Every child
has potential.

Too few have a path to economic self-reliance. We're building that path.

Our Vision

One day historically under-resourced families will attain a state of financial self reliance.

Our Mission

To strengthen public systems and communities that create mobility pathways, enabling children from underserved backgrounds to transform potential into opportunity and lasting economic security. We work to break intergenerational poverty.

Our Story

Opportunity Gap

For many families in India, poverty is inherited across generations. Limited access to quality education, unstable livelihoods, and the absence of opportunity mean that children often begin life with fewer choices than their peers. Many attend schools with severe resource constraints, struggle to build strong foundational skills, and face barriers long before they encounter opportunities that could change their future. Yet those opportunities exist.

Government residential schools such as Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, Sainik Schools, and Eklavya Model Residential Schools have shown that children from rural and low-income communities can thrive when they have access to quality education, academic support, and the right learning environment. Every year, millions of students compete for admission, while only a small percentage secure a seat. For many children studying in under-resourced government schools, the challenge begins much earlier, not with the entrance exam, but with unequal access to preparation. The gap is rarely one of ability. It is a gap in access.

Where is Began

Self Reliant India (SRI) was co-founded in 2017 by Surender Yadav and Akash Mishra with one conviction: educating even one child from a traditionally low-income family can change the future of an entire household. Growing up in rural government schools themselves, the founders had seen how children with immense potential were often unable to access opportunities simply because they lacked preparation, guidance, and exposure. The problem was never talent. It was the absence of pathways that could help children move beyond the circumstances they were born into.

SRI began its work with five government schools, focusing on strong foundational learning and preparing students for competitive entrance examinations to government residential schools. These schools offer much more than quality education. They provide children with the environment, resources, and opportunities that can lead to higher education, formal employment, and long-term economic security. From the beginning, the vision extended beyond improving learning outcomes. The goal was to expand access to opportunity.

Growing Pathways to Self Reliance

Today, SRI works across government schools, communities, and public systems to ensure that more children can access opportunities that were once beyond their reach. Our Fellows strengthen foundational learning inside classrooms. Government teachers adopt practical teaching and assessment practices that improve student learning. Communities become active participants in strengthening their neighbourhood schools. Partner organisations and state governments integrate SRI's academic model to reach more children across districts and states.

This work is guided by a simple belief: when one child gains access to a better education, the impact extends far beyond that individual. It changes what a family believes is possible. It opens doors to higher education, stable livelihoods, and greater economic security. Over time, those opportunities can interrupt a cycle of poverty that has continued for generations. Every child deserves the chance to build a future that is not defined by where they were born. That is the future SRI is working towards, one where opportunity reaches every child, and self-reliance becomes possible for every family.