IndianNGOs.com, India's largest knowledge and research centre in the social sector, today launched `612 districts forums' - a unique initiative with district-wise coverage of NGOs in India. The information covers district demographics like total population, number of literates, number of disabled, the status of issues like children, disabled, education, women, related government policies and schemes and the work being done by NGOs on these issues.

IndianNGOs.com is one of the most comprehensive websites with a database of 34,000 NGOs classified geographically as well as on the basis of the field that they are working in. It also has over 200 examples of corporate social activity, detailing work being done by the companies in the social sector all over the country. The website, which has been in existence for six years now features about 400 domestic and international funding agencies as well as over 3,000 NGO programmes and interventions. Though the site is content rich, it has indexed caption heads and cross-references for easy access to a range of information on the social sector. This includes NGO profiles, state and central government schemes and statistical tables that illustrate change over a period of time. A recent feature is information about members of parliament and their utilisation of the funds allocated to them under the MP Local Area Development Scheme.

"We are inviting NGOs from each of India's 612 districts to share their profiles and projects on the site free. Other important components of the chain- like schools for the disabled, shops selling instruments like hearing aids and chemists/doctors offering discounts to senior citizens are also free to share their information on the site. This information will be processed into CDs and booklets to ensure benefits to communities that are not connected to the internet," says Sanjay Bapat, Founder & Managing Director of IndianNGOs.com.

The website will soon include interviews of district collectors to know how they deal with social challenges in their turf. NGOs and other stakeholders will be able to share what they consider are the biggest challenges in their districts.

Highlighting some of the new features, Mr Bapat said, "Many smaller NGOs in districts need guidance on writing proposals, we are now making easy downloadable proposal writing versions for such NGOs. Moreover, they need guidance on Fund Raising, Legal and Financial Issues, Taxation, FCRA, Governance, Advocacy and Branding. IndianNGOs.com has formed a panel of experts who will answer these queries."

IndianNGOs.com was started in the Year 2000 with support from the Mahindra and Mahindra Group and Sista's. ICICI Bank then supported IndianNGOs.com with a grant to work on Corporates and NGOs. Today, Companies like the Citigroup, HSBC are hosting forums on the site on microfinance, education and environment & life. Leading companies like the Tata Group, Ballarpur, Colgate, HDFC, Hindustan Levers, Jet Airways, Standard Chartered Bank, Sandoz, STAR TV, Philips, Pfizer as well as leading NGOs and funding agencies like Azim Premji Foundation, CRY, GIVE Foundation, Sehgal Foundation, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, UNDP are subscribers / members of IndianNGOs.com