The first ever sample survey of the size of the non-profit sector in India places the number of such organisations at 1.2 million. These groups invlove as many as 19.2 million people, many of whom work on a voluntary basis. This is equivalent to 2.7 million paid employees and 3.4 million full-time volunteers, a total of 6.1 million which is considerable given the fact that central government employees in 2000 numbered only 3.3 million. Contrary to popular perceptions, as much as 51 per cent of the receipts are self-generated, and only 36 per cent come from the government as grants and loans and a mere 7 per cent from foreign sources.
