"Dr Nageswaran, please don't turn India into a country cheap labour. We already have 40 cr informal workers."- says @employonomics. India needs an #EmploymentPolicy based on Human Economic Action Design, he suggests. @FinMinIndia
https://t.co/evdaRXaYAW
5 years ago today, I launched Mission Unemployment-Free Varanasi. It was a constructive #MUVment aimed at making the constituency of the PM, @narendramodi, a laboratory for National Employment Policy.
Before arriving in the city, I wrote to the DM @deo_varanasi seeking government support to create 80,000–100,000 secured, sustainable jobs in the district.
5 years have gone by. Not a single reply.
I can only hope the government didn't feel the need to respond because there is absolutely nobody #unemployed left in the constituency of the Hon'ble Prime Minister @PMOIndia. 🤔🇮🇳
#youth #EmploymentPolicy #JobCreation
"Providing alternative livelihood to all the beggars is the responsibility of a welfare state — not of @BeggarsCorp.
"We don't take govt grants, CSR or donations, nor do we have police for criminal verification, shelter homes, authority to issue Aadhaar/BPL/bank loan to beggars.
"As a social impact For-Profit #startup, we have shown a scalable model of #PovertyAlleviation without charity. #PovertyToProperty
"114 former beggars are now entrepreneurs, ₹8Cr+ annual turnover, paying GST and repaying their mentor-investors with ROI.
"Imagine what the the government could do with its resources & authority.
“Let the government, municipal corporations & corporates come forward. We can make their cities begging‑free — not through charity, but by capitalizing human resources,” I said in a recent podcast with Kolkata based Gurvinder Singh of #Chalgenious.
Making India Begging-Free by 2035
Join the movement as a CAUSE AMBASSADOR
I Location: Metro Cities and State Capitals I Work from Home I Earn RRROI I
Are you retired, but not yet tired? Are you a senior professional who wants to invest their expertise in creating a begging-free, poverty-free, equitable society? Do you want to turn India's one million beggars – the extreme poor – into creators & owners of wealth?
@BeggarsCorp is inviting you to spearhead the mission: #NoBegging #NoPoverty.
Key Responsibilities
1. Policy Advocacy & Government Relations: Shaping the policy, programmes and social welfare frameworks for a begging-free India.
2. Strategic Partnerships: Building alliances with social organisations, institutions and corporate bodies.
3. Citizen Engagement: Mobilising public support and fostering a movement of social responsibility through Citizens for Begging-Free India.
Who Can Join?
We are inviting Senior Professionals with a legacy of leadership, including:
1. Retired Justice and Civil Servants
2. Top corporate management and business leaders
3. Senior professionals like advocates, chartered accountants and bankers
4. Intellectuals, doctors, journalists, artists and professionals from other fields
Earn #RRROI
Respect: Appointment as a member of our Board of Advisors.
Result: As begging is one of the oldest social problems, your efforts will be visible on the streets and earn you social respect as an impact leader.
Revenue: Since Beggars Corporation is a for-profit #SocialImpact #startup, you can earn a share in the revenue generated under your leadership.
How to Join
If you have the passion to lead this mission in your metro city or state, please mail your Statement of Intent to: [email protected]
We #transformed our workspace using heavily-used clothes given by a journalist from The Times of India, including pieces of school uniforms from DPS Varanasi and St. Mary’s #Varanasi.
Today I met with Hon'ble Minister, @pib_MoSJE Shri @Drvirendrakum13 ji in Delhi and formally submitted a partnership proposal for Beggars Employment Exchange (BEE).
The #BEE targets to train, recruit and provide sustainable employment to 100,000 beggars across SMILE-Beggary project cities of the Ministry.
The Minister has promised to convene a follow-up meeting soon to discuss the operational details.
l was accompanied by our Delhi-based tech-partner Avinash K Singh who explained #BEE to the minister.
We also presented the Minister with a photograph from August 2025—a moment where he and Justice Shri V. Ramasubramanian, Hon'ble Chairperson, @India_NHRC congratulated beggar-turned-entrepreneur Mrs. Mirchmala Devi on her historic appointment as a Director at @BeggarsCorp.
#DonationToDignity #PovertyToProperty #startup
"जीने के अधिकार की भिक्षा"
Begging for the Rights to Live
I am honored to be invited to write for the annual Hindi journal of the @India_NHRC—Manav Adhikar: Nai Dishayein—focusing on the critical but often overlooked rights of persons engaged in begging.
My sincere gratitude to the Hon'ble Chairperson Justice Shri V. Ramasubramanian and Hon'ble Secretary General Shri Bharat Lal for extending this significant opportunity.
The Colonial Curse
My article "जीने के अधिकार की भिक्षा" traces the current state-level anti-begging acts in India to the Bengal Vagrancy Act, 1943. Born out of the fear of starving masses during the British-made Bengal Famine and the shadow of the 1942 Quit India movement, this legislation criminalized the cry for survival.
When the rulers treat the helpless cry for food as a crime, they murder both humanity and basic principles of a welfare state.
The Current Welfare Paradox
In February 2022, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) of the central government launched the SMILE (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood & Enterprise) project for the beggars at a budget of ₹100 cr. But after three and a half years, there is not any remarkable change in the situation, as it is treating the symptoms instead of the root cause of the disease—extreme poverty and absence of livelihood.
The irony peaked when its flagship project in Indore not only criminalized begging but also the traditional alms-giving ('daan') under Section 163 of the BNSS, 2023.
Lodging FIRs against those offering humanitarian support highlights how the absence of a clear subject-specific central law allows local lawkeepers to bypass the lawmakers.
Seven-Point Action Plan
To move beyond treating symptoms, my submission suggests a transformative, rights-based approach. The key recommendations include:
Clear Definitions: Establish a clear, broad definition of 'begging' and 'beggar,' including their different categories.
Detailed Survey: Conduct a Problem & Possibility Survey to identify why people beg and what they can do.
Social Inclusion: Issue identity cards under the Extreme Poor and Helpless (EPH) category and include them in available & applicable government schemes.
Sustainable Transformation: Prioritize sustainable earning opportunities over temporary rehabilitation.
Refocus SMILE: Emphasize the missing 'E' (Entrepreneurship) in SMILE with a focus on market-linked training, loan access, and professional support.
Break the Cycle: Rescue and Rebuild the Lives of Child Beggars with Career Education.
Time-Bound Strategy: Develop a comprehensive, time-bound Action Plan to realise the dream of a #BeggingFreeIndia while providing provisions for any future addition of destitute persons.
@PMOIndia@Drvirendrakum13@suman_bery@NITIAayog@pib_MoSJE@SMILE_MoSJE@BeggarsCorp
Listen to our founder @employonomics in #KashiKeKarndhar Episode-10.
"वाराणसी की धरती पर एक ऐसी क्रांति जन्म ले रही है, जो भारत की सोच और सिस्टम दोनों को आईना दिखा रही है।
"चंद्र मिश्रा – एक ऐसा नाम, जो भिखारियों को भीख के कटोरे से निकालकर कॉर्पोरेट दुनिया की मुख्यधारा में ला रहे हैं। आज वही लोग, जो कभी सड़क पर हाथ फैलाते थे, अब —
✅ काम कर रहे हैं
✅ उत्पादक नागरिक बन चुके हैं
✅ सरकार से सहायता नहीं, बल्कि Tax भर रहे हैं
"यह सिर्फ एक इंटरव्यू नहीं, यह है भारत के सामाजिक नव निर्माण की कहानी।"
https://t.co/yFbMztEp0p
The Hon'ble Governor of Uttarakhand Gen. (Rtd.) Gurmeet Singh visited the stall of Beggars Corporation at the @vowlitfest event in Dehradun today. Accompanied by Dr. @ChopraSanjeev, Hon'ble Governor appreciated the work of Beggars Corporation and the products made by our beggar-turned-entrepreneurs. Our founder @employonomics presented him a copy of #TheLastBeggar and a #BeggingFreeDehradun bag. Our co-founder Dev , Manager-Projects Vaibhav Singh and Tech Coordinator Jay briefed him about the products.
Dear socially spirited citizens of Dehradun, do you envision #Uttarakhand becoming a national model for a povery-free begging-free state?
Exchange Experience & Expertise with our founder @employonomics at @vowlitfest:
Date & Time: Sunday, October 26th, 4 PM
Venue: Hotel Madhuban, Rajpur Road, #Dehradun
Let's discuss, debate and decide which road we should take:
THE OLD WAY
Donation, charity, and freebies
Temporary rehabilitation
Non-formal education of street children
Criminalising begging and forceful evacuation of the beggars
Criminalising humanitarian support and FIRs against citizens
OR, THE NEW PARADIGM
Investment, Equity, and ROI
Turning the poor/beggars into a productive workforce
Career Education of street children
Breaking the cycle of poverty & begging
Involving citizens in mentoring & social transformation
This is high time to move beyond what couldn't succeed in last 78 years post-independence. And, adopt a sustainable model built on dignity, productivity, and economic democracy.
#NoPoverty #ZeroHunger
@PMOIndia@blsanthosh@Drvirendrakum13@pushkardhami@tsrawatbjp
🌆 Dehradun: A Begging-Free City
Join Panelists Aditi P. Kaur, Chandra Mishra
, Abhinav Shah and Samarth Khanna with Moderator: Anoop Nautiyal at VoW 2025!
🤝 Institutional Partner: Montessori School
📍 25–26 Oct | Hotel Madhuban, Dehradun