Angels Of Pune: How Tapasya Is Making Government Schemes More Accessible To Vulnerable Families

Pune: For many vulnerable families, government welfare schemes exist on paper, but accessing them remains a challenge. A lack of awareness, documentation challenges, and the complexity of navigating official processes often prevent people from receiving benefits meant for them. Bridging this gap between entitlement and access is Tapasya's mission, a social organisation founded in 2018 by Dr Tapas Sutradhar and Mrinal Rao.

Both founders have spent years working in the development sector and saw a recurring problem: people were being excluded not because schemes were unavailable, but because they lacked information and support to claim them.

The idea for Tapasya emerged from an incident in Almora, Uttarakhand, where Sutradhar met a family that had completed all the paperwork required for an LPG subsidy but had still not received the benefit.

“That experience stayed with me. The family had done everything correctly, yet they remained excluded. It made us realise that poverty is not only about income; it is also about people not being able to access opportunities and rights that already exist for them,” Sutradhar said.

This challenge is especially visible in remote areas, where government programmes often struggle to reach people. Even processes such as Aadhaar linking, ration card updates or applying for subsidies can become difficult when families are unaware of the procedures or do not know where to seek help.

Tapasya initially focused on education, helping children from vulnerable backgrounds secure admission under the Right to Education (RTE) quota in private schools. According to Sutradhar, nearly 60 per cent of reserved seats often remain vacant because eligible families are unaware of them or face difficulties during the application process. Since 2018, the organisation has supported around 22,000 children through education initiatives.

“Many families are not lacking eligibility; they are lacking information. Sometimes a small procedural issue or missing document prevents them from accessing life-changing opportunities,” he said.

Over the years, Tapasya expanded its work to cover a wide range of welfare programmes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it supported relief efforts, while in Pune and Nandurbar districts, it helped nearly 6,000 women access the PMMVY Scheme, which is a maternity-related benefit under government schemes.

At the heart of Tapasya’s work is Project Sakhi, under which women from local communities are trained as community change agents. These women identify eligible families, create awareness about schemes, assist with documentation and applications, and follow up with government departments.

“Our approach is not to work for communities, but to build leadership within communities. When local women become Sakhis, they become trusted guides who can help hundreds of families access services,” Sutradhar said.

More than 100 women have been trained as Sakhis, with each supporting around 200 to 300 families annually. The model creates a long-term support system within communities rather than relying solely on outside intervention.

Technology has also become an important part of Tapasya’s work. The organisation has developed the Tapasya application, a scheme-mapping platform that helps identify welfare schemes available to an individual or family based on their location, eligibility and circumstances. The application also highlights required documents and guides users through the process.

“The application is not one-size-fits-all. Schemes differ from district to district and family to family. We wanted technology that could provide personalised guidance rather than generic information,” Sutradhar explained.

Tapasya also runs ‘Tapasya Seva Kendras’, where Sakhis support families with documentation, Aadhaar linking, ration-related issues and applications, effectively acting as a bridge between citizens and government systems.

Since its inception, Tapasya has reached more than 2.5 lakh citizens across Maharashtra and Karnataka, helping over 55,000 citizens access government benefits and entitlements worth more than ₹500 crore.

“Our vision is simple: no family should remain excluded simply because they do not know how to access what they are already entitled to,” Sutradhar said.