SEWA Suchna Digital Platform Launched In Indore To Support Women

Year 12 student Aditya Tomar has developed SEWA Suchna, a digital information and financial inclusion platform for women in India’s informal economy, inspired by the UAE’s innovation culture and India’s Digital India vision. The project was formally launched on 26 June 2026 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

More than 200 women from SEWA Madhya Pradesh attended the launch, including founder Manorama Joshi, senior management, volunteers and women entrepreneurs. The lightweight Android app is available on the Google Play Store in India and provides official information on welfare schemes, healthcare, livelihoods, banking, financial literacy, social security, savings and fraud awareness.

From internship to platform

Aditya, a Dubai College student who has spent most of his life in the UAE and the wider Middle East, travelled to India during his summer holidays in 2024 to visit his grandparents. A field internship with SEWA Madhya Pradesh exposed him to grassroots development and the daily challenges faced by women in the informal sector.

Working with the organisation’s management team, volunteers and members, he met women running tailoring businesses, food enterprises, catering services, handicraft ventures and other small businesses. He saw that many could not access welfare schemes and livelihood opportunities because of fragmented sources, language barriers and limited awareness.

How SEWA Suchna took shape

Aditya first conceived the idea as SEWA Setu before it evolved into SEWA Suchna, with Suchna meaning “information” in Hindi. The concept was refined with guidance from Shikhaben Joshi, General Secretary of SEWA Bharat, and the wider SEWA Madhya Pradesh team, before being developed with the Vikrant Group of Institutions, Indore.

Role of SEWA and its members

SEWA Madhya Pradesh is the state chapter of the Self-Employed Women’s Association, founded nationally in 1972 by Ela Bhatt. The movement has more than 3.7 million members across 20 states. SEWA Madhya Pradesh, founded in 1985 by Manorama Joshi, works with around 650,000 women across 16 districts.

At the launch, Manorama Joshi said SEWA Suchna could improve lives by making reliable information more accessible and helping women use government schemes, financial inclusion initiatives and livelihood opportunities. Shikhaben Joshi said such digital platforms can strengthen financial inclusion and improve access to welfare programmes for women in the informal economy.

Aditya said his experience with SEWA Madhya Pradesh showed how technology can bridge information gaps and create opportunities for underserved communities. He added that similar platforms could support expatriate and blue-collar workers across the UAE and wider Middle East, and that future versions may include communication tools and a digital marketplace.