Factories, Footwear & Food Prices + A New Lens on Fundraising with DaanVeda
Policy Post #187
Dear Reader,
This week’s Policy Charcha takes you across India’s fast-changing policy landscape—from rural industrialisation and inflation trends to inclusive healthcare for trans communities.
In our Article Highlight, we look at how foreign investments in Tamil Nadu’s footwear industry are transforming the lives of rural women like Jayalakshmi and Jaya—offering them financial independence, social respect, and stable employment in districts once left behind.
Our Research Highlight breaks down how India measures inflation through the Consumer Price Index (CPI)—and why food inflation, despite an overall stable economy, continues to hit the poorest the hardest.
This week’s Video Highlight features Luis Miranda, a true institution-builder and change-maker, in an unforgettable conversation on leadership, role models, and impact. If you’ve ever wondered how to blend business, purpose, and empathy—don’t miss this one.
We’re also excited to introduce an all-new, ongoing section—Organisation Highlight, brought to you in partnership with DaanVeda. DaanVeda is building India’s first AI-powered fundraising intelligence platform for the social sector, making it easier for changemakers to access capital, identify funders, and drive real impact with data-backed strategies.
And in our Climate + Health Corner, we spotlight Tamil Nadu’s pioneering gender clinics that are making gender-affirming care more accessible—but also highlight the persistent barriers transpersons still face in their healthcare journeys.
As always, thank you for reading and championing better policy.
Do consider supporting PPI by buying us a coffee ☕ (or two!) if you’ve found our work to be valuable :)
With that, we bring to you: Policy Post #187!
Policy Charcha 💬
The best of Podcasts, Videos, Essays, Fellowships and other Career resources from the world of Policy and Governance from the week gone by!
💡 Article Highlight:
Industrialisation is transforming rural Tamil Nadu, especially for women like Jayalakshmi and Jaya from Perambalur district, who now earn financial independence and social respect through jobs at a new Crocs manufacturing unit. Backed by major foreign investments in non-leather footwear, Tamil Nadu is emerging as a global hub for brands like Nike, Adidas and Crocs—creating lakhs of low-skill, high-volume jobs in underserved districts.
📚 Research Highlight:
Inflation in India is measured through the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks monthly price changes in a fixed basket of goods and services. While overall inflation has remained within a manageable 2–6% band over the last decade, food inflation—nearly half of the CPI—remains volatile due to factors like weather and supply disruptions, disproportionately affecting poorer households. Check out this piece from Data for India for some insights!
🔎 Databases and Guides:
Discover your ultimate career resource sheets for everything related to public policy! Our comprehensive mega-lists include over 150 organisations that are always on the lookout for talent, 200+ scholarships for Indian students, and 150+ public policy courses. Dive in and unlock incredible opportunities!
▶️Video Highlight:
👉🏽 In this candid and inspiring conversation, Luis Miranda—founding member of HDFC and ex-CEO of IDFC—shares powerful lessons on leadership, institution-building, and giving back. With warmth and humour, he reflects on his journey, role models, and the social causes that drive him. A master storyteller, Luis makes complex ideas feel accessible and deeply human.
Organisation Highlight
In Partnership With DaanVeda
DaanVeda is building India’s first AI-powered fundraising intelligence platform designed for the social impact sector. Whether you're a policymaker, nonprofit leader, researcher, or aspiring changemaker — you know how critical access to capital is for driving real impact. DaanVeda brings together the world’s largest philanthropy dataset — including 200M+ donor records, 300K+ foundation profiles, CSR databases, and active RFPs — to make fundraising more strategic, data-driven, and accessible.
By bridging policy, data, and grassroots missions, DaanVeda is enabling a future where funding is discoverable, transparent, and equitable — and where innovation reaches the social sector not last, but first.
DaanVeda has made their platform more accessible for the PPI community, offering a smoother way in for anyone looking to get started on their growth journey. Details available on the poster!
Climate + Health Corner
In Partnership With Swasti, The Health Catalyst
👉🏽 The Impact of Gender Clinics
Over the past six years, Tamil Nadu’s gender clinics—starting with the one at Chennai’s Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH)—have significantly improved access to healthcare for transpersons. These clinics offer free gender affirmation surgeries and hormone therapy consultations under one roof, supported by a multidisciplinary team including psychiatrists, endocrinologists, and plastic surgeons. As of 2024, over 1,500 trans persons have sought care, and 171 surgeries have been performed at RGGGH alone.
While the clinics mark a major step in inclusive healthcare, challenges remain. The lengthy pre-surgery process and out-of-pocket costs for hormone therapy and medications are barriers for many transpersons from marginalised backgrounds. Activists are calling for more such clinics across the state and stronger support systems during the transition period, especially for those who lack familial and financial support.
👥 Community Updates:
All our communities are free to join, open to everyone and are continuously growing and evolving to maximise the opportunities and awareness about policy and careers in this broader space that we can create in cities across India’s 20 most vibrant cities.
The aim is to organise regular in-person meet-ups, workshops, and career activities throughout the year to support your growth and learning. Most knowledge in public policy and social impact resides with individuals, not institutions, and knowledge transfer happens most effectively when we meet and exchange ideas. Join us and help spread the word so we can grow this space together in your city and across India. :)
Join our absolutely free pan-India communities on WhatsApp and be a part of the next in-person meet-up!
Careers Corner 💼
A curated list of some of the best jobs and internship opportunities this week from the world of public policy, the development sector, impact consulting and communications at large.
📩 Best bit - if you know of a job/internship opening that’s not listed here, kindly just add that as a comment on the sheet: giving 20,000+ people immediate access to it!
You won’t believe it, but it’s cheaper than a cup of coffee to support our work☕
We're a community-driven platform dedicated to delivering fresh policy insights, creating career opportunities, and helping thousands thrive in India's policy space. To keep all our work free and accessible, we need your support. A small contribution of just Rs. 80 can help sustain and grow our mission. Please consider buying us a coffee and powering our work. Thank you!