Reliance Industries

1. Reliance Foundation works toward enriching the lives of the marginalized communities of India.
It enhances livelihood opportunities and provides relevant information to help reduce risks for
rural communities.
By deploying locally-relevant solutions, it also enhances rural livelihoods in agriculture, marine
fisheries and other farm and non-farm based activities. The Foundation makes systematic efforts
to improve the quality and productivity of rural assets, leading to increased and more reliable
yields. This ensures increased incomes and better capacities among the targeted marginalized
communities.
Some of the major initiatives under the Rural Transformation programme are:
Reliance Foundation Bharat India Jodo (RF BIJ)
Reliance Foundation’s flagship programme, Bharat-India-Jodo (RF BIJ), works to bridge the
development gap between rural and urban India. Committed to rural transformation, the
programme works with small and marginal farmers and helps farming households that have
limited livelihood options. These farmers, who mostly own rain-fed lands, often lack irrigation
sources and are typically dependent on single crops. They are often unable to cultivate their
entire landholdings, either because the quality of land is poor or because they lack the necessary
resources. With these factors severely limiting their earning potential, most of them are forced to
migrate and seek work as unskilled labourers.
In this socio-economic landscape, RF BIJ empowers marginal farmers with sustainable
livelihood practices. It strives to de-risk farming, minimise external dependencies and improve
rural lives and livelihoods. It supports low cost and high output in sustainable agriculture,
helping farmers increase their productivity and leverage the market to increase their income. The
programme also organises farmers in collectives, to leverage the power of unity. These models of
social and economic development are owned, controlled and managed by communities
themselves, for the larger development of their members, the village, and the region.
VisionofRFBIJ
RF BIJ aspires to establish a holistic, self-reliant and sustainable model of rural transformation
based on the principles of:
 DirectAction
 Sustainable Development,and
 ParticipatoryApproach

2. Objectives
At the heart of all RF BIJ efforts lies the desire to build strong and vibrant community-owned
and managed institutions. Today, the programme supports more than 52,000 families across
India through more than 500 vibrant village associations (VAs). RF BIJ mobilises and organises
communities into these associations to promote collective ownership, decision making and
common welfare. The VA members work together to meet collective aspirational goals.
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AwardsandRecognition
 Rama Krishna Bajaj National Quality Award: The RF BIJprogramme has receivedthe Rama
KrishnaBajaj National QualityAward,Certificate of Merit2015, underthe NGO category.The
award highlightedthatthe Foundation’sprogramme demonstrateseffective,systematicand
well-deployedapproaches,responsive tothe overall requirementsof the selectioncriteria.
 An article capturingthe transformationof the KrishnaDehariyavillageinAgardistrict,Madhya
Pradesh,waspublishedin LeisaIndia,aleadinginternational magazine onsustainable
agriculture.The article describedthe efficientwaterharvestingtechniquesadoptedbythe
village,andthe institution-buildingthathasgivenvillagesanew lease onlife,withthe support
of the BIJinitiative.

3. Reach
RF BIJ has engaged directly with more than 52,000 families in more than 500 villages across 12
Indian states. The model has been replicated from Radhanpur in Gujarat to Balangir in Odisha
and from Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand to Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu. Furthermore, to facilitate
research and development, RF BIJ has established the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable
Agriculture in Mouda, Nagpur.
The RF BIJ programme management systemis ISO 9001:2015 compliant since June 2016.
(The certificate was awarded in 2013 and renewed recently as per the standards set in
2015).
Reliance Foundation Information Services (RF IS)
Small and marginal fisherfolk, farmers and livestock owners need right information at the right
time from the right source for right decision making in order to move up the value chain for
higher income generation.
Reports like the Farmers Commission Report and International Telecommunication Report,
among others, emphasize the importance of information, its reach and the role it plays in
supporting livelihoods. Users increasingly want tailor-made, quality answers to their questions.
Reliance Foundation Information Services (RF IS) provides validated information services to
different livelihood information seekers using modern Information and Communication
Technologies(ICT). This bridges the gap between lab-derived knowledge and field-based skills.
This multi-stakeholder partnership works towards risk reduction by loss aversion, potential
additional income per individual and replenishment of natural resources.

4. Since its inception in 2013, the Reliance Foundation Information Services (RF IS) programme
aims to provide critical information and linkages using various communication mediums to poor
households. Information is disseminated though audio and dial out conferences, local cable TV,
All India Radio, print media, voice and text SMS, Jio Chat, WhatsApp and field based
programmes and trainings. These enables farmers to make better decisions in areas of livelihood,
health and disaster preparedness. Themes covered on broadcasts include agriculture, horticulture,
fisheries, health, employment, micro-enterprises and skill building.