NEW DELHI: Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said non-government organisations (NGOs) and civil society can play an important role in helping improve India's ranking on the human development index (HDI).
Speaking at the HCL Grant 2018 event, Singh said India needs to "dream of a new GDP" going ahead, where GDP stands for Gross Domestic Prosperity.
"We don't want India to only be among the fastest growing economies but for it to become a super economy...India ranks third in terms of purchasing power globally...but on the HDI, India is 131st among 188 countries," Singh said.
He added that the gap between GDP and HDI rankings needs to be bridged by civil society, NGOs and the government working together.
"We should also pledge that by 2022, the new India that we dream of will have a new GDP -- not Gross Domestic Product but Gross Domestic Prosperity," he said.
Singh highlighted the important role played by NGOs in development of the country saying these organisations operate in the remotest parts of India, including LWE-affected regions where even the local administration finds it difficult to reach.
Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed focus on the development of 115 aspirational districts which are lowly ranked on the development index.
"For a stronger India, government, civil society and India need to work in cooperation for the development agenda," he said.
HCL Foundation, a part of the HCL Group, today announced the three winners of HCL Grant 2018.
The three winners -- Eleutheros Christian Society (Health), Keystone Foundation (Environment) and Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind - Sightsavers (Education) -- will get a grant of up to Rs 5 crore each.
The third edition of the HCL Grant received over 3,500 applications and after an eight-month long process, the three winners were selected, HCL Corporation CEO and Chairperson of CSR Committee (HCL Technologies Board) Roshni Nadar Malhotra said.
"Out of the initial applicants, 49 NGOs were selected for field investigation; wherein, a team of experts went to the project locations and evaluated the work being done by these NGOs on ground," she said adding that based on the due diligence reports, 30 NGOs were identified leading to a final selection of the three.