Lives Livelihoods Liberty
a non-profit initiative
Empower Tamizhagam [ET India] and Economic Business Development, Inc. [EBD USA] are certified non-profits. We operate mainly in Tamil Nadu (India) and the United States. Our mission-critical efforts span Livelihoods, Economic Development, Research, Poverty, and Disaster Relief. We deliver a 10x impact on your contributions.
IMPACT
Economic GROWTH
Livelihood & Economic Development (LED): Incubate and support entrepreneurs and self-employment including opportunities for women. Ensure Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living for Tamil Nadu and India. Optimize skills to increase employability.
POVERTY ALLEVIATION
Assisting the poor, underserved and small businesses (+NGO initiatives) plus subsidies, grants, entitlements, and support. We fast-track benefits from the Govt of Tamil Nadu & India programs. Our field teams engage at the village level.
EMERGENCY FINANCIAL RESCUE
Rescue families in crisis: Easing deep debt of micro-businesses and farmers, funding medical care and student scholarships. Enable awareness, distribution and extend government efforts through our field networks.
NEWS
- All Work
- /Flash
- /India
- /Public Policy
- /Tamil Nadu
- /USA
thought
THE BEST IDEAS
The best ideas, innovations and knowledge. Increasing transparency and access to government programs. Providing support for government officials in conceiving and implementing schemes – at the local, state and central level. Engaging students through internship opportunities. Frugal innovation.
KNOWLEDGE WORKS
Our insightful research ensures awareness and simplification of access to government programs. The results, surveys and our networks are shared with partner NGOs and the development community. Please join and help enhance our KnowledgeWorks sessions.
CSR PARTNERS
Partner with visionary companies and entities. Have you covered your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) requirements? We can ensure high quality, well-verified CSR MCA-compliant projects. And goodies for development agencies. We are certified under MCA CSR: CSR00009415
APPROACH
SMART execution
Clear goals and a plan of action - both reasonable and unreasonable. Impatience is a virtue in getting things done. The right resources including volunteers and our networks in the government. Main focus on Tamil Nadu state, Chennai and Cuddalore.
GROUND EFFORTS
Our field resources engage directly with the underserved and government at the senior and local levels. Small business, entrepreneurship & global innovation. Ensuring ease of doing business and ease of living – at the last mile.
state & central GOVTS
Increase investments, employment and economic development. This is for state & state governments and departments in India. Build an awesome Ease of Doing Business environment. Public policy research.
CALL TO ACTION
The best ideas in the world fixing real problems in India. A 10x impact multiplier on all your contributions. Empower Tamizhagam (India) and Economic Business Development (USA) are sister non-profits working closely. Change the world today…
DONATE HERE
INSTITUTIONAL & CSR
We welcome grants, donations, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), sponsorships, partnerships and projects.
Companies, governments, institutions, organizations, and development agencies are cordially invited.
High quality, validated projects in India. ET is certified under MCA CSR: CSR00009415,
We offer research services including public policy, data reports, surveys, monitoring and evaluation.
ABOUT US
ABOUT ET
Empower Tamizhagam (ET) is an India-based public charitable non-profit organization based in Chennai, India.
PHILOSOPHY:
Action is its own reward. Identify the best ideas in the world and execute promptly. Empowering lives begins with livelihoods and a sense of community ownership.
OBJECTIVES:
- Promote economic development and jobs in Tamil Nadu and India.
- Ensure impact through outcome-based public policy,
- Provide relief across disaster recovery, student aid, and urgent needs.
- Empower the poor, and save the environment.
Engage with us…
TAX DEDUCTIONS:
Empower Tamizhagam has been duly granted approval and registration by the Government of India as a 12A tax-exempt NGO. Donors from India are eligible for 50% tax exemption for financial contributions under Section 80G, Govt of India.
ET REGISTRATION & CERTIFICATIONS:
- MCA CSR: CSR00009415
- 80G URN: AAATE4379GF20218
- 12A URN: AAATE4379GE20210
- FCRA: 0200002002020
Do join us…
ABOUT EBD
- Economic Business Development, Inc. (EBD) was created in 2000.
- Initiated and funded by the US Department of Commerce.
- Vision to enable livelihoods and economic development.
- Core efforts span Poverty Relief, Livelihoods - across India and the US.
- Helping underserved and marginalized communities.
- A state-of-the art business incubator in Southern California.
- EBD is a non-profit California Corporation.
- Tax-exempt status under 501(c)3.
- US Federal Tax ID: 33-0920200.
- Economic Business Development, Inc. (EBD) was created in 2000.
- Initiated and funded by the US Department of Commerce.
- Vision to enable livelihoods and economic development.
- Core efforts span Poverty Relief, Livelihoods - across India and the US.
- Helping underserved and marginalized communities.
- A state-of-the art business incubator in Southern California.
- EBD is a non-profit California Corporation.
- Tax-exempt status under 501(c)3.
- US Federal Tax ID: 33-0920200.
INITIATIVES
livelihood & econ dev
We believe enhancing sustainable livelihoods ecosystem and capacity building are key steps towards reduction of poverty in India.
The focus is on employment generation, fostering small businesses and other community based impact projects.
The United Nations Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) reports that about 16% of the Indian population, or 234 million people, live in poverty.
Through our LED (Livelihood and Economic Development) program:
- Ensure Ease of Doing Business for start-ups, small business and enterprises entering Tamil Nadu and India.
- Tamil Nadu Guidance Bureau – Global Investors Meet. Help international companies establish presence in TN, India.
- Promote MSMEs and improve their access to finance and markets. Incubate and support entrepreneurship and self-employment including opportunities for women and the underserved.
- Optimize skill development to increase relevance and employment. Channel govt resources for livelihood projects.
- Community and farming enhancement programs to generate employment.
Efforts:
- Facilitated engagement with businesses, and part of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Delegation to the United States.
- Industry and investment efforts included electric vehicles, tech, and water management.
- Last-Mile Rural Development and MGNREGA Scheme intervention, and facilitation efforts.
- Assisting farmers of Panruti and Cuddalore District with industry opportunities from Cashew Nut Shell Liquid [CSNL] and cashew apple.
- Improving sustainable livelihood opportunities for smallholder farmers, women, businesses etc
- Eco-tourism in Cuddalore – tourism in Pichavaram mangrove forest area and opportunities for artisans, and farmers.
Research & analysis
We have a deep understanding of local legislative and regulatory policy issues. Our public policy initiatives are broad, forward-thinking, and driven by what is best for citizens, especially the poor and vulnerable sections of society.
ET-Impact works with key legislators, government officials, corporates, and civil society groups worldwide to support sustainable livelihood programs.
TOP 5 IMPACT ACTIONS
1. Access to Govt Programs
- Building awareness among the poor through our teams and online channels.
- Determining beneficiary eligibility for schemes through our Policy Access Platform
- Enabling clarity and process in accessing benefits. Beneficiaries span women, farmers, small business, unemployed and youth.
- Simplifying processes for easier access to government of India and
state-level schemes. - Guiding beneficiaries to the right government
officials & departments. - Conducting field camps along with relevant
decision makers to fast-track beneficiary registration and approvals.
- Helping small businesses, entrepreneurs and farmers access loans,
subsidies and financing. - Ensuring Ease of Business by minimizing
regulatory compliance requirements. - Enabling small businesses to avail
of targeted programs and opportunities. - Building an ecosystem
facilitating more jobs for all.
- Providing support for government officials in conceiving and
implementing schemes at the local, state and central level. - Reducing red
tape and encouraging single window processes for faster, easier access
to funds/benefits. - Adopting & adapting successful global policy initiatives.
- Identifying and implementing the best innovations, technology and
know-how. - Our KnowledgeWorks sessions determine the optimal approach and
acceptance strategies in partnership with developmental agencies, think
tanks, academia and experts. - Frugal innovations across poverty
alleviation, farmers and the underserved.
Our engagement in public policy spans decades with effective design, resolution and impact. Efforts include dialogue, policy changes and institutional transformation across Livelihood, Education, Sustainability, Small Businesses and eGovernance.
- Public policy research, dedicated to in-depth assessment and scientific analysis with the objective of delivering actionable ideas that could transform rural and urban India.
- Third party assessment and high-quality evidence-based research for international agencies with practical and innovative interventions in policy decision-making.
- ET also provides Global Internship/Volunteering programs. Our team consists of individuals who thrive on big challenges, think laterally to solve grassroots issues. All with the human condition in mind.
Over 10x Impact Multiplier From Donations.
You read that right, through our RAP initiatives we foster over 10x outcomes from donations. We deliver scale by unlocking the massive power of public funds, partner NGOs and leveraging the best ideas in the world. A mix of direct assistance, ecosystem enhancement and capacity building are keys to scalable outcomes.
Citizen access to benefits
Governments in India (both centre & state) and NGOs offer multiple programs, grants, support and subsidies. Regrettably, these often go unclaimed due to lack of guidance and awareness among the underserved.
The poor and uneducated are mostly unaware of the benefits they are entitled to. There exists a wide gap between policy design, implementation and access.
There exists a wide gap between policy design, implementation and access.
- To aid over 200,000 rural poor, differently-abled, women and children in Tamil Nadu, India.
- Extend CAB services throughout Tamil Nadu state so the majority of the underserved can access welfare benefits and improve their livelihood.
- Exponentially increase the number of people who will benefit from the program.
- Share our govt program information platform across India.
Citizen Access to Benefits[CAB] tries to bridge this gap and ensure the poor and underserved get fast-track benefits.
- CAB teams engage at the ground level to guide farmers, women, and small businesses, by providing information about their rights and benefits.
- Farmer Livelihood ‘FarmX’ project – reducing costs, access to benefits, credit and markets.
- Any citizen can access eligible govt & non-govt entitlements – insurance, grants, startup funds, subsidies, scholarships, etc.
- CAB works with CSCs (Common Service Centers), government officials, and NGOs to streamline the process for the poor to get better access to benefits.
- Community programs and channeling govt efforts to generate employment, and addressing local issues.
Initiatives over the years:
- One-stop camp organised for the Differently-Abled in Kanchipuram district, TN, India. Based on eligibility – forms were filled, signed by respective govt departments and by the end of the day benefits were allotted. This would have otherwise been an elaborate task for the Differently-Abled and their families.
- Construction of public community hall to decrease the out-of-pocket expenditure of local communities (Tamil Nadu, India).
- Saved Cantonment slum settlement from Defence Colony demolition. Relocation assistance, and intervention with the military.
- ‘Help your Help’ program created awareness amongst employers to guide and pay for their employees with govt insurance schemes at nominal amounts.
DISASTER RELIEF
The southern state of Tamil Nadu (India) is prone to many natural disasters such as cyclones, storms, earthquakes, fires, floods and drought. Every year, cyclones ravage the area leading to loss of lives and livelihoods. We provide disaster assistance to other parts of India, as needed.
Over the years, Empower Tamizhagam has taken many proactive steps to decrease the impact of such natural calamities. ET-Impact assists through funding, communication, logistics, disaster management.
We leverage and focus the ability of local governments, corporates and NGOs to respond more quickly and resiliently to disasters.
How we function:
- Directly provide food, clothing and shelter through our field teams. Conduct mitigation and relief measures
- Operates
as an Information hub – coordinate with other NGOs, govt bodies,
welfare associations to deliver information and food supplies. - Provide transportation and logistics support to organisations and the government for delivery of relief materials.
- Broad assistance to the affected, the homeless and the poor.
Efforts:
- Provided over 10,000 meals through food / dry rations to families of migrants, day workers, widows, aged, children, differently-abled, slums etc.
- Delivered food and supplies to over 50 burn victims and domestic violence survivors (predominantly women) and family across greater Chennai City and vicinity – Over 5,000 meals.
- Distributed essential supply kits (Food, mask, sanitizers etc) to the front-line workers and poor.
- The cellular communications blackout was one of the biggest challenges during the devastating Chennai Floods in 2015. The Government, NGOs and civil society were unable to coordinate and deliver relief to the most affected people. ET-Impact worked with Airtel cellular network and the govt to ensure power/generators for cellular towers. This had a direct impact on thousands of lives at stake.
EMPOWER INDIA
To find out what is happening with our tax money and government decisions, a number of resources are available. Any queries that you may have with specific government departments are best addressed to the officials in question or the heads of departments. Where no response is forthcoming, a few options exist:
- Issues with the Government in India?
CP-GRAM Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System pgportal.gov.in/ - Figuring out what is happening with your file in a certain Govt of India department?
RTI: Right to Information Act. rti.gov.in/ - RTI Tamil Nadu State Government. www.tn.gov.in/rti/
Many subsidized and free services are made available for start-up ecosystems in India and Tamil Nadu.
Startup India by Government of India www.startupindia.gov.in
Collateral-Free Financing – Powered by Govt of India. Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises up to Rs 2 Crore. www.cgtmse.in
In the public interest, our legal team is happy to assess issues, regulations and processes. In addition to governmental intervention, we also support small businesses, MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and NGOs.
We enable access to finance, recovery of funds from governments and the private sector. A number of legal and governmental options exist to ensure rights are protected and ease of doing business is increased. Any individual should be able to start a small business without arduous procedures and regulations.
New policies and stimuli have been announced by the Government of India, and the Government of Tamil Nadu. We enable access to these and help navigate the system. Any requests to the government may also be fast-tracked.
PUBLIC POLICY SUPPORT
While our experience spans the globe (including the US and India), our focus has been India and Tamil Nadu. Our mission is to serve the public interest by optimal use of our collective resources and infrastructure. We offer governments and development agencies assistance with the following:
- Policy design & outcome
- Evidence-based policy
- Monitoring & evaluation
- Data analysis & assessment
- The human element in policy
- Building awareness at the last mile
- eGovernance and tech ecosystems
- Revenue, expense and impact
- Macro & micro efforts including GOs
- Global networks (USA, India)
- Implementation in the field
- Industry and community engagement
- Funding for projects
- Fellowship program
The key to sustainable scalable change is to work with the government
on increasing awareness and optimizing policies for maximized outcome.
We engage with the Government of India along with state and local
governments. Essential are all the key stakeholders:
- Governments at central, state and local levels.
- NGOs, non-profits and development agencies.
- Corporates, institutions, and industry bodies.
- Citizens and groups.
- Co-operatives and rural entities.
- Public interest entities.
Please join us
in this effort. Also, in the works… communications and media outreach
leveraging evidence-based policy and building awareness among the citizenry.
NEWS
- Ease of Doing Business in India
- Leveraging AI for Development