Speech by Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office, Second Minister for Finance and National Development and President, SINDA, at the 35th SINDA Annual General Meeting on 22 May 2025 at the Raffles Town Club

 

Dear Members and Friends of SINDA,

 

Opening Remarks

 

1. Good evening, I extend a warm welcome to everyone at this AGM. Thank you for making the time and I’m very glad to see you all here today.

 

2. SINDA remains focused on its mission to uplift the Indian community, by nurturing students’ academic performance, developing youths so they can achieve their aspirations, strengthening families, and providing meaningful assistance to those in need.

 

3. We also work to build a well-educated, resilient, and confident Singaporean Indian community; one that contributes meaningfully to a united, multi-racial Singapore.

 

 

Reaching New Heights

 

4. Today, I’m pleased to share with you SINDA’s progress in 2024.

 

5. Last year, SINDA saw good We recorded 31,476 touchpoints of support, an increase of nearly 11 per cent from the previous year. This outreach represents our direct support to beneficiaries across all five thrusts – education, youth, family, assistance, and community – and also includes our multi-pronged efforts for them.

 

6. This increase is the result of ramped up efforts, such as new initiatives for evolving needs, refreshed programme formats, and partnerships with national agencies and community organisations, so that we could bring their beneficiary networks into SINDA’s fold and offer them direct support.

 

7. We also enhanced our Per Capita Income (PCI) criteria last year, raising the threshold from $1,000 to $1,600. This enhancement resulted in about 4,000 more low-income beneficiaries joining our programmes in 2024, a 20 per cent increase from 2023. They received several types of support from SINDA, including tuition fee waivers, financial and academic assistance and access to our enrichment programmes at no cost.

 

8. In fact, close to 75 per cent of all our beneficiaries in 2024 were from low-income households, with a PCI within $1,600 – this is an increase from 68 per cent in 2023. We are heartened that we are able to serve more in our community who needed support, helping them with their essential needs and encouraging them to achieve their aspirations.

 

 

Empowering Through Education

 

9. While SINDA’s work grew across all facets in 2024, we also deepened our impact on our focus areas – Education, Youth, Family, Assistance and Community.

 

10. Educational outcomes for Indian students have shown steady long-term growth.

 

11. In 2024, we increased our investment in education by 22 per cent. This wasn’t just putting in more funds – it also translated into tangible results.

 

12. We celebrated excellence – with a record-breaking 859 recipients at our SINDA Excellence Awards, recognised for their achievements in the academics, sports and the arts.

 

13. Ministry of Education data show that Indians have made good progress in the national exams over the last decade.

 

14. From 2014 to 2023, the percentage of Indian Primary 1 cohort progressing to post-secondary education rose from 93.2 per cent to 95.6 per cent.

 

15. At the PSLE level, Indian students continue to perform consistently well, achieving above 90 per cent in English, Science and Mother Tongue, and close to 90 per cent in Mathematics.

 

16. The percentage of Indian students with at least 5 O-Level passes has increased by 6.4 per cent since 2014.

 

17. There are also consistent gains in N(A)-Level pass rates, exceeding 90 per cent in core subjects, and notable progress in N(T)-Level English and Maths, with increases of 7.2 per cent and 13 per cent respectively, since 2014.

 

18. While these statistics are very encouraging, we must not lose sight of the fact that there are still performance gaps across key academic areas that we should continue to address and also enhance support for non-academic needs, as part of our holistic approach to education.

 

19. Education programmes like STEP, Teach and Guide will continue to provide multi-dimensional support – combining tutorials aimed at improving academic performance, with personal growth workshops and experiential learning.

 

20. These range from arts-based enrichment to leadership camps to overseas service learning – equipping our youths with real-world skills and perspectives beyond the classroom.

 

21. To complement physical learning spaces and provide higher accessibility, we launched a virtual STEP centre, and as of April 2025, close to 400 students have signed up. This is to make it easier for them to access our programmes online, as some may face challenges attending in person due to transportation costs or the lack of someone to take them to the STEP centre.

 

22. Our education programmes also feature ICT-infused lessons, with AI-powered tools to strengthen students’ analytical and critical thinking abilities. These digital learning tools equip students with core competencies and real-world exposure to technology, so that they can confidently pursue their aspirations.

 

 

Developing Future-Ready Youths

 

23. As our students grow into young adults, our focus shifts towards equipping them with leadership, digital, and life skills necessary to navigate an increasingly complex world.

 

24. In 2024, over 3,200 youths took part in SINDA’s leadership camps, mentorship workshops, and skills-based programmes, in areas such as digital literacy and career readiness.

 

25. As part of broader youth development efforts, SINDA’s ‘Let Her Shine!’ empowers female Indians aged 7 to 35 through mentoring, skills-training, and well-being workshops. In 2024, close to 300 young women were part of the LHS community, gaining the confidence to dream bigger and having the support to take bold steps forward. From resilience-building sessions, physical activity, sharing at the LHS ShineSpire conference and one-on-one mentorship, LHS is aimed at creating inspiring spaces for women to grow, discover their voice, and realise their fullest potential.

 

26. Leadership programmes such as the Youth Empowerment Camp and Young Leaders Seminar have empowered our youths to lead and give back. Many of our beneficiaries, like Hazzeek and Rakshanaa, have come full circle, becoming mentors and changemakers themselves.

 

27. This year’s Annual Report highlights their journeys and the stories of several more SINDA participants, which underscore SINDA’s sustained impact and reaffirm our commitment to broaden and deepen the work we do for them.

 

 

Strengthening Families from the Start

 

28. We believe that strong families are the foundation of a strong community because they provide the stability, support, and values that shape a child’s long-term development and success.

 

29. We supported families across every stage of a child’s development, from early childhood programmes to STEM workshops and parenting courses.

 

30. Our Back To School Festival, which eases the start of the school-year for families, benefitted 8,500 students in 2024 – close to a 20 per cent increase when compared to 2023.

 

31. Our parenting workshops served more than 5,100 parents, empowering them with tools to guide their children with confidence and care.

 

32. Our family development initiatives have also expanded significantly with initiatives like the Beginner’s Blueprint, launched earlier this year to provide structured support from cradle to classroom. The Beginner’s Blueprint maps out an early-learning journey to provide growth support to children aged 0 or from birth, 9 and their parents.

 

 

Meaningful Assistance

 

33. No child can thrive if the family is struggling, and this is why SINDA’s support goes beyond the classroom.

 

34. In 2024, we supported over 12,000 individuals through impactful and timely assistance.

 

35. This included over 3,000 education bursaries, casework and counselling for about 700 clients and family members, support for inmates and their families, and 110 seniors.

 

36. Our targeted funds – such as the Equal Opportunity Fund, and the Women Empowerment Fund – enabled us to support beneficiaries in areas beyond the academics, including enrichment, skills and personal development.

 

 

Building a Community

 

37. A cohesive and forward-moving community relies on a strong network of support, and at SINDA, this was made possible through the collective efforts of our partners, volunteers, and supporters who empower our programmes.

 

38. Over 400 volunteers contributed 3,254 hours to support outreach and programme delivery.

 

39. We grew from 365 partners in 2023 to 578 in 2024 – a nearly 60 per cent increase.

 

40. We are heartened by this growth in partnerships, which reflects continued trust in SINDA’s mission and strengthens our ability to deliver more responsive and relevant support to the community.

 

41. Together with corporate partners, national agencies, community groups, and Indian and religious organisations, we delivered ground-up initiatives – from career workshops to senior engagement sessions, reaching residents across various neighbourhoods in Singapore.

 

42. We also expanded Project Give @ Heartlands – doubling our outreach from four to eight locations across Singapore, reinforcing SINDA’s commitment to ground outreach and making support more accessible where families live and gather.

 

43. The Indian Business-Leaders’ Roundtable, or SINDA-IBR, remains a key partner in our efforts, through efforts such as the Corporate Mentorship initiative for youths.

 

44. Through this programme, youths gain direct exposure to industry leading firms, equipping them with practical insights and workplace readiness. They also learn from role models who encourage and guide them on their individual journeys.

 

45. Collectively, our key community touchpoints and targeted partnerships remind us that we don’t just serve the community – we build it together.

 

 

Closing

 

46. As we look ahead, SINDA will remain an essential and forward-looking pillar for our community.

 

47. We will collaborate closely with our stakeholders, including all of you, our members, whose continued support has enabled sustained progress in our community.

 

48. In a dialogue with Indian youths in April this year, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said, and I quote: “[The Singaporean Indian community] may be a small community, but certainly contributions to Singapore and the impact that you have on Singapore are not small at all. In fact, I would say you already reflect that Singapore spirit.” These words capture the spirit of SINDA’s work and our community’s progress.

 

49. And in line with SG60’s theme, “Building Our Singapore Together,” SINDA will continue to champion inclusivity, social mobility, and community betterment – working to build a stronger Singapore, for all.

 

50. Thank you.