About us
 
Mission
Seva Mandir’s mission is to make real the idea of a society consisting of free and equal citizens who are able to come together and solve the problems that affect them in their particular contexts. The commitment is to work for a paradigm of development and governance that is democratic and polyarchic.

Seva Mandir seeks to institutionalize the idea that development and governance are not only to be left to the state and its formal bodies such as the legislature and the bureaucracy, but that the citizens and their associations should also engage separately and jointly with the state. The mission, briefly, is to construct the conditions in which citizens of plural backgrounds and perspectives can come together and work to benefit and empower the least advantaged in society.

In an effort to achieve its mission, Seva Mandir works through a three-pronged focus on the following distinct, yet interlinked areas
• Creation of platforms for people to come together and participate in development processes.

• Equipping village groups and leaders with skills and resources to respond to their own needs.

• Ensuring that members of village communities are able to interact with, and access benefits from panchayati raj institutions and other government and non-government agencies.

Objective
Seva Mandir focuses on

• Enhancing people’s capabilities for self-development by working for improved literacy levels, better health status and sensitization against oppressive gender relations.

• Creating sustainable improvements in the livelihoods base by revitalizing the natural resource base of communities.

• Strengthening village institutions by creating an alternative paradigm of power structures and community interactions that reinforce the positive forces of cooperation, transparency, equity, justice and responsible citizenship.
Biography of Founder - Dr. Mohan Sinha Mehta
Udaipur, in the pre-independence period 1900-1947, was witness to an increasing awareness among educationalists and liberal thinkers of the particular backwardness and political stagnation of Rajasthan.This realisation provoked a move to change, and inspired certain individuals, who had imbibed ideas of voluntarism, to seize the initiative. Dr Mehta, not only played a very important role in founding Seva Mandir in 1966, but also was an inspiration to progressive change throughout Udaipur District. He was a true liberal influenced by the thoughts of Tagore, Gandhi, Dr. Kunzru, and Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and by tenets of the scout movement. In pre-independence time he served as education minister and Prime Minister of Banswara in the State of Mewar and later as an Ambassador of independent India and as Vice Chancellor of Rajasthan University. He set up Vidya Bhavan at Udaipur in 1931, one of the pioneer co-educational institutions, with the philosophy of treating every child as a unique individual and molding them into citizens with sound moral character and a deep sense of social responsibility.
Organisation Structure
The management structure is organized along a matrix integrating sectoral thrust areas with field programmes. In order to carry out development interventions effectively, Seva Mandir’s organizational structure is spread across different levels. A cluster of 10–15 villages together make a zone. At the zone level, zonal workers are assisted by livelihood and capabilities workers as well as by a cadre of village-level volunteers.

About 5–7 zones are integrated at the block level. A block has a team leader, who coordinates the different activities at this level. The other team members at the block include sector in-charges for natural resource development, women and child development, education, and health.

While the demand for these programmes is generated at the village level, these programmes require substantial technical and social inputs in order to be effective. There is also a pool of facilities at the centre, which is utilized by the entire organization. This pool includes services of accounts and administration, as well as competent sector specialists.

Seva Mandir has 284 full-time staff members, who are engaged in the task of implementing its various developmental works.
Registration Details
Seva Mandir is registered as a Trust.
Registration No: 149/1967-68
Registration Date: 12/02/1968
Board of Trustees
Mr. Ajay S. Mehta
President, Board of Trustees
Mr Mehta is at present the Executive Director of National Foundation of India, New Delhi Mr Mehta has also been a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme to evaluate poverty alleviation programmes in the Middle East and Africa. Between 1979 and 1984, he worked for the Indian Railways Traffic Service.

Mr.VB Eswaran
Member, Board of Trustees
VB Eswaran is a retired IAS officer. He has served in Gujarat government as secretary in the public works and finance departments; in the central government as director in the prime minister's secretariat as adviser (energy), planning commission, finance commission, and as adviser to the governor of Gujarat. He has been associated with non-government and voluntary agencies in the fields of natural resources management, rural and community development and is also associated to many educational institutions in India. He has chaired central government committees in the power, petroleum, urban development and finance ministry.

Prof. Jagat S Mehta
Member, Board of Trustees
Padma Bhushan Jagat S Mehta was also the former foreign secretary of the government of India. In addition to this, he has been a part of special negotiating assignments and special missions on behalf of the government. He has participated in commonwealth conferences, Afro-Asian conferences and been a member of state and governmental delegations. He has also been the president of Vidya Bhawan, an educational society with ten institutions under its umbrella. He is currently on its Board of Control. Mr Mehta has presented papers at various national and international seminars and has a number of publications to his name. On 26 January 2002, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the president of India.

Dr. Prabhu Lal Agarwal
Member, Board of Trustees
Dr Prabhu Lal Agarwal is a consultant on steel plant operation and management, and director of three diversified companies. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Sheffield and a B.Sc. in metallurgy. He has held various positions such as technical adviser, Krakatau Steel, government of Indonesia, chairman, SAIL, GM and CEO, Rourkela Steel Plant. He was assistant professor & reader at the Banaras Hindu University.Dr Agarwal has won a number of awards. These include the Cross of the Order of Merit - First Class. This was given to him by the President of Federal Republic of Germany for turning around the Rourkela Steel Plant. He has received the Platinum Medal and Tata Gold Medal of the Indian Institute of Metals, and, finally, the National Metallurgists Award of the government of India.

Mr. Mohan Singh Kothari
Member, Board of Trustees
Mohan Singh Kothari has been a scientist and head of engineering & design in CSIR National Institutions, adviser to the government of Sikkim for development, director for industrial and technical development, government of Sikkim, chief consultant for industrial development in Punjab and founder GM of soyabean project in Rajasthan.
He has participated in the management of Ramakrishna Mission and has also been the Chairman, Udaipur division for WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature - India). He has notable publications in the fields of culture, religion, history and public administration to his name.

Prof. (Ms.) Ravinder Kaur
Member, Board of Trustees
Prof. (Ms.) Ravinder Kaur, is the Head of Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi.Prof. Kaur has also done significant research work on issues of ethnicity, identity, community, environment, gender, sex ratio, marriage and migration, affirmative action and poverty, especially urban poverty.Besides being a member of Board of Trustees Seva Mandir, she is also - Governing Body Member National Institute of Punjab Studies, New Delhi; Editorial Board Member: Current Sociology, Journal of International Sociology Association; Member: Joint Advisory Committee of National Research Council Thailand and Indian Council of Social Science Research; Treasurer: Indian Sociological Society; Elected Member: Managing Committee of the Indian Sociological Society; Member: Steering Committee; South Asia Sociological Association.
Ms. Pamela Philipose
Member, Board of Trustees
Ms.Pamela Philipose is the Director of Women's Feature Service, an agency mandated to generate stories largely on women in Media. Ms. Philipose has worked with reknown newspapers and magaznes such as for The Times of India, Eve's Weekly, Bombay, Down to Eartha and The Indian Express. She as been awarded a number of prizes including 'Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Journalist' and 'Zee Astitva Award for Constructive Journalism'.

 
Executive Council
Mr. Ajay S. Mehta
Mr. V.B. Eswaran
Mr. M.S. Kothari
Mr. Jagat S. Mehta
Mr. P.L. Agrawal
Prof. Ravinder Kaur
Ms. Naina Lall Kidwai
Ms. Neelima Khetan
Mr. H.R. Bhati
Mr. Vijay Singh Mehta
Mr. M.L. Mehta I.A.S. (Retd.)
Mr. Soumen Biswas
Mr. R.S. Bhandari
Dr. Vinaya Pendse
Mr. K.L. Bapna
Mr. G.L. Maheshwari
Mr. Narendra Jain
Mr. Leela Shanker Menaria
Mr. Arjun Singh Dewra
Advisory Board

Mr. Ajay S. Mehta
Ms. Manju Meena
Mr. Jhalu Ram Meena – Kherwara
Ms. Dhavri Devi Meena – Kherwara
Mr. Ramesh Chandra Meena – Girwa
Ms. Ambavi Bai – Girwa
Mr. Shambhu Lal Kharadi – Jhadol
Ms. Champa Devi – Jhadol
Mr. Singaram – Kotra
Ms. Jelki Bai – Kotra
Mr. Ambalal Gameti – Badgaon
Ms. Logari Bai – Badgaon
Ms. Gheesi Bai – Kumbhalgarh
Mr. Bhawar Singh – Kumbhalgarh
Mr. Vijay Singh Mehta
Prof. Amita Shah
Princess Padmaja Kumari Ji Mewar
Mr. Suket Singhal
Ms. Barsha Poricha
Mr. Bhagirath Gop
Mr. Rajkaran Yadav
Dr. K.L. Kothari
Mr. Manish Jain
Ms. Leela Vijayvergia
Mr. Riaz Tehsin
Ms. Neelima Khetan
Mr. H.R. Bhati
Mr. Sanjiv Jain
Mr. Heera Lal Patel
Mr. Harish Ahari
Mr. Goverdhan Singh Jhala
Mr. Narayan Lal Ameta
Mr. Narendra Jain
Ms. Priyanka Singh
Ms. Swati Patel
Mr. S.N. Bhise
Mr. Shailendra Tiwari
Dr. Sunita Kumari
Mr. Mohammad Yakub Khan
Ms. Gunjan Doogar
Mr. Gulab Noor Khan Pathan
Dr. Sangeeta Bhatnagar