PANI was founded in 1986 and registered as a Not-for-profit Society in 1989. The initial years from 1986 to 1990 was the foundational period for PANI. Subsequently, the period from 1991 to 1995 was the learning and institutional growth period, followed by scale-up of programs and themes during 1996-2000. The decade of 2001-2010 witnessed geographical scaling-up, perspective building, enhancement in visibility, and partnering with other grass-root level organizations. 2011-2015 was the period of strengthening the thematic expertise. PANI developed its first strategic plan for 10 years in 2001 and the second in 2011, and continues to revisit the same to align with the emerging needs of the community and priorities identified by the development sector peers and thought leaders.

PANI’s genesis is deeply rooted in Gandhian thought of rural development. Therefore, the Gandhian ideology of holistic approach to rural development is the key guiding principle for PANI’s work. PANI supports the communities through programs that are designed and implemented with community participation. The major thematic areas are Child Development, Health, Nutrition & WASH, Sustainable Livelihoods, Gender and Governance, Natural Resource Management and Climate Change.