ARPAN was established in June 2006 and registered under Society registration act 1860 by the Registrar of Joint Stock Companie, Port Blair vide registration No.1316. ARPAN was founded in response to the needs of the communities living in rural areas in Andaman & Nicobar Islands and also to the growing need for training and capacity building in these disaster prone Islands. An important objective of ARPAN was also to develop more effective interfacing between Non-Government Organisations and Government Organisations, especially those working in the rural areas.
In order to demonstrate how the quality of life of poor communities living in the these areas could be enhanced, ARPAN linked up with other organisations who were also involved in addressing the issue of poverty in rural areas. The main thrust of the approach is the development of local initiative in the form of Self Help Groups, Vocational Training, Training to farmig community enabling them to restore and manage economic activities.
