A Globally Inspiring Center for Community-Driven Development and Social Impact Learning

Bala Vikasa People Development Training Center (PDTC) was created with a simple but powerful belief: Development is People.

After decades of pioneering community-driven development across women’s empowerment, safe water, agriculture, education, health, and model villages 7000+ villages impacting 7+ million people across 8 Indian States, Bala Vikasa realised a critical truth—community transformation cannot be sustained without building the capacities of the people who drive it.

NGO teams, community leaders, and development professionals needed stronger skills, deeper understanding, updated tools, and spaces for reflection. Donors and partners echoed the same need. This led to the founding of PDTC in 2002.

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Mission and Mandates:

PDTC was built to fulfil four core mandates:

PDTC was built to fulfil four core mandates:

 Document and systematise learning

Capture Bala Vikasa’s best practices, innovations, and field-tested models.

Deliver high-quality training

Strengthen development professionals, NGOs, CBOs, government bodies, and students across the world.

Build a robust knowledge base

Promote research, learning, and internal reflection for continuous improvement.

 Create platforms for exchange

Facilitate global learning between practitioners, experts, and institutions.

These mandates continue to guide PDTC’s evolution—even as it expands into the digital space with platforms like I-EMeRG.

Our Impact: Strengthening the Sector for Over Two Decades

Today, PDTC stands as one of India’s most respected development training institutions—trusted by thousands of practitioners across 85+ countries. Over the last 23+ years, PDTC has:

  • Trained 20,000+ development professionals
  • Strengthened 4,000+ NGOs and CBOs
  • Supported 100,000+ community leaders
  • Reached practitioners across 85+ countries
  • Delivered 400+ training programs
  • Organised seminars, global conferences, exposure visits, and customised programs
  • Built a diverse group of training modules across COmmunity Driven Sustainable Development, Asset Based Community Development ABCD, Appreciative InquiryAI, Neuro Lingustic Programming NLP, Social Return on Investment SROI
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Our Foundational Philosophy: Community-Driven Sustainable Development (CDSD)

At the heart of PDTC is Bala Vikasa’s globally recognised approach— Community-Driven Sustainable Development (CDSD).

CDSD emphasises:

  • Communities as active decision-makers
  • Locally owned, culturally aligned, sustainable solutions
  • Participatory planning and implementation
  • Asset-based development and empowerment
  • Motivation, mobilisation, and leadership development

This philosophy shapes every training, toolkit, resource, and learning experience delivered through PDTC and now through I-EMeRG.