In the aftermath of the crackdown on NGOs sparked off by prime minister’s Manmohan Singh’s comments published in the Americanjournal Science, the voluntary sector is making efforts to restore its credibility and breach the trust deficit that has sprung up. NGOs from all over the country will hold a three-day expo aided by Indian corporate houses to showcase their achievements and their work. They hope to foster an understanding of their work at the March 16-18 expo in Gurgaon.

“Many NGOs in the past received funds from foreign donors but since India has now become a middle income country, most of those funds have dried up.  It is extremely important that Indians—both individuals and corporates—step in to fill the void created by the departure of foreign aid from India,” said Nisha Agrawal, CEO of Oxfam India at a press conference in Delhi.

She added, “This event provides a great opportunity to showcase the excellent work that NGOs are doing to the corporate sector and to interested citizens.”

Deepa Bajaj, CEO of Child Survival India, which works towards improving the condition of children in India, complained how NGOs get little support from the corporate sector. “We have expertise in working in the social area but get little support from corporate. This is an opportunity for the employees of the corporate sectors to engage with the social and development issues of the country,” she said. 

The event will be the first such organised in India. “The NGOs and donors will be on the same platform which is an attempt to make a difference to those in the business of making difference,” said Michael Duck, executive vice president of UBM Asia.

UBM India is organising the first edition of NGO India which will be inaugurated by actor Rahul Bose. Nearly 150 NGOs from 15 different states of the country will showcase their work.

A Edelman Trust Barometer survey published last month said that NGOs are the most trusted institution in the world. “Since 2009, trust in NGOs has surged in India to 68 percent among 35 to 64-year-olds,” the survey found. Citizens trust NGOs more than corporate, government and other sector organizations, the survey report said.