India severely lags behind most other nations on Health and Education Indicators

and this fact is most evident in the rural areas across India and in the states of
Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh in particular.
Some of the most crucial challenges for emerging social entrepreneurs today in
the fields of Health and Education are:
1. Access to Primary Healthcare: Rural India accounts for 73% of Indias
population but has only 25% of the countrys health infrastructure
including doctors and specialists and other health resources [1]. High
capital costs of setting up medical facilities, poor connectivity, &
reluctance of medical professionals to practise in rural areas are
significant barriers to improving the situation.
2. Access to safe drinking water: Indias huge and growing population is
putting a severe strain on all of the countrys natural resources. Most
water sources are contaminated by sewage and agricultural runoff.
Although access to drinking water has improved, the World Bank estimates
that 21% of communicable diseases in India are related to unsafe water.
Around 1.5 million children are estimated to die of diarrhoea alone and 73
million working days are lost due to waterborne disease each year. The
resulting economic burden is estimated at $600 million a year [2]. Water
and sewage treatment, groundwater replenishment and cleaning rivers
and streams are important areas of focus in this field.
3. Access to hygienic sanitation facilities: According to the NSSO, less than
32% of rural Indians have their own toilets and only 9% more have some
form of access through communal arrangements. The worst performers in
sanitation are the states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar where more
than 80% of the rural populace doesnt have access to toilets. These
abysmal numbers make India an outlier when it comes to sanitation issues
even among developing countries [3]. With the renewed focus of the
government in providing toilets in rural homes and schools, a lot of
interest and support for sanitation schemes is anticipated. Yet, challenges
remain in reducing costs of building toilets, maintaining cleanliness and in
treatment/disposal of wastes.
4. Access to quality primary education: Although enrolment in primary
education has increased, it is estimated that at least 35 million, and
possibly as many as 60 million, children aged 614 years are not in school
[4]
. Severe gender, regional, and caste disparities also exist. The main
problems are the high drop-out rate, low levels of learning and
achievement, inadequate school infrastructure, high teacher absenteeism
and poor quality of education.
In each of the cases outlined, multiple agencies are involved in finding a solution.
The Central and State Governments are implementing schemes to improve
infrastructure and public service delivery models. Non-profits and NGOs are
active in fundraising from corporate and private donors and implementing
localised solutions. Yet, financially sustainable and scalable models are yet to
emerge. Your challenge is to develop an innovative business model for a
financially sustainable social enterprise that tackles one of these four issues.