RDIF is a people-driven organization – right from the people who started it with a vision, to the people who work with us to bring change at the grassroots, to the people who support our work, and most importantly the people who we serve on the ground.
Committed, responsible people passionate to make a difference to the world around them are the backbone of RDIF.
OUR FOUNDERS
Mr. Sudhansu Pattanayak
For Mr. Sekhar Pattanayak, rural communities were never defined by limitations, but by untapped potential.
With a vision to create sustainable and dignified transformation, he founded RDIF as a holistic platform integrating education, healthcare, livelihood, women's empowerment, technology access, and human security.
Through initiatives like The PRAYAS, Donate PC, Srignite, his leadership focuses on building strong platforms that encourage innovation and promote digital inclusion.
His mission is simple yet powerful: enable access, build capacity, and inspire lasting change.
Mrs. Kabita Pattanayak
For Mrs. Kabita Pattanayak, service and compassion have always been a way of life. As the Co-Founder of RDIF and the mother of Mr. Sudhansu Pattanayak, she has been a guiding force behind the values that shape the organization's mission.
She firmly believes that empowered women, educated children, and healthy families form the foundation of strong and self-reliant communities.
Her nurturing leadership and unwavering commitment continue to inspire RDIF's journey toward building resilient, confident, and empowered communities.
Our Guiding Experts & Mentors
Tech for Social Good
The Tech for Social Good Guiding Experts & Mentors group supports the meaningful use of technology across all initiatives of the Rural Development International Foundation (RDIF) by leveraging their experience and insights to apply digital innovation in addressing real social and community challenges in practical, scalable, and sustainable ways. They play an important role in encouraging the development of inclusive, accessible, and community-centered technology solutions, while promoting responsible innovation to ensure that digital platforms and tools empower individuals and strengthen grassroots impact
The PRAYAS
The PRAYAS Guiding Experts & Mentors group provides strategic guidance and thought leadership for RDIF’s flagship transformation initiative, PRAYAS, supporting the design and implementation of integrated development models that address education, healthcare, livelihood, women’s empowerment, and community capacity building in a holistic manner. Through their experience and insights, they help ensure that PRAYAS remains impact-driven, scalable, and sustainable by strengthening governance approaches, enabling meaningful partnerships, and encouraging measurable outcomes, while keeping community participation and long-term self-reliance at the core of its approach.
Donate PC
The Donate PC Guiding Experts & Mentors group provides strategic direction and guidance for RDIF’s digital inclusion initiative, Donate PC, supporting the development of structured, transparent, and scalable systems that enable responsible technology redistribution and meaningful access to digital tools. Through their experience and insights, they help ensure the initiative goes beyond device donation by encouraging digital literacy, responsible usage, and long-term capacity building, while strengthening governance approaches, enabling partnerships, and promoting measurable impact to expand equitable access to technology and empower individuals with the skills needed for today’s digital world.
Srignite
The Srignite Guiding Experts & Mentors group provides strategic direction and guidance for Srignite, a global platform by RDIF that enables industry experts and leaders to connect directly with schools, colleges, and universities. Through their experience and insights, they support the development of a structured and scalable engagement model that brings real-world industry knowledge into academic environments, while ensuring quality, credibility, and meaningful outcomes by strengthening partnerships, defining standards, and aligning interactions with evolving skill and workforce needs. Their guidance helps advance RDIF’s mission of preparing students to become confident, industry-ready professionals.
New Initiative
The New Initiative Guiding Experts & Mentors group supports the identification, development, and evaluation of innovative programs within the Rural Development International Foundation (RDIF) by providing strategic guidance and insights that help explore emerging opportunities, partnerships, and ideas to expand RDIF’s impact across rural communities. Through their experience, they encourage creativity, strategic thinking, and practical implementation, ensuring that new initiatives are sustainable, community-driven, and closely aligned with RDIF’s mission of fostering inclusive and transformative rural development.
