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the goal of promoting financial literacy among the lower income sections of society. "The initial plan was to help people understand the basics of saving and investing, so they could make better financial decisions and build a corpus for the long term,” says the 17-year-old.

However, after conducting a few sessions with people at the Skill Development Center in New Delhi, it became apparent to her that the concept of saving and investment was not as relevant to lower income groups who often have limited resources and struggle to make ends meet. "Instead, their financial distress usually stemmed from medical emergencies, accidents, or a death in the family. This realisation hit me more when a house keeping staff of my housing society passed away after an accident,” says Kashvi, who participated in the Wharton Global Youth Program and did a course in communication skills from Trinity College, London.

The incident spurred her to research and explore government schemes that could provide much-needed relief for such situations. "Consequently, the focus of the project shifted from financial literacy to creating awareness about government schemes that could offer a safety net during times of financial distress," informs the teenager.

Challenges

But building trust within the group proved to be the most daunting obstacle. "Many individuals were hesitant to share their personal details due to fears of potential deception," says the class 12 student at Heritage Xperientialschool, Gurgaon.

The underlying concern was that linking government schemes to bank accounts might expose them to fraudulent activities. For Kashvi, overcoming this hurdle involved persistent efforts to demonstrate that her intentions are sincere and focused solely on providing access to government-backed schemes that can genuinely benefit them. "Emphasising that these initiatives are designed to channel benefits directly to the participants has been crucial in assuaging their apprehensions," she says.

Kashvi believes controlling one's finances can actually bring a significant change in their standard of living. "There are a variety of financial instruments that are available for the help of the poverty stricken families but they are unaware of these government schemes. So I wanted to be the one to bridge the gap and guide them to those government aids." Over the next 2-3 years, the goal is to expand the project's footprint nationwide, ensuring its imprint is felt across the country. “While the current focus centers on select government insurance schemes, the long-term objective is to encompass a wider array of government initiatives, enabling individuals to avail the benefits rightfully due to them but often overlooked due to lack of awareness.”

She aims to achieve this with a mid-term goal, which involves building a network of dedicated volunteers who can effectively disseminate information and extend the project's reach within their respective communities.

Additionally, an app has been developed that provides detailed scheme information and eligibility checks, allowing the project to engage with economically disadvantaged populations on a larger scale, informs the teenager, who envisions working at a more strategic level, establishing robust systems and processes that can accommodate the project's growth.

Delhi girl

Born in Delhi, Kashvi lived in Mumbai for the first three years where her father Gaurav Jindal was working. The family moved to Gurgaon in 2009 and have been here since.

Kashvi’s interest in financial markets prompted her to take up Economics, Maths, Accountancy and Business Studies as her major subjects in Class 11 and 12. “The interest in financial concepts pushed me to take AP course on Micro and macro economics in my grade 10 and I scored perfect 5 on both,” smiles the teenager, who worked on a research paper on adoption of cryptocurrency in India, which got published in journal of student research.

She has always been academically inclined and been in top 5 percent of her class. “I have always tried to enrich myself outside of my academic activities by focusing on extra curriculars and sports,” informs the budding entrepreneur, who was also an avid swimmer but had to leave it because of certain medical issues.

Youth Platform

Invest the Change is not her only initiative. In the summer of 2020, she launched the Youth Platform, an initiative to inculcate communication skills, through self curated courses, in students who do not have access to opportunities to excel at the same.

During the pandemic, she noticed that the marginalized communities were facing significant difficulties in accessing education.“I saw my house help, who has two children and was struggling to support their education. I was deeply moved. I began tutoring them.”

During one of the study sessions, the children expressed interest in Kashvi’s preparation for a Model United Nations conference, which sparked the idea for a simple debating program. The program had a significant impact on the children's confidence and sparked their interest in learning more. “As they shared their experiences with friends, more children expressed an interest in participating. Their enthusiasm motivated me to create a more structured program, which eventually evolved into Youth Platform,” says Kashvi of how her journey in helping the underprivileged took off.

She feels the youth of today need to have a platform to be able to express their thoughts and opinions confidently and effectively to the audience, which will help in independent thinking and global citizenship. “Through workshops, I have been able to help many children gain confidence to express their emotions and thoughts. The Youth Platform has taught kids to articulate their ideas in a formal debate format, rather than arguing or fighting.”

Since 2021, she has guided 500 students across 10 NGOs. “At Youth Platform, we recognise that building a strong foundation is the key to empowering the communicators of tomorrow,” she feels.

Raising awareness

Of late, Kashvi has been conducting sessions focused on two main themes: raising awareness about various government schemes and assisting individuals in accessing them, and promoting financial literacy to help people understand the fundamental concepts of investing and saving.

“To date, we have reached approximately 3,000 individuals and facilitated benefits totaling ₹20 crore. By introducing these schemes to our audience, we have witnessed increased confidence among people, knowing that they won't fall into a debt trap during emergencies,” informs Kashvi.

For instance, there was a driver who had postponed a recommended surgery for two years due to financial constraints. However, after enrolling in the PMJAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna), he was able to undergo the surgery and significantly improve his quality of life. “Additionally, we have witnessed cases where families, who lost their primary breadwinner, were able to receive insurance money to alleviate some of their financial distress.”

For both Invest the Change and Youth Platform, there are teams comprising passionate volunteers. “We find a volunteer whom we train and who can take things forward. The idea is to multiply the impact by creating self-sustaining groups,” she says.

Diverse interests

Kashvi is passionate about debating, MUN (Model United Nation) conferences, fitness, travel and photography. A versatile trader, she enjoys everything from The Palace of Illusions to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and People We Meet on Vacation.

“Music is my constant companion complimenting my diverse interests,” says Kashvi, who plays guitar and likes to watch Shark Tank, Gilmore Girls, Scam 1992 and Friends.

• Follow Kashvi Jindal on LinkedIn

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