Karuna Trust is transforming dysfunctional government primary healthcare centres (PHCs) into professional hubs of “last-mile” healthcare service delivery. It works through a public-private partnership model: the government invests in upgrading infrastructure and improving the efficiency of the PHCs; Karuna Trust brings healthcare management systems and disruptive health innovations; and village health councils hold PHCs accountable for reporting higher health outcomes and functioning as zero-corruption zones. Karuna Trust has served more than 1 million patients and reported health outcomes that are among the highest in the country.

More than 180 applicants entered the 10th annual India Social Entrepreneur of the Year selection process, and three finalists emerged after several stages of rigorous assessment. The two other finalists were Yogendra Bhushan from Bodh Shiksha Samiti and Matthew Spacie from Magic Bus.

An independent panel of pre-eminent judges met on 4 November to select the winner. This year’s judges included Shobhana Bhartia, Chairperson and Editorial Director, HT Media, India, and a Co-Chair of the 2014 India Economic Summit; Neelam Chhiber, Managing Director, Indus Tree Crafts Foundation (ICF), India; Harish Hande, Managing Director, SELCO Solar Light, India;Sunil K. Munjal, Joint Managing Director, Hero MotoCorp, India; Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Arghyam Foundation, India; Sudha Pillai, Member Secretary, Planning Commission, India; Hilde Schwab, Chairperson and Co-Founder, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Ronnie Screwvala, Chief Executive Officer, UTV Software Communications, India; and Chetna Vijay Sinha, Founder, Mann Deshi Foundation, India, and winner of the India Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2013.

Commenting on the finalists, Hilde Schwab, Chairperson and Co-Founder of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, said: “We are inspired by the three finalists of the India Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 award – all three entrepreneurs are leading initiatives that seek fundamental changes in delivery systems and demonstrate a strong commitment to collaboration and co-creation with the community and other stakeholders. We hope these entrepreneurs and their work will serve as an inspiration to many more social innovators, especially among the country’s youth.”

The winner will be invited to join the Schwab Foundation’s global community of more than 250 social innovators. Social Entrepreneurs are driven by their mission to create substantial social change and promote inclusive growth, developing new products and service models that benefit underserved communities.

More information about the finalists:

Yogendra Bhushan, Bodh Shiksha Samiti, India

Bodh works with ultra-poor communities to transform their villages and slums into centres of education excellence. It pioneered the common schools movement, where schools (calledbodhshalas) are built, managed and co-owned by mostly below-the-poverty-line communities in areas untouched by the government education system. Bodh has made an impact on more than 2 million students and 80,000 teachers in the state of Rajasthan. Bodh’s best practices in improving education quality have been adopted in 20,500 government schools in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand, and 100 social ventures have partnered with Bodh to scale up the common school model to 13 states.

Matthew Spacie, Magic Bus, India

Magic Bus delivers a “Sport for Development” curriculum that harnesses the transformative power of sport to enable children from impoverished communities to tap into their potential, reflect on their life choices and take positive development decisions with regard to their education, health, livelihood and leadership – factors that are critical for their growth as active citizens. To date, the curriculum has helped up to 500,000 children, aged between 7 and 18 years across 19 Indian states, through a trained network of 8,000 community youth leaders. Half of all Magic Bus participants are girls from disadvantaged families.

To nominate a social entrepreneur or apply for the 2015 award, visit www.schwabfound.org.