Rohini Nilekani

India is a groundwater civilization. Almost all Indians use groundwater, directly or indirectly, each day.

— Rohini Nilekani

Good laws are fair, do not discriminate against any group and are reasonably implementable.

— Rohini Nilekani

Frontiersman ideas of individualism stand exposed as we realise just how much our actions impact others.

— Rohini Nilekani

Poor governance affects us all - entrepreneurs, homemakers, farmers, labourers, whatever identities we might have.

— Rohini Nilekani

What works at scale may be different from scaling what works. Pilots often succeed, while scale-up often fails when the context changes.

— Rohini Nilekani

It was only in 2001 that I set up a foundation, Arghyam. That was pretty much to learn the ropes of how…

— Rohini Nilekani

I came from a seedha-saadha middle class family in Mumbai. The Infosys story changed our life drastically but we have remained the…

— Rohini Nilekani

For centuries, prosperity has been easy to define in material terms. At a personal level, by how much one earns; how much…

— Rohini Nilekani

Addressing governance issues are important because whichever silo you work in, be it education, microfinance, sanitation, food or health, you would eventually…

— Rohini Nilekani

The urbanising middle class of the 1960s and 1970s had schools, hospitals, roads, energy services, even cultural institutions - all created by…

— Rohini Nilekani

When 9/11 happened, it changed things overnight, giving the biggest shock treatment to individual agency. People in the U.S., the absolute stronghold…

— Rohini Nilekani

Often, our laws and policies reflect patriarchal biases that can trap men in stereotypes - for example, the idea of guarding the…

— Rohini Nilekani

Is water the next oil? Motives behind the question vary, depending on who asks the question. Those who see water as a…

— Rohini Nilekani

Among the most important lessons to be taken from the history of oil is not taking essentials for granted. Conserve oil, but…

— Rohini Nilekani

As citizens, we have to co-create good governance, we cannot outsource it and hope to be passively happy consumers. Like everything worth…

— Rohini Nilekani

Because of its gradient, it is the site of many spectacular waterfalls, like the Unchalli Falls, near which, on a full moon…

— Rohini Nilekani

People have to clearly see the connection between their family's health and their sanitation habits.

— Rohini Nilekani

I have a philanthropy advisor, Hari Menon, who was earlier at the Gates Foundation.

— Rohini Nilekani

We have to get smarter about our cities. Especially when it comes to the most basic of public services - water supply.

— Rohini Nilekani

Climate change is already upon us, and its effects are being felt with increasing intensity.

— Rohini Nilekani

Rich or poor, we all need organizations that can represent us; we all need modes of collective action when individual action does…

— Rohini Nilekani

I believe that any society that allows the creation of legitimate wealth expects that the wealth be used for its benefit.

— Rohini Nilekani

As with oil, water exploitation raises an inter-generational debt that will be hard to repay.

— Rohini Nilekani

Work from home will relieve the pressure on urban infrastructure and land, which can be released for mass housing or public transport,…

— Rohini Nilekani

For the lakhs living along its banks, the Aghanashini has given people life and livelihoods.

— Rohini Nilekani

We need more imagination, more innovation and more public financing for projects and programmes that harness the positive energy of young men.

— Rohini Nilekani

I felt very uncomfortable when I became wealthy. One of my ways of dealing with it was to give it forward right…

— Rohini Nilekani

India is criss-crossed with the most elegant wells that tap into the shallow aquifer.

— Rohini Nilekani

What role can such philanthropy play in a society like ours? For one, philanthropic capital can go where markets will not go…

— Rohini Nilekani

We must overcome our cultural barriers that giving should be a private and silent activity.

— Rohini Nilekani

Putting a climate change lens on policy making offers a huge opportunity to make smart decisions about India's future.

— Rohini Nilekani

India has a long tradition of giving that cuts across all sections of society. It is a living legacy that we can…

— Rohini Nilekani

When you keep un-bundling various aspects of a social problem, you can arrive at a very basic, common space.

— Rohini Nilekani

We all need good laws, and an independent, impartial, and efficient judiciary to verify the constitutionality of those laws.

— Rohini Nilekani

We cannot be mere consumers of good governance, we must be participants; we must be co-creators.

— Rohini Nilekani

As ordinary citizens, we don't spend much time reading about and thinking through the creation of new laws or amendments of old…

— Rohini Nilekani

If the privileged in society can use that privilege to privilege others, then the consequences can be tremendous.

— Rohini Nilekani

Bihar has always drawn me, ever since I was a child, brought up on the stories about my grandfather Babasaheb Soman.

— Rohini Nilekani

Governments do have the duty to protect national interest. But we should not be afraid of foreign funding of Indian CSOs, unless…

— Rohini Nilekani

Having our own children in good schools does not inure us from the ill-effect of others having theirs in poor schools. Having…

— Rohini Nilekani