Singapore Indian Development Association

The Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) is a not-for-profit charity for the Singaporean Indian community. Set up to focus on academic performance and socio-economic matters, its mission is to “build a well-educated, resilient and confident community of Indians that stands together with other communities in contributing to the progress of multi-racial Singapore”.^[1]

SINDA is one of four "Self-Help groups" (SHGs) in Singapore alongside the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), Eurasian Association (EA) and Yayasan Mendaki. These groups provide a variety of programmes and services to benefit and uplift their respective communities.^[2] SINDA is the only SHG to have its own family service centre, which assists with social, financial and family-related issues.

SINDA runs over 100 programmes, and these revolve primarily around the thrusts of education, youth, family and children, social and financial assistance, and community.

All SINDA programmes are heavily subsidised or provided at no cost to Singaporean Indians. As of January 2024, the criteria^[3] are:

Family Per Capita Income (PCI) refers to the total monthly nett household income divided by the number of members living in the household. PCI is used by SINDA to assess the eligibility of individuals and families for financial assistance and programme fee subsidies.

1990: SINDA was originally founded in July 1990 as a society. Former ministers, S Dhanabalan and S Jayakumar, were SINDA’s founding Patrons, while Members of Parliament, S Chandra Das and S Vasoo, served as its Advisors.

Initially, SINDA focused on three projects to address social issues in the community. The first was the SINDA Family Service Centre (FSC) which was set up to assist families and individuals to cope with the challenges of daily living. To meet their needs quickly, scores of social workers and volunteers provided counselling and referral services. The second was Project Vidya, an education support programme to identify high-performing Indian students and provide them with the necessary support and enrichment to excel further. The final project was the Indian Children in Child Care Centres meant to encourage more working Indian parents to send their children to childcare centres to provide a safe, healthy and stimulating environment for quality childcare.

1991: At the same time that SINDA was formed in August 1990, the Action Committee on Indian Education (ACIE), chaired by J Y Pillay, highlighted the educational under-performance of Indian students and recommended wide-ranging remedial measures. Several courses of action were proposed and one of them was to have SINDA operate on two fronts; the Education Wing, aimed at Indian students and their parents, and the Welfare Wing, which would focus on reinforcing healthy and happy family relationships.^[4] This reconstituted SINDA came into effect in August 1991. The Government also approved a community fund, to which all working Indians would collectively contribute to, to fund SINDA’s programmes and services.

1992: SINDA Tutorials for Enhanced Performance (STEP) was launched and by March, 2,600 students had enrolled in the programme through referrals of educators and parents. STEP centres were made more accessible, fees affordable, class sizes kept small and training for tutors were enhanced. As of 2024, over 4,000 students attended STEP classes islandwide.

A decade following its reconstitution, SINDA had established itself as the only secular and multi-ethnic organisation for the Indian community in Singapore.

By the 2000s, SINDA expanded its services to include counselling, parenting workshops, student mentoring, and IT training. In benefitting the community, SINDA strengthened its relationships with community partners, and groups such as community centres, Indian Activity Executive Committees (IAECs), Indian organisations and religious organisations.

Alongside STEP, newer programmes were introduced to uplift the Indian community, including the annual charity campaign, Project Give, the Teach programme for struggling students, Project Athena to empower single Indian mothers, and the Back To School Festival offering stationery and shoe vouchers. Collaborations with the community also increased with over 365 partnerships with Indian, religious, community and grassroots organisations in 2023.

2008: SINDA launched its newsletter, SINDA Connections ^[5], which is now circulated to approximately 60,000 Indian households and community organisations. Readers are kept up to date on SINDA’s efforts as well as developments in the community.

2010: The SINDA Youth Club (SYC) was launched to engage 18 to 35-year-olds. SYC’s aim is to nurture generations of Indian leaders with a passion for community building and social leadership.

SINDA 2020 Review and Strategic Restructuring

Two decades into SINDA’s inception, while significant strides had been made in improving academic performance, there was continued need for greater social mobility and maximisation of the potential of Singaporean Indians.

In 2011, SINDA launched the SINDA 2020 review in tandem with its 20^th anniversary, to evaluate the community’s progress and outlined strategies for future growth. The review resulted in the “SINDA 2020: A New Momentum” report, which recommended key strategies for SINDA to focus on.

Following this report, SINDA restructured its goals by increasing the capacity and impact of existing programmes to improve its services to the community. While signature programmes and events continued to run, new and improved programmes that cater to the evolving needs of the community were piloted and subsequently implemented.

Flipped-Model of Engagement

A new outreach strategy was introduced to build stronger connections with the community. This approach enabled SINDA to actively engage with its target audience, fostering deeper relationships and gaining a better understanding of issues at a grassroots level.

Key Programme Developments

This period marks a shift in SINDA's approach, emphasising greater engagement with the community, broader outreach, and more targeted support for individuals and families in need.

Several new initiatives were introduced to better serve the community:

● Door Knocking Exercise: Piloted in 2016, this initiative targeted neighbourhoods with a higher concentration of low-income Indian families. It became a formal programme in 2017, allowing SINDA to connect more effectively with residents and address their specific needs and concerns.

● Prisons Outreach Programme: Also piloted in 2016, this programme provided family support for the relatives of inmates, helping them manage the challenges during incarceration. This programme also supports the inmates themselves, helping ease them back into the community after their incarceration ends.

● SINDA Bus: Launched in 2018, the SINDA Bus is a mobile satellite centre designed to extend SINDA’s reach into the heartlands, providing services directly to residents in various communities.

● Volunteer Engagement: Volunteers continue to be a vital part of SINDA’s success. They play a key role in the delivery of many of SINDA’s programmes. As of 2023, more than 500 volunteers were actively involved, contributing to a total of 3,172 volunteer hours fuelling SINDA’s efforts.

● Women Empowerment: The Let Her Shine! (LHS!) initiative offers a series of workshops and programmes that equip women with lifelong skills and resources to support their career aspirations. It focuses on the progress and empowerment of Indian women while addressing the challenges they face, with the goal of helping them overcome obstacles and bridge gaps in their professional journeys. Since its inception, the initiative has helped more than 550 young girls and women.

● Mentoring Programmes: Mentorship initiatives were introduced to connect mentees with experienced professionals to provide career guidance and hands-on experiences.

The highest honours bestowed by SINDA upon Indian students who excelled in their respective academic, arts or sports fields. In 2024, 859 students received the awards.

An annual ceremony, held in collaboration with the other SHGs, recognises top students who have shown significant improvements in landmark examinations across all four SHGs' tuition programmes. In 2024, 1,520 students were acknowledged, with 340 of them being Indian students.

A year-end carnival that brings together families in a festive atmosphere and presents students with vouchers to purchase essential items for school, in preparation for the new academic year. In total, 8,500 students received vouchers, and 5,337 households benefitted from the event in 2024.

An annual fundraising campaign that raises awareness and funds for SINDA’s community initiatives. Over the years, Project GIVE has grown to engage the community more deeply while spreading festive cheer.

Project GIVE Heartlands is an initiative by SINDA aimed at bringing assistance and celebrations closer to the homes of beneficiaries. In 2024, the initiative expanded from four to eight community venues featuring pop-up booths and community carnivals at locations such as Keat Hong, Pasir Ris, Jurong, Chong Pang, East Coast, Marsiling, Toa Payoh, and Leng Kee. These locations were carefully chosen to serve the large Indian community in each area.

In addition to these efforts, Celebrate! Festive Gift Packs were distributed to spread festive cheer. In 2024, 1,600 beneficiaries received the Celebrate! Festive Gift Packs as part of the Project GIVE initiative.

A biennial event that recognises SINDA partners and volunteers for their contribution to the community.

All working Singaporean Indians are expected to contribute monthly to the SINDA Community Fund through the Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB)^[7] – a community fund for the benefit of Indians, especially in the areas of education, youth support and family assistance.

This includes all working Indians in Singapore who are Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and Employment Pass holders and are of Indian descent (including Bangladeshis, Bengalis, Parsees, Sikhs, Sinhalese, Telugus, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans, Goanese, Malayalees, Punjabis, Tamils, Gujaratis, Sindhis and all people originating from the Indian sub-continent.)^[8]

The SINDA Youth Hub was launched in 2018 to serve as a conducive space for students to study in and spend their time in meaningful ways. It also serves as a bridge, linking youth to many other programmes and services offered by SINDA.

The ‘Vibrance @ Yishun’ Self-Help Groups Centre is a collaboration between the four SHGs. Launched in 2018,^[10] Vibrance offers students and families enrichment programmes, educational talks and life skills workshops. The centre also helps SHGs meet the needs of their respective communities, by enabling them to run programmes and activities for their respective beneficiaries.

SINDA is governed by two bodies – the Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee. These bodies are supported by various sub-committees, each with a specialised focus. Mr. K Shanmugam, Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs, is Chairman of SINDA’s Board of Trustees, while Ms. Indranee Rajah, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for National Development serves as President of SINDA’s Executive Committee.

• K Shanmugam
• S Jayakumar
• S Dhanabalan
• S Chandra Das
• J Y Pillay
• Sat Pal Khattar
• N Varaprasad

• Indian Heritage Centre
• List of Indian organisations in Singapore

• Official Website