In the matter of access to legal representation
Of the notices on this screen, one can be read.
matters pending before India’s courts. Figure pending citation.
Millions face courtwithout a lawyer.
Project Vikas launch address, July 2025
01On the record
— appearing without counsel
Project Vikas
— entering an appearance
A student-led nonprofit expanding access to legal representation. We raise funds in the United States and direct them to registered legal aid organisations in India — we do not provide representation ourselves.
02Without a lawyer
In much of rural India, law firms and legal clinics are few and far between. Representation is priced beyond reach, and the firms that would work for less often cannot afford to keep their doors open.
So when a dispute becomes a crisis, people go to court without counsel — without the means to argue their case, or to defend rights they already hold.
That gap is what our funding is directed at.
As issued
Take notice that the above matter stands listed for hearing before this court. Should the respondent fail to enter an appearance, or to file a written statement within the period prescribed, the matter may proceed ex parte and such order may be passed as the court thinks fit.
As counsel would explain it
You have a court date. If you do not go, or do not reply in writing before the deadline, the court can decide the case without you — and it can decide against you.
Note. The left column is the document as a person receives it. The right is the same notice as counsel would put it. Nothing has been added between them — the second column is not extra information, it is the first one understood.
03What we do
Project Vikas raises funds in the United States — through individual donations, corporate sponsorship, and community events — and directs them to registered legal aid organisations in India.
We do not provide legal representation ourselves, and we do not operate courts or clinics. Our partner organisations do that work. Our role is to fund it, and to state plainly what was raised and where it went.
Raise
Individual donations, corporate sponsorship, and community events.
Direct
Funds are granted to registered legal aid organisations. Four partner organisations at present.
Account
What has been raised, and the organisations it supports, are stated on this site with the date each figure was last confirmed.
04The figures
Every figure below is stated with the date it was last confirmed. Where something has not been confirmed, it is left blank rather than estimated — the count of pending matters at the head of this page is blank for that reason.
| No. | Item | As at | Figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Raised since founding | September 2026 | $18,000 |
| 2. | Partner legal aid organisations in India | September 2026 | 4 |
| 3. | Interns and volunteers across the US and internationally | September 2026 | 100+ |
| 4. | Articles in the press | September 2026 | 4 |
Note. Where a figure is a floor rather than an exact count, it is written as such. The volunteer programme runs on Slack and cannot be counted precisely, so it is stated as more than one hundred rather than given a false precision.
05Get involved
Project Vikas is student-run. More than a hundred interns and volunteers across the United States and internationally have worked on it, most of them with no prior experience of legal work. Every route below reaches the same small team.
Donate
Given through our fiscal sponsor, Indian Friends of Atlanta, a registered 501(c)(3). What is raised is published on this page with the date it was last confirmed.
DonateVolunteer
Two tracks: legal research and writing, or outreach and communications. The programme runs year-round on Slack, and the writing it produces is published under the contributor’s name.
Write to usPartner
For legal aid organisations, student groups, and businesses. We state the nature of every partnership on this site rather than implying one with a logo.
Write to usStart a chapter
Run Project Vikas at your own school or university. Tell us where you are and what you want to build, and we will tell you plainly what it takes.
Write to usNote. Project Vikas does not provide legal representation, and cannot give legal advice or take on a case. If you need a lawyer, contact a legal aid organisation in your jurisdiction directly.