Vijay Mahajan appointed to helm Rajiv Gandhi Foundation

Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (RGF) announced the appointment of noted social entrepreneur Vijay Mahajan as its secretary and chief executive officer (CEO) and Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies (RGICS).

Mahajan, the founder of PRADAN, an NGO, which motivates young professionals to work at the grassroots to promote livelihoods of the poor, has been largely responsible for empowering the poor.

In 1991, Vijay founded the Basix Social Enterprise Group, which has supported three million poor households through microfinance and livelihood promotion services.

Apart from his social work, Mahajan has served on the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (2005-10); the Rangarajan Committee on Financial Inclusion 2007-08; the Raghuram Rajan Committee on Financial Sector Reforms 2008-09; several Working Groups of the XIth and XIIth Five Year Plans, and as Chair of the World Bank's Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), 2011-13.

He has also published over 20 papers in Indian and international journals and authored over 70 articles/papers for professional audiences.

An alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi and Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, Mahajan was named among "60 outstanding social entrepreneurs of the world" at the World Economic Forum, Davos in 2003.

He currently serves as an Advisor/Board Member of various developmental NGOs, social enterprises and financial institutions focused on inclusion.

For those unversed, RGF is a charitable trust founded in 1991 to realise the vision of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi: a modern India, secular, and progressive; a country that enshrines the democratic principle of equality with an educated people free of prejudice; where women participate as equals; a nation with the space and will to empower all citizens, especially the underprivileged.

RGICS is an independent national policy think tank promoted by the RGF and carries out research and policy development on contemporary challenges India faces.