Who are we?
Trust deed |
Rules (Version 2.0) (Word doc) [Old Version 1] | Code of Conduct
FTI is a not-for-profit trust created on 1 July 2009. Its primary objective is to act as a forum for policy, strategy, and leadership development to promote the freedoms of the people of India.
Members of FTI are committed to contest elections in India in due course, with appropriate preparation. They hope to offer their leadership to India along with a set of world-best policies, thus seeking to directly contribute to India's governance. It may be noted that FTI is NOT a political party. Such electoral activity, when it occurs, will be carried out separately and not under FTI's banner.
Since its inception, like-minded Indians have been keenly joining FTI as equal citizens and member of this Team, to participate as citizens in the affairs of their country. Among the many things they have been doing is to (a) agree FTI's strategies and (b) policies.
In addition, FTI's trust deed allows FTI to take on additional functions. Soné ki Chidiya is an one such initiative, being a non-political activity designed to bring together all like-minded citizens and organisations under the banner of liberty and good governance. It was formally launched on June 4, 2013.
You can learn more about us here.
A short history of FTI
The concept of FTI was proposed in mid-2006 on the Internet in the manuscript of the 2008 book, Breaking Free of Nehru. FTI was then launched as a mailing list on 23 December 2007, about a year prior to the book's publication. The idea caught on after Shantanu Bhagwat, an initial (hence founding) member, published a note on the concept on his blog in January 2008. This blog post received significant interest.
In 2009, FTI's initial members decided to formalise this effort and take it forward as a major national platform for leadership development. Accordingly, FTI was converted into a legal entity, a Trust in July 2009. Its bank account was opened in November 2009.
How to Join FTI
FTI is currently focused on finding leaders who believe in policies that promote freedom and good governance. To become a member of the FTI Trust with voting rights, applicants must undergo a 4-stage process.
- Application to join FTI and a self-declaration
- The application is then briefly vetted by an FTI member who has been allotted this task
- New members (called Initial Members) then spend at least three months watching and participating in FTI activities and discussion
- After three months, Initial Members are eligible to apply for full membership. To be granted full membership, they are required to find at least 5 supporters (votes) from existing members. An annual fee of Rs1,500 is currently applicable for full members.
Who are our members?
Members of the General Body of FTI are listed here. At least four times this number of members are Initial members who have not yet transitioned to General Body (or full) Membership. You can get in touch with some of our members over phone or email.
How to support FTI
Please click here for current opportunities to support FTI.