History

For ages, the metropolitan city of Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta) has been enriched by the finest breed of free thinkers, visionaries, and cultural luminaries, who mesmerized the world with their works in various artistic fields and continue to do so. Literacy rate in Kolkata is 87.14%, which is far better than the national average of 74%. The city offers a range of educational institutions and universities for students at various levels. The overall education system in Kolkata is at par when compared with the other metro cities. However, in Kolkata slums, female literacy rate (71%) is constantly lower than male literacy rate (83%). Considering the fact it could be said that gender disparity in educational attainment does exist in our country and Kolkata is the no different place. The girls in Kolkata do face multiple challenges that tend to keep them away from their studies of which income and economic aspect remains the important one.

Started in 2007, the Udayan Care Kolkata was formed under the able-leadership of Ms. Kusum Bhandari, a noted educationist and visionary. Ms. Bhandari was joined by Mr. Parimal Chandra Das, a successful banker whose altruism inspired him to leave his lucrative job and take up the philanthropic venture at Udayan. They were hugely supported by Late. Suresh Neotia, industrialist, and co-founder of Ambuja Cements and Late Mr. BD Sureka, a renowned philanthropist and industrialist who were were involved with Udayan Care Kolkata from the very beginning as valued mentors and guides.

The Kolkata chapter has inducted over 2000 Shalinis since inception and the Shalini family has consistently grown by over 25% every year.