Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. Of India

Social audit as a term was used as far back as the 1950s. There has been a flurry of activity and interest in the last seven to eight years in India and neighboring countries. Voluntary development organizations are also actively concerned.

Social audit is based on the principle that democratic local governance should be carried out, as far as possible, with the consent and understanding of all concerned. It is thus a process and not an event.

A social audit is a way of measuring, understanding, reporting and ultimately improving an organization’s social and ethical performance. A social audit helps to narrow gaps between vision/goal and reality, between efficiency and effectiveness. It is a technique to understand, measure, verify, report on and to improve the social performance of the organization. Social auditing creates an impact upon governance. It values the voice of stakeholders, including marginalized/poor groups whose voices are rarely heard. Social auditing is taken up for the purpose of enhancing local governance, particularly for strengthening accountability and transparency in local bodies.

The key difference between development and social audit is that a social audit focuses on the neglected issue of social impacts, while a development audit has a broader focus including environment and economic issues, such as the efficiency of a project or programme.

Ragiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) is an Institute of National Importance by an Act of Parliament No. 35/2012 under the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India. The RGNIYD was set up in 1993 under the Societies Registration Act, XXVII of 1975.

The RGNIYD functions as a vital resource centre with its multi-faceted functions of offering academic programmes at Post Graduate level encompassing various dimensions of youth development, engaging in seminal research in the vital areas of youth development and coordinating Training Programmes for state agencies and the officials of youth organisation, besides the Extension and Outreach initiatives across the country.

The Institute functions as a think-tank of the Ministry and premier organization of youth-related activities in the country. As the apex institute at the national level, it works in close cooperation with the NSS, NYKS and other youth organizations in the implementation of training programmes. The Institute is a nodal agency for training youth as a facilitator of youth development activities in rural, urban as also tribal areas.

The RGNIYD serves as a youth observatory and depositary in the country thereby embarking on youth surveillance on youth-related issues. It has a wide network with various organizations working for the welfare and development of young people and serves as a mentor.

RGNIYD organized a full day training on Social audit. Our catalyst and Executive Director Mr.Dinesh Gajendran has been invited to represent youth in this Social audit.