When Aryan Chand began volunteering at Hamari Pahchan’s weekly health camps, he expected most of his work to be about the camp itself. Instead, he kept hearing the same problem from the women who came through its doors. Some had heard of government schemes but had no idea whether they qualified. Others were eligible but could not work out how to apply. In some cases a name was spelled differently on two documents, or an address was out of date, or a form was available online but the woman holding the phone did not know where to begin.

Aryan started helping them, one application at a time. That quiet effort has since grown into Women Saving Circle, an initiative that helps women in underserved communities understand and access government welfare and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes, under which benefits reach a person’s bank account directly. Now 16 and a scholar at British School New Delhi, Aryan has taken the work to more than 10 villages in Delhi, conducting over 100 camps and reaching more than 1,000 women.