Rajiv Khandelwal

Khandelwal trained in rural management at the Institute of Rural Management, Anand.

Khandelwal worked for many years with tribal communities in southern Rajasthan, implementing large-scale agricultural change programmes. It was during this period, as he observed livelihoods shifting from farming to wage labour, that the idea of Aajeevika Bureau took shape.

Aajeevika Bureau was set up in 2005. Among its early innovations was a photo identity card for interstate migrants, which allowed workers without local documentation to open bank accounts, obtain mobile connections and access government entitlements. The organisation has since built programmes in legal aid, skilling, financial access and social security, and has become a reference point in India for work on informal labour and migration.

Khandelwal has more than three decades of experience in the non-profit sector in Rajasthan and oversees Aajeevika Bureau's strategy, programmes, fundraising and capacity building.

Khandelwal was elected an Ashoka Fellow in 2005 for his approach to the problems of seasonal migrant workers. In 2010 he and Krishnavatar Sharma were named India's Social Entrepreneurs of the Year by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.[2][3][4][5]