahindra Education

Trust (KCMET) with the aim of providing primary education to
underprivileged girl children in India

3)GiveIndia Foundation:

To promote efficient and effective giving that provides greater

opportunities to the poor in India.

4)Goonj:

Goonjs mission is to solve the clothing problems of the underprivileged.

Listed by Forbes as India most powerful rural entrepreneur organization,

Goonj has overtaken several milestones in adding value to the community
in the past.

The various initiatives of Goong are

Vastra Samman- Goonj believes that reusing old clothes can help solve the
clothing problem of the poor.

Not just a piece of cloth- Goonj has been striving to establish partnerships
between rural and rich urban schools.

Rahat Floods- Goonj initiates Rahat floods annually for collect relief
material during floods to aid affected victims in West Bengal, Assam and
Bihar.

Rahat Winters- Similar to Rahat floods, Goonj initiates Rahat winters

every year to solve the problem of winter clothing of the underprivileged.

5)HelpAge India:

HelpAge India, since its establishment in 1978 has constantly been striving
to raise resources to protect the rights of senior citizens of our
country.
They are involved with the local and national government to implement
policies which will be beneficial to the elderly.
Their objective is to make the senior citizens aware of their rights so that
they can play an active role in the society. To accomplish this, they are also
working constantly to make the society aware of the concerns regarding
the elderly and also promoting better understanding of similar issues.

OTHERS:
LEPRA Society-LEPRA society actively promotes quality health care through
various initiatives. It aims to support various health programmes in the
prevention and control of diseases like AIDS, Leprosy, and Tuberculosis etc.
Their programmes are mainly focussed to communities which are poor
comprising women and children.
Akshaya Trust-The mission of Akshaya trust is to care for the helpless,
forsaken, mentally ill, old, sick and the road side destitute who live in Madurai.
This is accomplished by providing love and affection, healthy food, rehabilitation
opportunities. Their sole aim is to restore human dignity.
Foundation for Ecological Security (FES) is a registered non-profit
organisation based in Anand, Gujarat, India working towards the ecological
restoration and conservation of land and water resources in ecologically fragile,

degraded and marginalised regions of the country, through concentrated and

collective efforts of village communities.
MedhaviNGO based at Ahmadabad. Achievements: Rendered assistance
during earthquake in Kutch, Bhuj.
Centre for Science and Environment:is a public interest research and
advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, India. Established in 1980, CSE works
as a think tank on environment-development issues in India,Poor planning,
climate shifts devastating India's Sundarbans and advocates for policy changes
and better implementation of the already existing policies. CSE uses knowledgebased activism to create awareness about problems and propose sustainable
solutions.
Voice: Mumbai based NGO. Teaches underprivileged children at railway station.
Centre for Social Research: Rendering assistance to women for research
activities.
Prerana: NGO at Bangalore working for visually handicapped women.
Airports Authority of India: Free Medical aid to air travellers.
Chaitanya Yuvatiyara Sangha : Encouragement to young girls to pursue
education.
Akshaya Patre foundation; Sponsored by ISKCON. Providing free mid day
meals to government school children at Bangalore.
In the modern scenario, NGOs are of great relevance in India. Corporate sectors
of India are taking an active part in rendering financial assistance to NGOs. Some
corporate sectors have even sponsored NGOs to discharge social responsibility.
In the coming years every business organisation may have to frame guidelines
allocate some funds to NGOs as a part of their social obligation.