About Us
Empowering Communities, Shaping Futures Together
Indira Foundation (IF) is a charitable trust that funds education and mental health programs for the underserved. Our trusted partners implement practical solutions for unmet needs and nurture them towards self-sufficiency.
What We Do
We partner enthusiastically with NGOs, government departments and other donors. Partners are vetted and carefully selected for domain expertise and proven track record in various aspects of education and mental health programs.
Our funded education programs
CATCH THEM EARLY!
Provide sound academic and nutritional foundations to children ages 3-10
Empower Their Growth
Equip youth and communities with skilling programs
unlock their potential
Offer world-class opportunities to the most promising scholars
Our funded mental health programs
Nurture Emotional Well-being
Alleviate common mental health diseases (CMD) like depression and anxiety, in youth, community and elderly
Strengthen Support Systems
Reinforce caregiver, community and institutional resources
Guide Towards Recovery
Educate and provide treatment pathways for serious mental disease (SMD)
Our Mission, Vision, Values and Strategic Plan
Our mission
To fund long-lasting educational and mental health programs for the underserved.
Our vision
To partner with organizations that share our passion for prudent philanthropy, implement robust programs with well-defined goals and growth potential, and are dedicated to the lasting betterment of society.
Our values
- Enable success via training and/or mental wellbeing through partnerships
- Imbue integrity and accountability in our work
- Embrace a ‘pay it forward’ philanthropy
Our Guiding Principles
- Seek pragmatic, lifecycle solutions to societal problems in education and mental health
- Select like-minded partners with passion, domain expertise and proven track record in education and mental health programs
- Exercise intellectual rigor via sound analysis, grant design and applied learnings
Leadership Team
Avi Nash
Managing trustee, Indira Foundation
Avi’s father benefited from early opportunities created by well-wishers, helping transform his life. That memory guides Avi’s belief that everyone deserves a chance, and that helping create opportunities for others benefits society.
Avi’s professional career spanned forty years in engineering, corporate strategy and investing. He was a partner at Goldman Sachs and, upon retirement, an advisor to many global chemical companies for over a decade. He has served as a Director of an S&P 500 company and is a trustee of two charitable foundations.
Avi holds a BS from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, MS from Syracuse University and an MBA from Northwestern University.
Dipak Kothari
Trustee
Dipak seamlessly applies his deep expertise in maximizing strategic and financial outcomes of open-ended global programs to the world of philanthropy, never forgetting the human beneficiary at the other end.
Dipak’s last corporate position was Director, International Origination for Chevron’s Corporate Business Development. In his four decades at Chevron, he held leadership positions in various technical, commercial and management areas in USA and Asia. He currently serves as an Executive Advisor for JERA and has also served as board member at Freeport LNG for JERA.
Dipak holds a BS in from Bombay University and a MS from the Illinois Institute of Technology, both in Chemical Engineering.
Prashant Ranade
Trustee
Prashant brings a fresh, innovative mindset to finding sustainable solutions whether they are societal, management or technological in nature. His strong principles of sharing knowledge and skills for the upliftment of many find a natural home at Indira Foundation.
Prashant has successfully led global technology, manufacturing, healthcare, retail and supply chain companies for over forty years. Prashant headed Syntel and Atos|Syntel for ten years as President and CEO, Co-Chair and Chief Mentor. Prior to that, he was CEO and President of several Siemens businesses.
Prashant holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, MS in Controls and Automation from University of Cincinnati, and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from Xavier University, Cincinnati
Dr Tasneem Raja
Head, Mental Health Initiative
Tasneem is a seasoned leader with nearly 3 decades of experience in the social and human development aspects of mental health. She has led large on-the-ground programs across India with leading philanthropies and co-developed strategic mental health frameworks with government and non-government stakeholders.
Prior to Indira Foundation, Tasneem was the Lead for Mental Health at Tata Trusts, where she helped launch innovative holistic mental health programs in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district. She started her career as a clinician providing direct services in addiction & HIV/AIDS.
Tasneem has a PhD in health sciences from the Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick and BA and MA degrees in Psychology from SNDT University in Mumbai.
Deepa Varadarajan
Advisor, Education Initiative
Deepa is the co-founder of Pramiti Philanthropy Partners, established to provide holistic advice and assistance to philanthropists on strategy and roadmap, partner organization identification and diligence, ongoing grant monitoring and evaluation, and portfolio management.
In the decade before founding Pramiti, Deepa volunteered in Asha for Education and worked at GiveIndia, Dasra and India Philanthropy Initiative (part of Azim Premji Foundation) in various aspects of philanthropy and custom solutions.
Deepa’s original career was in technology with Texas Instruments, Agere and Cadence Design Systems. She holds an MS degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Villanova University.
