EducationClassrooms that stay open
Public charitable trust · Across India
Building stronger communities across the country.
Jagannath Foundation works in education, healthcare, skills, women’s livelihoods and household energy — so families across the country keep more of what they earn, and children stay in school.
HealthcarePrevention before crisis
SkillsWork, character, a playing field
Solar energyFrom bills to an asset
Who we are
A public trust for inclusive development across India.
Formed on 17 August 2026, Jagannath Foundation is an irrevocable public charitable trust. Income and property can be applied only to its objects. There is no private profit.
Quality of life that lasts
To enable communities across the country to improve quality of life — through education, healthcare, livelihoods and lasting household assets — on a sustainable and inclusive basis.
Women at the centre
We exist to serve communities across India, with partners and evidence, putting women at the centre of household economics and turning one-time assistance into a skill, a saving and a school that holds.
Public benefit only
Education, healthcare, relief of poverty, women’s and children’s welfare, environment, and community development. The Trust does not carry on any activity with the object of earning profit.
From assistance to a household asset
Welfare that only arrives once leaves the next month unchanged. We prefer work that cuts a recurring cost, builds a skill, or keeps a child in school — then we stay long enough to see it hold.
01 Identify. Map BPL, tribal and PVTG households in a block with local institutions — not from a desk in the city.
02 Assess. Read the actual energy, health and livelihood load of the household.
03 Install lasting assets. Solarise where it is viable. Pair with clean cooking, skills and school support.
04 Hold the line. The work is finished when the household keeps the saving — not when a banner comes down.
Dr Jagannath Patnaik, MBA, M.Law, Ph.D., D.Litt., D.Sc.
Founder, Settlor & Managing Trustee. Vice Chancellor, The ICFAI University Sikkim.
I did not first meet social service in a conference hall. I met it as a child, in the ordinary work of standing with people who had less than they needed. Those early days taught me a sentence that has never left me: Manav seva is Ishwar seva — service to the human being is service to God. Not as a slogan, but as a discipline.
He has served as Vice Chancellor of Indian universities for over 16 years and is a renowned educationist and author. Recorded in the World Book of Records; Utkal Jyoti Award of the Government for social service. Doctorate in Political Administration (Moscow, 2000), doctorate in Life Sciences (2016), D.Litt. in Education (2019), LL.M. in Commercial and Corporate Law, MBA and B.Com, with diplomas in human rights, intellectual property and cyber law. Global Chairman of the UNACCC Governing Council.
The dream was never a monument. It was a duty: to make ordinary public goods hold.
What we do
Six lines of work. Across the country.
Each line of work is designed to leave something a household can still use a year later: a skill, a saving, a school habit, a cleaner bill. The map is the country.
Headquarters in Bhubaneswar. Programmes designed for nationwide reach, with first field concentration where the PVTG challenge is largest.
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Districts of first focus
Odisha PVTG geography named in our impact brief — not a finished national tally.
Open
Active volunteers
Roster is being built. We prefer people who will return, not people who will post.
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Programmes live in design
Education, health, youth skills, women’s livelihoods, environment, solar housing.
Rolling out
Solar assets installed
The trust was formed in August 2026. We will not invent a wall of installations.
01 · Education & literacy
Literacy is treated as a public good. Reading rooms, first-generation learner support, and practical help to schools already doing the hard work.
02 · Health & family welfare
Most families we meet do not lack courage. They lack a clear, nearby path to preventive care.
03 · Youth skills & sport
Livelihood workshops, mentoring, and a sports platform for young people who have talent but no corridor to coaching.
04 · Women’s livelihoods
Self-help groups, livelihood training and leadership — so a household’s saving is not spent without them.
05 · Environment & land
Local greening, water and soil awareness, and community care for land in villages and towns across the country.
06 · Solar housing & clean energy
Affordable rooftop solar, cleaner cooking, and a household economics model for BPL, tribal and PVTG families.
Community & team
The people who hold the Foundation.
The settlor and managing trustee, the founder trustees, the Board of Management and the Board of Advisors govern the Foundation with clear policy and strategic planning.
New programmes will be introduced from time to time.
Founder, Settlor & Managing Trustee
Dr Jagannath Patnaik, MBA, M.Law, Ph.D., D.Litt., D.Sc.
Vice Chancellor, The ICFAI University Sikkim. 16+ years as Vice Chancellor. World Book of Records; Utkal Jyoti Award.
Founder Trustee and Vice President
Dr Shrabani Patnaik, M.Sc., M.Phil., Ph.D., D.Litt.
M.Sc. & M.Phil. Environment. National Co-Chairman, UNAccc. National President, Women Empowerment Forum.
Founder Trustee and Treasurer
Adv. Prakriti Patnaik, Ph.D. Scholar, LL.M. (Queen Mary, UK), LL.M. (India), BBA-LL.B. (Hons.)
Practising advocate before the High Court, District Courts and DRT in Odisha. Empaneled Lawyer, YES Bank Ltd.
Founder Trustee and Secretary
Mr Purushraj Patnaik, BBA-LL.B., LL.M.
Policy advocacy and cyber law. Supports field follow-up and youth programmes.
Chief Executive Officer
Ms Sarita Patwal, MBA
Operational leadership of the Foundation’s programmes and day-to-day administration.
Executive Director, Planning and Coordination
Adv. Prateek Nayak, LL.M. (UK), LL.M. (India)
Criminal and civil laws, policy and advocacy. Coordinates programmes, partners and districts.
Executive Director, International Affairs
Er. Samarendra Patra, B.Tech.
Merchant Navy, international relations and trade policy. Leads partnerships beyond India.
Non-Executive Director, Finance
CA Reema Diddee
Independent Director, LIC Mutual Fund. 31 years in financial consultancy. Oversight of accounts and grants.
Head, Legal
Adv. Lhamu Tshering Tamang, B.A. LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D. Research Scholar
Family law, government advocacy and women empowerment. Legal affairs and trust compliance.
Advisors
Justice Chander Shekhar
Former Judge, High Court of Delhi. Former Chairperson, Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (Delhi & Chandigarh).
Advisors
Prof. (Dr.) Pradeep Kumar Joshi
Public examinations & higher education. Chairman, NTA. Former Chairman, UPSC.
Advisors
Lt Gen Shokin Chauhan
PVSM, AVSM, YSM, SM, VSM, PhD (Retd.). Former DG Assam Rifles; former Chairman, Cease Fire Monitoring Group.
Advisors
Lt Gen Gurbirpal Singh
PVSM, AVSM, VSM. Former Director General, NCC.
Advisors
Shri O.P. Singh, IPS (Retd.)
Former DGP, Uttar Pradesh; former DG, CISF and NDRF.
Advisors
Maj Gen Vinod Pillai, VSM
Indian Army Veteran. Formation commander on the LAC; former Director-cum-Principal, Tashi Namgyal Academy, Gangtok.
Advisors
Shri Atul Sobti
Director General, SCOPE; Titular Member, ILO Governing Body. Former CMD, BHEL.
Our gallery
Courtesy meetings with the honoured guests of the nation.
A record of respectful courtesy calls — with the Presidents of India, and with national and international dignitaries who received the Foundation with warmth.
