Shri Anil Bordia, an eminent educationist and social activist, was the founder of Foundation for Education and Development (FED). In his tenure as Education Secretary in the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), he steered the formulation and implementation of the National Policy of Education, 1986, which helped make a clear shift to basic education and adult literacy.

Shri Bordia was responsible for initiating several innovative and community-based primary education projects for Rajasthan and several other States. The highly lauded ShikshaKarmi and LokJumbish projects were his brain child. In 2001, he started an innovative project, called DoosraDashak (literally, the second decade), which aimed at holistic education and development of adolescents in the 11-20 years age group. For the next 11 years, he was instrumental in successfully implementing the DoosraDashak model of holistic education in the remotest rural areas of Rajasthan, bringing thousands of marginalized adolescents into mainstream education and social life. The pioneering work done by DoosraDashak has inspired many non-governmental organizations from other states including Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh to take up similar work.

In 2010, Shri Bordia was conferred with ‘Padma Bhushan’ by the President of India in recognition of his contribution to the field of education.  In 1999, UNESCO awarded him the prestigious Avicenna Gold Medal for exceptional contribution to educational development. Earlier in 1996, he was elected Fellow of UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific Centre of Educational Innovation for Development, Bangkok.

His vision and commitment continue to guide the work of DoosraDashak.