Leap 300 working to lift 5 million lives from extreme poverty by FY28

Mumbai, Jun 15 (PTI) To enable the most economically vulnerable families to break the cycle of extreme poverty through technology, nonprofit organisation Leap 300 is working towards lifting 5 million lives by 2027-28 in villages across the country.

"Our innovative, technology-powered approach identifies and supports the most economically vulnerable families, helping them escape extreme poverty in just 300 days. This program goes beyond increasing income, it strengthens health, education, and overall well-being, creating lasting, sustainable change," Leap 300 founder Karan Bajaj, founder of BYJU'S-acquired White Hat Jr, said.

Through the initiative, Leap 300 is working toward lifting 10,000 lives out of poverty by 2025, in 35 villages across Uttar Pradesh and five villages in Madhya Pradesh and has an ambitious goal to reach 5 million households by FY28, he added.

"In 2025-26, we are planning to reach 1,000 villages across 2-3 states. We are looking at multiple states by 2026-27 and 1,00,000 villages pan-India by 2027-28, with a goal to reach 5 million lives," Bajaj said.

In this initiative, there is a 7-10 minute app-based selection process that evaluates family income, assets, vulnerabilities, and entrepreneurial potential, with answers verified through visual inspection of the house.

Selected beneficiaries are onboarded after completing a digital Know Your Customer (KYC) process and each receives a grant of Rs 60,000 along with tech-enabled training to help them establish a business and lift themselves out of poverty within 300 days..

The Leap 300 app features a voice-assisted, visual-first LMS in local languages, along with a simple accounting tool for beneficiaries.

Designed for scale, Leap 300 tech platform ensures transparency by tracking inputs, outputs, and progress toward a 90 per cent graduation rate within 300 days. Since launching its first pilot in March 2023, Leap 300 has reached 350 families across Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh as of June 2025.

Preliminary results show a 91 per cent graduation rate within 300 days, with 87 per cent of graduated beneficiaries sustaining their income gains over time.

The program has also led to a significant increase in child school attendance and family calorie intake, leading to overall transformation of the family, Bajaj added.

"India needs a transformative effort to end poverty. India has covered a lot of ground in the last seven decades, but even more tasks lie ahead. The Leap 300 team has brought a new approach of handholding and individual partnership with every citizen to come out of the poverty zone. This approach aims to sustainably leap out of the low-income zone and help every household earn a respectable income and live a valuable life," Leap 300 mentor and bureaucrat Ajit Roy added. PTI SM MR