Why The Problem Isn’t The Policy — It’s The Process

Small BusinessEntrepreneursWhy The Problem Isn’t The Policy — It’s The ProcessByAshoka,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Insights, how-to’s, and stories from the world of social impactfor AshokaFollow AuthorMay 29, 2026, 10:13am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.India spends approximately $150 billion a year on social protection — yet most benefits never reach the people they are designed to support. Tarun Cherukuri founded Indus Action in 2013 to fix that, now partnering with 20 state governments and connecting 3.2 million people to benefits they are legally entitled to but can’t easily reach. His next target: a single-touch delivery system for 800 million people by 2030. Ashoka's Maria Zapata caught up with him to learn more.Maria Zapata: India guarantees its citizens some of the most progressive social protections in the world — so why aren't people getting them?Taran Cherukuri, founderIndus ActionTarun Cherukuri: Think of it as an administrative burden. We all face it — applying for a visa, filing taxes. There’s a discovery problem: people don’t know what they’re eligible for or where to look. Then there’s a documentation problem: proving yourself to the agency trying to give you a benefit. If you’re a pregnant mother, for example, you might fill out a 23-page form and physically visit ten different offices to prove something the health system already knows. And finally, even after you've filed, you're still chasing whether you actually receive the benefit on time and in full.We’ve documented that accessing an entitlement takes an average of ten burdensome steps — ten! – and the more disadvantaged you are, the more administrative burden you face. The cost of this is not just financial. There’s a deep psychological cost to this experience. And critically, the last-mile government caseworker is equally frustrat...