APD’s Circle of Collaboration, Bengaluru Edition, sparked dialogue on accessibility, public accountability, government participation, and data-driven inclusion

The event brought together stakeholders from government, industry, civil society, and the disability community to advance evidence-based action on accessibility and inclusion. It follows a series of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) 2026 initiatives by APD, including a policy dialogue on embedding disability inclusion within ESG frameworks, the development of a Digital Accessibility Indicator, a multi-stakeholder panel discussion and a public exhibition that debuted in New Delhi before travelling to Bengaluru.

As India marks a decade of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, the event focused on generating evidence for policy and mobilising communities to map public spaces. The discussions were particularly timely following the recent Karnataka High Court guidelines on improving accessibility in public and private buildings, highlighting the need for better data, stronger implementation, and community participation. Through the Yes to Access platform, citizens report local accessibility data to help persons with disabilities, caregivers, and allies identify navigable locations. To recognise districts that have actively contributed to expanding this accessibility database, the organisation honoured the top five-performing districts on the platform. Meanwhile, the newly launched Policy Research Fellowship will support data-driven research to improve institutional accountability and policy implementation.

The event was inaugurated by Dr Suman Kumar, Director of the Ali Yavar Jung Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities. Delivering the Special Address, Dr Manik Gursal I.A.S., Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Government of Maharashtra, reflected on the evolving disability-inclusion landscape in India, stating, "The true measure of inclusion lies in whether persons with disabilities can participate fully in everyday life with dignity and independence. Building such an environment requires a long-term commitment to equity, opportunity, and shared responsibility across society."

An interactive exhibition showcased the journey of the Yes to Access initiative. Two panel discussions explored how technology and inclusive design can improve infrastructure planning, as well as the role of families and volunteers in building more inclusive communities.

Speaking at the event, Sukanto Aich, CEO, APD, said, "As we mark a decade of the RPwD Act, we must shift the focus from intent to impact. Accessibility demands policy, evidence, meaningful community participation, and sustained collective action. Through the Policy Research Fellowship and Yes to Access, APD advances this agenda by combining research with citizen-led engagement to drive systemic change."

The event concluded with a collective commitment to turning accessibility from policy intent into lived reality through sustained collaboration, evidence-based action, and community leadership.

About The Association of People with Disability

The Association of People with Disability (APD) is a Bengaluru-based non-profit organisation working towards empowering persons with disabilities through inclusive education, livelihoods, skill development, community-based rehabilitation, policy advocacy, and accessibility initiatives. Through collaborative programmes and partnerships, APD works to build equitable and inclusive systems that enable persons with disabilities to participate fully in society.

Grammy-Nominated Producer Maejor with the students of Tibetan Children's Village (TCV) as part of an OHM collaboration in Dharamshala
 

The initiative reflects OHM’s belief that creativity, awareness, and community are essential to human flourishing, and that timeless principles of human connection and inner balance can be meaningfully applied in modern life. By bringing Frequency School's mindfulness and wellness education platform into alignment with OHM's awareness and wellbeing practices, the collaboration creates a living environment for human development that bridges ancient wisdom with modern scientific understanding.
 

At the heart of the partnership is OHM's proprietary digital curriculum, a self-paced educational framework built around universal spirituality, nervous system awareness, systems thinking, conscious technology literacy, and the integration of science and spirit. These globally accessible modules are designed to support clarity, emotional resilience, and self-awareness.
 

The collaboration also includes OHM’s non-invasive frequency-based longevity support, developed under the guidance of biophysics researcher Dr. Jeff Sutherland, PhD, and designed to support nervous system regulation, recovery, and overall wellbeing. These protocols are designed to support healthy cellular communication and balance in the body's natural energy field for all program participants.
 

For Roy, the initiative also reflects a deeply personal connection to India, culture, and conscious education.
 

Sathi Roy, a first-generation Bengali American and Founder of Our Highest Mantra, said, "This partnership reflects our belief that human flourishing begins with connection — connection to ourselves, to community, to creativity, and to a deeper sense of meaning. As a first-generation Bengali American, supporting an initiative that gives back to India while uplifting the work of the Tibetan Children’s Village carries deep personal meaning for me. Dharamshala carries a unique spiritual and cultural significance that makes it a powerful home for this initiative. By bringing together music, conscious education, and supportive environments, we hope to help young people cultivate emotional resilience, creativity, self-awareness, and a stronger sense of possibility for their future.”
 

The seeds of this collaboration were planted during the filming of Empathy: The Pursuit of Joy – A Hero’s Journey, a documentary project that brought Maejor and Frequency School together on the TCV campus. Dr. Natalie Petouhoff, Executive Producer, and Josh Sikkema, Director, of the film, describe the program as a living embodiment of the film’s central idea — that the greatest gift we can offer one another is to truly see, hear, and acknowledge each other. Grounded in the neuroscience of empathy and joy, the initiative shows how ancient wisdom and modern science come together to expand perspective, unlock possibility, and create more meaningful ways of living, working, and playing together. And they are excited to include the children’s music in the film’s soundbath soundtrack, as the music will not only play a key role in how the stories are told, but this creative hub in Dharamshala enables their talent to be heard globally.
 

While filming a workshop with Maejor on campus, a student shared on camera her dream of creating music, but didn't know where to begin. That moment became the catalyst. The initiative now provides students with computers, DAW software, and hands-on instruction in music creation and recording, while opening a global pathway for their work to be heard as part of the film's worldwide sound bath soundtrack, building confidence, inclusion, and self-expression through healing harmonics.
 

OHM's frameworks are embedded within Frequency School's Impact Initiative, a model that blends mindfulness, wellness, and creativity through the transformative power of sound, establishing music studios and wellness labs for youth in underserved communities to address critical gaps in education and wellness.
 

Maejor, Founder of Frequency School, said, "Our goal is to offer young people hands-on tools to explore sound as both a therapy and educational force, nurturing mindfulness, creativity, and inner balance. Dharamshala, long regarded as a global spiritual crossroads, provides a natural home for this initiative."
 

The collaboration brings together ancient wisdom, modern technology, and community-centered education to create a new model for youth wellbeing and creative development. Together, the music studio and wellness lab are envisioned as a space where music, creativity, and human connection support long-term wellbeing to nurture long-term human development.
 

Tsultrim Dorjee, Upper TCV Director, said, "This music studio is a beautiful evolution of the energy we felt on campus last year with the Empathy Documentary Film team and Frequency School. It gives our students a real sense of ownership over their creativity, turning the school learning program into a truly hands-on experience where their new talents can finally take root."
 

As the initiative grows, Dharamshala has the opportunity to become a global example of how music, mindfulness, education, and technology can come together to support the next generation of human wellbeing and creative expression.

OHM is actively fundraising to bring coherence-based programs to more communities worldwide. Frequency School Studios is also fundraising to expand its tech-integrated hubs globally, welcoming monetary donations, computers, monitors, speakers, DAW software, and other music recording equipment.

APD's Circle of Collaboration event in New Delhi marked the integration of GoI's Sugamya Bharat App and Yes to Access

The integration comes at a time when accessibility efforts in India increasingly require more than infrastructure improvements alone. Sustained progress requires collaborative monitoring, stronger accountability, and active participation from governments, civil society organisations, and citizens.

India has – at conservative estimates – 2.68 crore citizens who live with a disability. However, even 10 years after the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, public spaces like parks, offices, educational institutions, and restaurants often lack basic accessibility facilities like ramps, wheelchair-friendly toilets. That’s where these apps come in – for regular citizens to audit and report the accessibility of public places. While the Sugamya Bharat App enables citizens to report accessibility barriers and supports the objectives of the Accessible India Campaign, Yes to Access enables citizens to assess and report the accessibility of public spaces at scale, creating a map that helps persons with disabilities, caregivers, families, and allies identify accessible locations.

Together, the platforms aim to strengthen citizen-led accessibility monitoring and create more responsive systems for identifying and addressing barriers faced by persons with disabilities.

The announcement was made during Circle of Collaborations, a convening designed to showcase the power of partnerships in advancing accessibility and inclusion. The event brought together government representatives, disability rights advocates, civil society organisations, accessibility practitioners, designers, and development sector leaders to reflect on progress made and explore pathways for greater collaboration.

The event was inaugurated by Ms. Manmeet Kaur Nanda, IAS, Additional Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. The inaugural panel also featured Dr. S. Govindaraj, Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities; Mr. Anand Shekhar, Chief Executive Officer, WaterAid India; and Ms. Puja Anand, President, Association of Designers of India. The session was moderated by Dr. Bhumika Modh, Head – Public Policy and Collaborations, APD, and was preceded by a welcome address from Mr. Jacob Kurian, Honorary Secretary, APD.

The inaugural discussion explored the evolving accessibility landscape in India. Speakers reflected on the importance of data-driven inclusion, public-private collaboration, community-led systems change, and the growing need for stronger standards and capacity-building around digital accessibility.

The event also featured an interactive exhibition showcasing the journey, impact, and future vision of the Yes to Access initiative. Highlights included the Yes to Access Journey Timeline, tracing key milestones and learnings; the Wall of Collaborations, recognising organisations and individuals who have contributed to the accessibility movement; and the Data and Impact Zone, featuring a live dashboard that enabled visitors to engage with accessibility-related insights and outcomes.

The exhibition further included Way Forward, a space dedicated to exploring future opportunities for collaboration and participation, and Postcards to the Future, an interactive installation inviting attendees to share their aspirations and commitments towards a more accessible and inclusive India.

Speaking at the event, Ms. Manmeet Kaur Nanda, IAS, Additional Secretary, DEPwD, said, "Accessibility cannot be achieved by any one institution alone. It requires governments, civil society organisations, industry, and communities to work together towards a common goal. Platforms such as Yes to Access and the integration with Sugamya demonstrate how collaboration and technology can help accelerate our collective journey towards a more inclusive India."

Dr. Bhumika Modh, Head – Public Policy and Collaborations, APD, said, "The integration of the Sugamya App with Yes to Access is an important milestone in strengthening citizen-led accessibility monitoring and action. Through Circle of Collaborations, we wanted to showcase the power of partnerships in creating sustainable change and invite more stakeholders to join us in building a future where accessibility is embedded by design."

Ahead of the event, Mr. Jacob Kurian, Honorary Secretary, APD, said, "Through Circle of Collaborations, we wanted to highlight the collective effort that drives progress on accessibility. The exhibition showcases the role of partnerships, innovation, and community participation in creating more inclusive environments. As India continues its digital transformation, ensuring that accessibility is embedded by design will be critical to building a future that works for everyone."

Circle of Collaborations was envisioned as both a celebration of collective progress and a call for deeper collaboration towards accessible futures that are equitable, participatory, and inclusive by design.

Following the New Delhi edition, Circle of Collaborations will be hosted in Bengaluru on June 13, 2026, at Saanchi Gallery, Bangalore International Centre, bringing together a wider network of partners, practitioners, institutions, and advocates committed to advancing accessibility and inclusion across India.

About The Association of People with Disability

The Association of People with Disability (APD) is a Bengaluru-based non-profit organisation working towards empowering persons with disabilities through inclusive education, livelihoods, skill development, community-based rehabilitation, policy advocacy, and accessibility initiatives. Through collaborative programmes and partnerships, APD works to build equitable and inclusive systems that enable persons with disabilities to participate fully in society.

World Environment Day event of World Animal Protection involving youth in Jaipur on 5 June 2026 Photograph : Shubhobroto Ghosh

On World Environment Day, we recognize the vital importance of elephants to the environment. Elephants are vital ecosystem engineers that maintain and regenerate ecosystems through seed dispersal, habitat clearing, and nutrient recycling. By eating, crushing, and moving vegetation, they promote the growth of diverse plant life and capture atmospheric carbon. Elephants consume vast quantities of fruit. As they travel long distances, they deposit these seeds in nutrient-rich dung, effectively planting new forests. Some plant seeds actually require passing through an elephant's digestive tract to germinate. They trample dense brush and eat smaller saplings. This clears competition and opens up canopy gaps, allowing larger trees to absorb more sunlight and store significant amounts of carbon. As they roam, elephants create paths, dig deep wells to tap underground water, and knock down vegetation, providing smaller animals with access to food and water. 

Unfortunately elephants are killed for their ivory, become victims of human wildlife conflict and are illegally captured for human entertainment and subject to tortuous training process to make them amenable for rides. Speaking on the occasion, Tricia Croasdell, Chief Executive Officer of World Animal Protection, said, “The event today is an important one for building understanding of how best to protect elephants. Elephants, like all wild animals, are not suited to close, hands-on encounters with people. They belong in the wild, not in captivity or for riding at venues like Amer Fort in Jaipur. Seeing elephants in real life can be a dream come true for many people, but to protect their welfare, we must watch elephants from a distance, in their natural habitat, or at a true sanctuary. I encourage everyone to research before booking elephant activities and spot the signs of elephant exploitation, such as captive breeding and unnatural performances. I am buoyed by the fact that so many children will be involved today, using art and speaking about why we need to 'Keep Wildlife Wild' – a huge thank-you from me for helping to spread this important message.”

Gajender Kumar Sharma, Country Director of World Animal Protection in India, emphasised the importance of keeping elephants wild and not letting them be abused in captivity. “India’s National Heritage Animal belongs in the wild where they are an integral part of the environment. They do not belong in Amer Fort in Jaipur for rides and entertainment. We request the Chief Minister of Rajasthan to listen to the voice of India’s future and end elephant rides in Jaipur and retire the elephants,” he said.
 

For more information, please contact : Gajender Kumar Sharma, Country Director, World Animal Protection in India 

Email : gajenderksharma@worldanimalprotection.org.in

Mobile phone : 9313333283

(L-R) Sudarshan Suchi, Reliance Foundation; Poonam Muttreja, PFI; Rajesh Tandon, PRIA; Subodh Mishra, Cohesion Foundation Trust; Sivakumar Surampudi, ITC

Distinguished voices contributing to the day’s discussions included Dr. Rajesh Tandon (PRIA), who spoke on the state of government-civil society collaboration; Prof. Bina Agarwal (University of Manchester), on women’s land rights as the foundation for economic agency and intergenerational change; Mr. Gagan Sethi, on the lessons of 25 years of community-centred practice and what the next chapter demands; Mr. Sudarshan Suchi (Reliance Foundation), on how philanthropic capital can be aligned with public systems to reach the last mile; Ms. Saranya Pradhan (McCain Foods India), on how private sector engagement with women and youth in agriculture builds both livelihoods and supply chain resilience; Mr. Biraj Patnaik (National Foundation for India), on resourcing the civil society ecosystem and sustaining organisations that hold the long view; and Mr. Sivakumar Surampudi (ITC Limited), on market-linked models that connect rural women and youth to economic opportunity.

The Outcome Report 2020–25 captures a period of significant growth and impact for the organisation. Over the last 5 years, Cohesion supported more than 15,000 women farmers, reached 67,409 children through education and early childhood development programmes, linked over 43,000 individuals to government welfare schemes, strengthened more than 150 community-based organisations, and enabled community-led water management initiatives that created 259,188 kilolitres of additional water storage across 78 villages.

Speaking at the event, Rajesh Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, Cohesion Foundation Trust, said, “25 years ago, we began with a belief that communities themselves hold the knowledge, resilience and leadership needed to drive lasting change. Our journey has reinforced that belief time and again. Whether it is women farmers strengthening livelihoods, families accessing essential entitlements, or communities managing natural resources, meaningful development happens when people are empowered to lead it. As we look ahead, our ambition is to help transform a million lives by 2030 through community-owned development.”

The Outcome Report also sets out Cohesion's strategy for the next 5 years, the organisation's stated goal is to transform 1 million lives by 2030 through community-owned development. Building on its ‘Model, Replicate and Scale’ approach, the strategy will focus on climate-resilient livelihoods, women’s leadership, youth empowerment, stronger community institutions and evidence-driven engagement with public systems and development partners.

About Cohesion Foundation Trust

Cohesion Foundation Trust was set up in 1996 by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals. The team equipped with the experience of different facets of development, started as a support body, providing professional services to other organizations. The support included services like community organization; project finance & management services including planning, monitoring & evaluation; designing & maintenance of Impact assessment and Management Information Systems; research, capacity building, democratization of development process & empowerment; advocacy works etc. As a strategic move in the year 2000-01, Cohesion initiated its implementation units, with a view to enrich the exchange of learning through support activities.

Today, that story is changing.

Before & After, the land tells Jalna's story

With support from the Save Groundwater Foundation (SGF), USA, Project JalTara by The Art of Living Social Projects through Vyakti Vikas Kendra India (VVKI) is helping recharge groundwater across villages in Jalna. The initiative uses scientifically designed recharge structures to capture rainwater and restore underground aquifers, improving water availability and farm resilience.

Turning Rainwater into a Resource

Jalna, in Maharashtra’s Marathwada region, is highly vulnerable to erratic rainfall, recurring droughts, and groundwater depletion. Despite seasonal rains, much of the water is lost as surface runoff due to hard basalt rock formations, black cotton soil that limits infiltration, and shallow rocky terrain. Over time, excessive groundwater extraction has further reduced borewell levels and agricultural productivity.

Project JalTara addresses this through a decentralised, low-cost, community-led water conservation model. It uses simple recharge structures made of gravel, sand, and stones that filter rainwater and allow it to percolate into the ground, replenishing aquifers.

Reviving Water Security Across Villages

The project was implemented across 10 villages in Jalna district, including Ambhor Shelke, Khandvi, Khandviwadi, Kirtapur, Pashta, Watur, Sondeo, Shrishti, Swargaon, and Pimprula.

Earlier, these villages faced dry wells, drinking and irrigation shortages, barren fields, and heavy dependence on tanker water.

Post-implementation, communities report improved groundwater levels, better soil moisture, and increased water availability. Farmers who earlier managed one crop cycle are now able to cultivate up to two in several areas, with reduced dependence on external water sources.

Additional benefits include improved vegetation, reduced soil erosion, better soil moisture retention, and increased awareness of water conservation. Women, in particular, have seen reduced burden from long water-fetching journeys.

Community Participation at the Core

A key strength of Project JalTara is strong community participation. Villagers were actively involved in site selection, construction, and maintenance, ensuring local ownership and long-term sustainability. The model’s simplicity and low maintenance make it easily replicable in other drought-prone regions.

The initiative also demonstrates how traditional ecological knowledge, when combined with scientific design, can deliver scalable water solutions.

Challenges on the Ground

Implementation in Jalna’s semi-arid terrain came with challenges, including hard rocky soil, extreme heat, and tight pre-monsoon timelines. Mobilising remote communities and coordinating sustained participation required continuous effort and planning.

Despite these constraints, the project was successfully completed through collaboration and efficient execution.

A Scalable Pathway for Rural Water Security

Project JalTara shows that meaningful solutions to water scarcity do not always require large infrastructure. Simple, locally adapted interventions can restore groundwater, strengthen agriculture, and improve rural livelihoods.

By capturing rainwater and replenishing aquifers, the initiative offers a scalable model for long-term water security in climate-vulnerable regions.

About The Art of Living Social Projects

The Art of Living, a non-profit, educational, and humanitarian organisation founded in 1981 by the world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, is committed to addressing India’s pressing water challenges. Through its large-scale water conservation projects, the organisation works to mitigate water scarcity by restoring rivers, reviving ecosystems, and improving the quality of life for communities across the country.

To learn more about these initiatives or explore CSR partnerships, visit: Best NGO for CSR projects in India.

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Young minds learning, growing, and building a brighter future at Ranga Rao Memorial School for Differently Abled

Started in 1988, Ranga Rao Memorial School for Differently Abled is a free residential school initiated for visually challenged girls. The school operates under “Child centric project” and is supported by ‘Department of the Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens’ Karnataka State. In the academic year 2017-2018 the school has received award of Best Service Organization in disabled sector from the Empowerment of Differently abled and senior citizen on the World Disability Day.

What started with two students is now a huge residential school that is changing the life of hundreds of visually impaired girls. It not only provides a safe haven and quality education, but also helps in holistic development and prepares students to live a life with dignity outside the school. Extra-curricular activities like dance, yoga workshops, bird watching, singing competition, vocational training, self-defence, skill marshal arts class and for low vision students exclusive basic tailoring course etc. are a part and parcel of life at RMSD. The school follows the state syllabus learning through Braille system taught by highly qualified teachers and imparts technology upgradation basic & computer skills.

It also provides parent counselling and organizes house-to-house visits to bring about awareness on the importance of educating and opportunities to visually impaired girls. Also, the all-round excellent performance of the students is a proof to the dedication and high-quality service rendered by the teachers and staff of RMSD.

About Ranga Rao Memorial School for Differently Abled (RMSD)

Ranga Rao Memorial School for Disabled (RMSD) is a free residential school for visually challenged girls from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, giving them confidence to be responsible for themselves. It is the only school in the Karnataka State exclusive to the Girls, the current strength of the school is 96, with a committed set of teachers and Ranga family members serving them for the last 37 years. Students who passed out from the school are today working at various institutions and leading their life with dignity which stands testimonial to the noble cause initiated by the NR group.

Over the last 37 years, RMSD has transformed the lives of countless visually impaired girls by focusing on holistic development, inclusive learning practices, and access to advanced digital tools.

RMSD, a free residential school for visually impaired girls from Grade 1 to Grade 10, functions under the ‘Child-Centric Project’ supported by the Department of the Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens, Karnataka State. The school not only offers education, but also provides lodging, boarding, and healthcare facilities. It was established in 1988 to empower visually impaired girls in and around Mysuru through education and vocational training. Additionally, it equips students with life skills, music, dance, and basic cooking training.

DKMS Foundation India brings together changemakers and medical leaders at the Lifesaver Honours Night in Bengaluru to support blood cancer patients
 

The event brought together key stakeholders whose collective efforts have driven the expansion of the blood stem cell donor registry and enhanced patient care in India. It highlighted the importance of sustained collaboration across the medical community, institutions, and civil society to address the growing need for stem cell donors, while also drawing attention to ongoing efforts to raise awareness and bridge gaps in access to timely, life-saving transplants for patients across the country.

Among the prominent guests at the evening were Karthik Reddy, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Bengaluru City, and Mandira Bedi, actor, television presenter, and fitness advocate, who lent their support to the cause.

“Our mission to provide a second chance at life is a collaborative effort spanning medical science, corporate social responsibility, and public advocacy,” said Patrick Paul, Executive Chairman, DKMS India. “The Lifesaver Honours is our way of expressing gratitude to those who go above and beyond to bring hope to patients in need. Their commitment continues to form the backbone of our work in India.”

Dr. Elke Neujahr, Global CEO, DKMS said, “Every year, thousands of donor searches are initiated globally, highlighting the ongoing need for matching donors. At DKMS, we are committed to ensuring that every patient in need can find a suitable match.”

“This is only possible through collaboration. To save lives it takes voices that inspire action, institutions that mobilise communities, medical teams that deliver excellence, and individuals whose dedication never stops.”
 

A key highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Honour to Dr. Latha Jagannathan, Medical Director and Managing Trustee, BMST Bengaluru, in recognition of her contribution to the fight against blood cancer and blood disorders. “I am deeply honoured to receive this recognition and to stand alongside those committed to this cause,” said Dr. Latha Jagannathan. “It is a privilege to contribute to work that brings hope to families when they need it most.”
 

The evening also served as a platform to discuss key challenges in blood stem cell transplantation, including gaps in donor availability, awareness, and timely access to treatment, while highlighting the need for stronger collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem to improve patient outcomes.
 

The evening honoured winners across four distinct categories:

Category 1: Awareness
Excellence in Blood Cancer & Blood Disorders Reporting: Awarded to Afshan Yasmeen, Deputy Editor, The Hindu, Bengaluru, for impactful reporting that brought the cause to the forefront of public discourse through the story, “A Silent Burden: Thalassaemia Patients in Karnataka Battle Disease with Hope and Hardship”
 

Category 2: Registration
Outstanding Institutional Partner: Recognising Manipal Institute of Technology (MAHE), Manipal, for leading the way in youth donor registration.
Outstanding Corporate Partner: Celebrating EXL Technologies, India, for integrating the DKMS mission into their CSR and employee engagement initiatives.

Category 3: Medical Excellence
Collection Centre of the Year: Awarded to BMST, Bengaluru, for demonstrating exceptional standards in donor care and stem cell collection.
Medical Advisory Group Felicitation: A special honour for 10 distinguished members of the medical community for their expert guidance.

Category 4: Special Recognition
Lifetime Excellence Award: A leadership-discretionary honour recognising an individual who has made a unique, transformative impact on the lives of patients with blood cancer and blood disorders.
 

About DKMS Foundation

DKMS Foundation, India, is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and other blood disorders, such as thalassemia and aplastic anemia. The foundation aims to improve the situation of patients in India and across the world by raising awareness about blood stem cell transplantation and registering potential blood stem cell donors.

For more information, please visit www.dkms-India.org.

The MoU was signed by Dr. Pulkit Khanna, Dean, JIBS, and Lt. Gen. Dr. S.P. Kochhar, Founder, Cheistha Kochhar Foundation. This collaboration marks the beginning of a shared commitment to leveraging behavioural science for scalable social impact, leadership development and community engagement.
 

Lt. Gen. Dr. S.P. Kochhar and Ms. Pulkit Khanna, Dean (JIBS), signs a MoU at O.P. Jindal Global University

The partnership aims to bridge academic research with practical implementation by designing interventions that are evidence-based, context-sensitive and outcome-driven. By combining academic rigour with on-ground experience, both institutions seek to create meaningful frameworks that can address complex societal challenges and enable sustainable impact.
 

Speaking on the occasion, Lt. Gen. Dr. S.P. Kochhar, father of the Late Cheistha Kochhar, reflected on her vision and legacy, and emphasized the role of Nudge practice in shaping inclusive development pathways.
 

Gen. Kochhar remarked, “This partnership is deeply aligned with the vision of Late Cheistha Kochhar, who was among the early pioneers of Nudge Practice in India. By bringing together academic excellence and real-world application, we aim to design interventions that are not only evidence-based but also socially relevant and scalable. Through this collaboration with JIBS, we look forward to nurturing future leaders and translating nudge-based behavioural insights into meaningful impact on the ground.”
 

Prashant Gautam, Cheistha’s Husband, also highlighted the growing relevance of nudge theory and behavioural science as powerful tools for designing effective social interventions and influencing public policy outcomes.

Dr. Pulkit Khanna, Dean, Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences, expressed appreciation for the collaboration and noted that such partnerships play a vital role in strengthening the application of behavioural science for societal benefit. She conveyed confidence that the initiative would foster meaningful research, practical interventions and long-term impact across diverse communities.
 

The event brought together academia, practitioners and stakeholders for an engaging exchange of ideas, reinforcing the importance of collaboration in driving innovation and impact.
 

The program concluded with awards ceremony, including the presentation of Cheistha Kochhar Rolling Trophy to the winning participants from Christ University, NCR Delhi for their project "GreenCart Default,” a behavioural intervention designed to make sustainable choices easier on quick e-commerce platforms.

The India Mental Health Alliance (IMHA) today announced that it has crossed 300 member organisations across 30 states and union territories, marking a significant milestone for India’s evolving mental health ecosystem.
 

The India Mental Health Alliance

More than a growth milestone, the development reflects a broader shift across stakeholders towards greater collaboration, shared learning, and coordinated action for mental health, which has long operated in fragmented silos. IMHA was established on the belief that meaningful progress in mental healthcare requires bringing clinical and lived experience expertise together; aided by resource mobilization from philanthropy, government and the private sector collectively.
 

Neha Kirpal, Co-Founder, IMHA, said, “Reaching 300 members is significant because of what it makes possible for everyone. When cross-sectoral organisations have a shared alliance to connect, share on-ground learnings across their cultural contexts, and build capacities together; the entire ecosystem becomes stronger and more effective. IMHA’s role has been to act as a catalyst and facilitator, creating the possibilities for partnerships, and pathways that enable knowledge, expertise, and support to flow more freely across the nation. This kind of collaborative infrastructure is essential to move mental health from the margins to the mainstream as a developmental priority in our journey towards Viksit Bharat.”
 
Over the past year, this vision has translated into a focused effort to - Connect, Convene, Collaborate, and build Capacity across the mental health ecosystem. IMHA’s key initiatives towards these goals in this past year have included:

• A national member directory with QR-enabled discoverability tools for all members, funders and public institutions to connect with organisations from across India

• Active digital communities, including an active nationwide WhatsApp group

• Ongoing member engagement across geographies with regional meet ups

• Building members’ capacities through monthly curated sessions and consultations with global experts; themes include organisational strengthening, youth mental health, lived experience expertise, public health integration, cross-sector programming, and engagement with funders and government

Together, these efforts are helping organisations discover one another, exchange knowledge, and collaborate more effectively across the country. 

Building on these connections, IMHA has also prioritised convening as a core pillar of ecosystem-building by creating spaces for organisations to come together, exchange ideas, and forge partnerships. Through its ‘Connecting India for Mental Health’ series, IMHA hosted its first regional meet-up in Mumbai, with upcoming convenings planned in:

• Guwahati (May 2026)

• Chennai (August 2026)

• Bangalore (December 2026)

This builds on the momentum of IMHA’s first Annual Convening last year, a landmark closed-door gathering of 130+ Alliance members from across the country for deeper dialogue and partnership-building; the second edition of the Annual Convening to be announced shortly for the month of Oct/Nov 2026. 

This culture of shared learning is further anchored in IMHA’s Knowledge Centre, a hub for credible, India-specific mental health resources. The platform currently hosts 300+ curated resources, including toolkits, capacity-building materials, lived experience-led resources, laws and policies, landscape reports, and data-driven insights. Designed for NGOs, funders, policy makers, students and mental health professionals; the Knowledge Centre will now expand into video-based learning from Indian experts and increased regional language content to deepen contextual relevance.

Vasvi Bharat Ram, Founder Chairperson, India Mental Health Alliance, says, “A truly developed India must also be a mentally healthy India. Economic growth, educational outcomes, workforce productivity, and social cohesion are deeply linked to the mental well-being of citizens. Building this requires coordinated investment, long-term thinking, and shared responsibility across multiple fronts, from systemic capacity-building and workforce development to knowledge creation and improving the overall quality of care. Philanthropic capital, government funding, and private sector investment each have a distinct role to play to build a mental health ecosystem that is more accessible, resilient, and responsive to India’s needs.” 

Therefore, IMHA is actively expanding the pool of unrestricted philanthropic capital dedicated to long-term ecosystem-building in mental health, with recent pledges from donors such as Manisha Dhawan from the Convergence Foundation of India and renowned philanthropist Dr. Pheroza Godrej.

As India moves towards 2047, IMHA’s expanding strength reflects a new, decentralised approach to mental health: one rooted in equity, shared ownership, cross sectoral collaboration; with lived experience experts and their carers at the centre of all care design. 

About The India Mental Health Alliance
The India Mental Health Alliance (IMHA) is a Section 8 not-for-profit organisation launched in 2023 as a partnership between Vasvi and Ashish Bharat Ram, Amaha Health and Children First. IMHA is a cross-sectoral platform working to strengthen India’s mental health ecosystem by convening stakeholders, building capacity, and catalysing collaboration at scale. As a growing national alliance of 300 cross-sectoral member organisations from 30 states & UTs, IMHA helps mobilize existing strengths, identify care gaps, and enables stronger coordination & collaboration pan-India. Its capacity-building efforts support community organisations, healthcare & educational institutions, as well as individual mental health practitioners through multi-channel knowledge sharing and learning initiatives. IMHA also hosts a growing Knowledge Centre with 300+ multilingual resources to democratise access to mental health information. Through its work, IMHA aims to mainstream mental health as a national development priority; improve quality of care; embed Lived Experience Expertise (LEE) in care design and practice; champion social justice in mental health; and mobilise greater long-term, unrestricted philanthropic capital to support systemic, scalable solutions across India. 

Mars Impact Fund, the philanthropic arm of Mars, Inc., visited Humane World for Animals India’s Animal Birth Control centre in Lucknow
 

In India, millions of street dogs live in close proximity to people, which can present a complex urban challenge. The program model emerging from Lucknow demonstrates that when science-led strategic solutions are combined with compassion and community ownership, there is a replicable pathway for cities seeking effective, lasting and humane solutions to human-dog conflict.
 

What sets this approach apart is its emphasis on communities and street dog caregivers as active participants in the solution, not just beneficiaries. Community volunteers, residents, Resident Welfare Associations and community dog caretakers play a central role, from monitoring street dogs to managing designated feeding zones and collaborating with field teams to identify unsterilized dogs. Today, more than 475 Abhay Sankalp societies—local resident groups formed to support humane street dog management and coexistence— are active across the city, bringing together over 15,000 community members.
 

This Humane World for Animals program is supported by the Mars Impact Fund, which is helping strengthen community-led approaches to companion animal welfare in urban India. Since its inception, the program has sterilized and vaccinated over one lakh street dogs, achieving more than 80% sterilization coverage in the city. Notably, 25% of these efforts have been enabled through community participation, reflecting a growing shift towards shared responsibility in humanely and sustainably managing street dog populations.
 

During their visit, members of the Mars team also interacted with community members and volunteers directly involved in the program, gaining insight into how local participation is shaping outcomes. The visit included a dog behavior awareness workshop with children, offering a glimpse into how early education helps to explain dog behaviour, reduce fear-driven responses, prevent conflict, and foster empathy and safer interactions between people and animals.
 

"Witnessing the Lucknow program firsthand is a powerful reminder of what's possible when science, compassion, and community come together. This is exactly the kind of sustainable, scalable impact we aim to support through the Mars Impact Fund. Humane World for Animals India has created a replicable model that not only improves the welfare of street dogs but also strengthens the bond between people and pets. At Mars, we believe in creating a better world for pets, and this program is a perfect example of how we can achieve that by empowering local partners to drive meaningful change from the ground up," said Michelle Grogg, Executive Director, Mars Impact Fund.
 

Keren Nazareth, senior director, Companion Animals and Engagement, Humane World for Animals India, said, “Lasting change for street dogs is as much about people as it is about dogs. While interventions like sterilization and vaccination remain critical, when community residents are informed, involved and supported, they become the strongest drivers and agents of coexistence. The Mars Impact Fund‘s support allows us to deepen that engagement on the ground and build solutions that are humane and sustainable.”
 

Facts:

• Humane World for Animals India, in collaboration with the Lucknow Nagar Nigam in Uttar Pradesh, started the ABC program in Lucknow in 2019.

• More than one lakh dogs have been sterilized so far. Chitti, the 100,000th community dog sterilized under the program, was found by a resident volunteer injured on the street and brought to the Lucknow facility.

• Each week, 250-300 dogs are sterilized, vaccinated and released back to their original locations. The initiative is supported by a team of over 30 trained staff members, six vehicles and a strong network of community volunteers.

• A monitoring survey in December 2024 found that 84.3% of Lucknow’s street dogs have been sterilized and vaccinated.

• Over 31,000 public concerns related to street dogs were effectively addressed through humane interventions such as sterilization, vaccination and community awareness.

• The Mars Impact Fund was launched in 2026 as an $85 million global fund dedicated to complement the company’s existing sustainability and philanthropic efforts with long-term, strategic investments that strengthen communities, advance scientific opportunity and improve companion animal wellbeing. The fund builds upon Mars long-standing global partnership with Humane World for Animals, and its support for the organization's programs in India began in 2020.
  ​

Humane World for Animals (formerly known as Humane Society International) works in India and across the globe to improve the welfare of street, community and companion dogs and cats. We promote humane, sustainable approaches to reduce street animal populations and support peaceful coexistence with people, offering solutions in place of lethal or inhumane methods. Since 2013, more than 400,000 street dogs have been sterilized and vaccinated in India through Humane World for Animals’ programs. The charity’s street dog programs, in addition to its work to increase access to care for companion animals in underserved communities, help people care for their animals and prevent cruelty and abandonment, is advanced in North America, South Africa, Mexico, India, Chile, Costa Rica, Romania and Bolivia.
 

About Humane World for Animals

Together, we tackle the root causes of animal cruelty and suffering to create permanent change. With millions of supporters and work happening in over 50 countries, Humane World for Animals—formerly called Humane Society International—addresses the most deeply entrenched forms of animal cruelty and suffering. As the leading voice in the animal protection space, we work to end the cruelest practices, care for animals in crisis and build a stronger animal protection movement. Driving toward the greatest global impact, we aim to achieve the vision behind our name: a more humane world.

For more information, please visit humaneworld.org.
 

About Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a $65bn+ family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services supports pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight millions of people every day. We produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, CESAR®, M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, Pringles®, Cheez-It®, and BEN’S ORIGINAL™. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™ span preventive, general, specialty, and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary diagnostics business ANTECH® offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics. The Mars Five Principles — Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom — inspire our more than 170,000 Associates to act every day to help create a better world for people, pets and the planet.
 

Save The Elephant Day protest by World Animal Protection at Patrika Gate in Jaipur on 16 April 2026 Photo credit: World Animal Protection
 

The event was organised in the wake of the death of a 70-year-old elephant named Chanchal in February 2026, who had been used in a photoshoot where she was painted pink by photographer Julia Buruleva. Although her death is believed to be unrelated to the photography event. Nonetheless, the shooting event raised major questions on ethics surrounding the treatment of animals, especially wild animals like elephants, that suffer from their incarceration in captivity.
 

“For years we have seen the unfortunate scene of captive elephants being paraded as props in Amer Fort for tourists, including foreign tourists, to the detriment of their health and welfare and it is high time this practice stopped,” says Gajender Kumar Sharma, Country Director, World Animal Protection in India. Numerous studies have repeatedly shown that the status quo on Amer Fort elephants is untenable and the need is imminent for them to be retired from the daily rides and given a satisfactory retirement in a wildlife friendly sanctuary for the rest of their lives.
 

Studies by Animal Welfare Board of India and Project Elephant of Ministry of Environment And Forests have shown the Amer Fort elephants show major distress due to their captive nature and that the way forward is by ending the elephant rides in Jaipur, in Amer Fort, Haathi Gaon and other venues where they still take place. In the wake of the photoshoot that has made news all over, it is amply clear and self evident that the elephant being painted with a scantily clad model woman on top was hardly the epitome or symbol of Indian culture that has respected the elephant with the status of National Heritage Animal of India.
 

Elephants are wild animals, who live sociably in the wild and display many human emotions like love, fear, bonding, sadness and mourning and they are deprived of these traits in captivity. Moreover the continued illegal trade in live elephants from certain parts of India to fuel the captive elephant industry in places like Jaipur give cause for concern for elephant conservation in the wild. We also witness retrogressive practices like elephant safaris in Kaziranga National Park in Assa and Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand. “Elephant rides across India must be brought to an end, and tourism activities involving captive elephants including those involving international visitors/tourists need to be strictly regulated. World Animal Protection urges the Government of Rajasthan, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and Project Elephant to take immediate action, including establishing a clear timeline for the retirement of elephants currently used for rides in Jaipur and across the country,” says Gajender Kumar Sharma, Country Director, World Animal Protection in India.
 

The demonstration in Jaipur, with active participation from volunteers and local residents alongside World Animal Protection staff, reflects a growing awareness that wild animals belong in the wild. Elephants are not entertainers, nor are they props for photographs in captive settings. Elephants deserve to live free. Wildlife belongs in the wild.
 

For more information please contact: Gajender Kumar Sharma

Email: gajenderksharma@worldanimalprotection.org.in

Phone: 9313333283

At the IncluEd Shiksha Samvaad held on April 13, 2026, in New Delhi, that question moved from rhetoric to reality.

Education Leaders at IncluEd Shiksha Samvaad in New Delhi launch the Micro Improvement Compendium

Hosted by Sol’s ARC in collaboration with Shikshagraha, Peepul, and Bachpan Manao, the one-day convening brought together over 125 participants from government, education systems, civil society, and schools, with a clear focus: move beyond intent and enable action on inclusive education.

While India’s policy frameworks, from the National Education Policy (NEP) to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, underscore inclusion, the challenge remains deeply operational. Children are often present in classrooms but not meaningfully participating. Gender disparities persist, with 57% of enrolled CWSN being boys and 42% girls, pointing to deeper structural and social barriers.

"When only 12% of CWSN make it from Grade 1 to Grade 12, we are not looking at a dropout crisis — we are looking at a belonging crisis. A Viksit Bharat that counts on its demographic dividend cannot afford to lose entire categories of children before they ever reach their potential. Inclusive classrooms are not a welfare measure; they are the foundation of a truly future-ready India," said Khushboo Awasthi, Co-founder of ShikshaLokam and Weaver of the Shikshagraha movement.

At the heart of the convening was the launch of the Micro Improvement Project and its accompanying Micro Improvement Compendium - a guidebook designed to make inclusion practical, immediate, and scalable. The compendium brings together 50 classroom practices drawn from 11 schools across 6 cities, further informed by work across states such as Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Daman & Diu. From peer buddy systems and visual routines to inclusive school events and home-school communication tools, the practices are designed to be low-cost, adaptable, and implementable within existing classroom realities.

“We believe inclusion is not just about intent, but about ensuring every tool is free, accessible, and within everyone’s reach,” said Sonali Saini, founder of Sol’s ARC.

Released as a digital public good, the guidebook is freely available for educators and systems to adopt and adapt, with the larger goal of embedding inclusion into everyday school practice rather than treating it as a specialised intervention.

“The burden of inclusion should never rest on the child; the responsibility lies with the system to adapt. True inclusion is measured not by how much a learner adjusts, but by how much our pedagogy and institutional design evolve to meet them,” said Kruti Bharucha, Founder & CEO, Peepul. On Peepul’s commitment to creating inclusive learning spaces, she further added, “We are determined to shift classroom practices across the country, ensuring that every learner, regardless of their starting point, has a system that is designed to help them thrive.”

The initiative builds on the growing momentum of the Shikshagraha movement, which has demonstrated how small, localised actions can scale across systems, with over 13.7 lakh micro-improvements initiated, 3.5 lakh leaders driving change, and more than 1.76 lakh schools participating across 12 states and 250 districts. This signals a shift from isolated pilots to ecosystem-driven change.

The Samvaad itself was designed as an immersive, practice-led experience. Participants engaged with interactive workshops, including a sign language session, experience zones showcasing inclusive practices, and panel discussions featuring policymakers, educators, and individuals with lived experience. The emphasis throughout was on making inclusion tangible, actionable, and replicable across contexts.

"Inclusion is simply about every child feeling wanted, heard, and that they belong. A teacher must be a keen observer and a collaborator: asking whether a child can see the board, hear the instruction, and feel that they matter. Inclusion is not only about ramps and toilets; it is about the moment a child looks up and feels seen — because the child who feels they belong today becomes a confident learner tomorrow. That is the true power of the teacher," said Dr. Sharad Sinha, Head, Department of Teacher Education, National Council of Educational Research and Training.

Beyond the event, the Micro Improvement Project will be scaled through state-level workshops, partner networks, and digital platforms, alongside integration with tools like the IncluEd chatbot to provide teachers with contextual, on-demand support. The guidebook will continue to evolve based on classroom feedback, building towards a living repository of inclusive practices.

The discussions also surfaced deeper systemic challenges from gaps between RTE and RPwD provisions to benchmark disability thresholds that leave many children unsupported, and the everyday reality of teachers navigating inclusion without adequate tools or training. Yet, the convening reinforced a central insight: meaningful change does not always require large reforms; it can begin with small, intentional shifts in everyday practice.

"The challenge of building an inclusive, future-ready education system is too complex for any one actor to solve alone. Many organisations are already creating powerful solutions — but often in isolation. Shikshagraha brings these efforts together as a collective force, so we can share, learn, and build beyond what any one of us can do individually. That is how real, systemic change happens — and we are thrilled to have Sol's ARC as a partner in this movement," Awasthi added.

As the event concluded with a collective pledge - “I accept, I involve, I include,” the message was clear: inclusion in education cannot be delivered top-down. It must be owned, practiced, and sustained by the ecosystem.

And sometimes, that shift begins with just one small change.

About IncluEd

IncluEd is a platform that brings together diverse stakeholders across the education ecosystem to drive conversations and action on inclusive education.

About Sol’s ARC

Sol’s ARC works towards building inclusive education systems by enabling schools and educators with practical, accessible solutions for diverse learners.

About Peepul

Peepul is an education-focused non-profit dedicated to transforming public school systems in India. Partnering with governments to deliver impact at scale, Peepul currently reaches nearly 5 million students and 60,000+ teachers across 50,000+ schools in Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.

Beyond academic excellence, Peepul reimagines the classroom as a safe, equitable, and future-ready environment where no child is left behind. Through its "Exemplar" school model, the organisation has institutionalised specialised support via Enrichment Rooms and dedicated Special Educators, empowering all stakeholders to build teacher capacity for neurodiversity and integrating robust child protection protocols and strategic mental health partnerships.

About Shikshagraha

Shikshagraha is a people-powered movement to improve all 1 million public schools in India, so that every child experiences enriching learning and is ready for the future.

Real change begins with the child at the centre — their learning, confidence, well-being, and aspirations, and with those closest to the child. The movement enables parents, women and youth to demand and support quality education, and equips teachers, school leaders, and officials with tools for micro-improvements towards systemic change.

Currently, 40+ civil society, industry and philanthropic partners in the Shikshagraha network are collectively strengthening 1,17,000+ schools across 47 districts across 14 states & UTs. This includes enabling education leaders to lead need-based school improvements and amplifying women, youth and community participation in the public education system.

Shikshagraha works towards improving schools where the need is greatest, supports leadership on the ground, and shifts the norms that hold education back. Through visible practice change and collective action by communities, governments, civil society, and markets, it reimagines what public schools can and must deliver.

Visit shikshagraha.org for more details.

In a remarkable display of grit, discipline, and sporting excellence, athletes supported by M3M Foundation under its flagship Lakshya Sports Program delivered an outstanding performance at the Kettlebell Sport Haryana State Championship 2026, held at The Shriram Millennium School, Gurgaon.

M3M Foundation Trustee and Chairperson, Dr Payal Kanodia with athletes at Kettlebell Sports Haryana State Championship 2026

Organised by the Kettlebell Sport Haryana Association under the aegis of Kettlebell Sport India Association, the championship witnessed participation across Sub-Junior, Junior, Senior, and Veteran categories, bringing together top kettlebell athletes from across the state.

20 athletes represented M3M Foundation’s iMpower Club, collectively secured an exceptional tally of 30 medals, including 18 Gold, 9 Silver, and 3 Bronze, reaffirming the transformative impact of structured sports training and opportunity on underserved youth.

The championship also marked a historic moment with the participation of Haryana’s first Para Kettlebell Athlete from iMpower Club, reflecting M3M Foundation’s commitment to fostering inclusivity and ensuring that sporting platforms remain accessible to talent across all abilities.

Young athletes such as Rohit, Rajnish, Sajid, Resham, and others delivered extraordinary performances, with several participants completing over 105 kettlebell lifts in a single go—a feat that demonstrated not just physical strength, but immense determination, stamina, and mental resilience. Coming from families of migrant workers and economically vulnerable communities, these children exemplified how talent, when nurtured with the right support, can transcend barriers and expectations.

Further elevating the spirit of the championship, Dr. Payal Kanodia, two time Gold Medallist at the world kettlebell championships, an accomplished international kettlebell sportsperson, joined the event alongside her sons, Master Kian Kanodia and Master Krishiv Kanodia, in an inspiring demonstration of encouragement and solidarity with the young athletes. Their participation reflected a powerful message of family-led inspiration and support for grassroots sports.

Adding to the prestige of the event, distinguished IUKL (International Union of Kettlebell Lifting) judges also participated in ceremonial kettlebell lifts during the championship, lending international sporting recognition to the event and inspiring athletes through their presence and engagement.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Payal Kanodia, Chairperson & Trustee, M3M Foundation, said, “Every child deserves the opportunity to discover their strength and pursue excellence, regardless of their background. Witnessing our iMpower athletes—especially children from migrant worker families and our para athlete—compete with such confidence and determination is truly inspiring. Their achievements reinforce our belief that when young talent is nurtured with the right platform, mentorship, and encouragement, they can achieve extraordinary milestones. At M3M Foundation, we remain committed to building champions both on and off the field.”

The championship performance stands as yet another milestone in M3M Foundation’s ongoing mission to democratize access to quality sports training and competitive exposure for underserved communities. Through its Lakshya Program, the Foundation continues to nurture grassroots talent, empower young athletes, and create pathways for inclusive sporting excellence. 

About M3M Foundation

M3M Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the M3M Group, working across education, health, livelihoods, sports, and environment. With a reach across 22 states and over 1,300 villages, the Foundation has positively impacted more than 5 million lives, driven by a vision of inclusive, sustainable, and transformative nation-building.

Students across Mangalore colleges join DKMS Foundation India’s awareness drive, stepping forward to register as potential stem cell donors during the initiative

The initiative, conducted in collaboration with leading institutions in the Dakshin Kannada region such as Srinivasa University, St. Joseph’s Engineering College, Canara Engineering College, Mangala Group of Institutions, Vijaya College, Alva’s Group of Institutions, Karavali College of Pharmacy, and Dr. P. Dayananda Pai – P. Satisha Pai Government First Grade College, saw strong participation from students, faculty, and volunteers, highlighting growing awareness around stem cell donation and its life-saving potential for patients with blood cancers and disorders such as thalassemia, and aplastic anemia.

Students, faculty, and volunteers at St. Joseph’s Engineering College, Mangalore, participate in the DKMS Foundation India drive with record stem cell donor registrations

"Every new donor who joins the registry represents hope for a patient waiting for a match. But this drive means more than numbers. A stem cell match is determined by genetic markers — and those markers vary with ancestry and ethnicity. When we register donors from a community as vibrant and diverse as Mangalore, we are not just adding to a list; we are expanding the circle of hope for patients whose genetic profile may only match with someone from this very region. Diversity in our registry is not a goal — it is a matter of life and death for patients who have no other option,” says Patrick Paul, Executive Chairman, DKMS India.

Students, faculty, and volunteers across leading colleges in Mangalore came together for DKMS Foundation India's week-long stem cell awareness drive

Ms. Prathibha K N, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics and NSS Coordinator, St. Joseph’s Engineering College, Mangalore, said, “The DKMS awareness sessions, conducted as part of our NSS activity, were highly informative and impactful, clearly explaining how stem cell donation can save the lives of patients battling diseases such as leukemia. The sessions also helped address common misconceptions, and we saw genuine curiosity among students translate into action, with many stepping forward to register. Having registered myself as a donor last year, I deeply value the importance of such initiatives. More than the numbers, this drive helped build empathy and a lasting sense of social responsibility among young people.”

In India, one person is diagnosed with a blood cancer or blood disorder every five minutes, and nearly 70% of patients requiring a stem cell transplant depend on unrelated donors. Yet, with only 0.09% of the eligible population currently registered as stem cell donors, large-scale youth-led drives such as this remain critical to bridging the country’s donor gap.

With over 2,50,000 registered donors in India and over 250 lives already impacted through stem cell donations, DKMS Foundation India continues to strengthen the country’s donor pool, with sustained student-led participation playing a critical role in improving match possibilities for patients from diverse genetic backgrounds.

Individuals aged 18–55 in good health can register as potential donors at www.dkms-india.org/register-now.

About DKMS Foundation India
DKMS Foundation, India, is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and other blood disorders, such as thalassemia and aplastic anemia. They aim to improve the situation of patients who have blood cancer and other blood disorders in India and throughout the world by raising awareness about blood stem cell transplantation and registering potential blood stem cell donors. For more information, please visit www.dkms-India.org.

Teams from Spiti, Nubra Valley, and Sarvoday supported by M3M Foundation showcase their products at Kisan Kumbh 2026, IIT Delhi

The M3M Foundation’s stalls featured enterprises from regions including Laddakh, Spiti, and other rural geographies, with active participation from teams from Spiti and Nubra Valley, along with Sarvoday products, enabling beneficiaries to showcase, market, and sell their products like cold pressed mustard oil, hand grind spices, Sea buckthorn juice, pulp, berries, roasted barley, products made from yak wool. These products were widely appreciated by visitors for their quality and authenticity. The stalls attracted over 2,500 visitors, providing significant exposure and direct market access to grassroots producers.

The participation resulted in strengthened market linkages, increased visibility for rural enterprises, and direct customer engagement, reinforcing the importance of such platforms in bridging the gap between producers and consumers.

In a proud moment, M3M Foundation was appreciated on stage by Shri Shyam Singh Rana, Hon’ble Agriculture Minister of Haryana, in the presence of General V. K. Singh, Hon’ble Governor of Mizoram. The event was also graced by Shri Nitin Gadkari ji, Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, as the Chief Guest.

Dr. Aishwarya Mahajan, Managing Trustee and President, M3M Foundation, said, “M3M Foundation is currently working across 8 states with over 10,000 farmers, including in remote regions such as Laddakh and Spiti. In areas like Nubra Valley, we have enabled food processing systems, ensuring that farmers are not only engaged in cultivation but also in value addition. More than 5,000 women farmers are actively involved in both farming and processing, strengthening rural livelihoods.”

The Foundation’s initiatives continue to focus on enabling market access, promoting value addition, and strengthening women-led agricultural enterprises across diverse geographies.

Dr. Payal Kanodia, Chairperson and Trustee, M3M Foundation, added, “At M3M Foundation, our approach is to work closely with farmers, especially women, and strengthen their role as decision-makers in agriculture. We are not only supporting them in cultivation but also enabling value addition, market access, and sustainable practices, so that farming becomes more resilient and profitable. Platforms like Kisan Kumbh help amplify their efforts by connecting them directly with larger markets and opportunities.”

M3M Foundation’s participation at Kisan Kumbh 2026 reflects its continued commitment to strengthening grassroots enterprises and creating meaningful, market-driven opportunities for farmers across India.

About M3M Foundation

M3M Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the M3M Group, working across education, health, livelihoods, sports, and environment. With a reach across 22 states and over 1,300 villages, the Foundation has positively impacted more than 5 million lives, driven by a vision of inclusive, sustainable, and transformative nation-building.

Magic Bus India Foundation Earns Great Place To Work
 

Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation.

Balbir Singh, CEO, Great Place To Work, India, said, “At Great Place To Work®, we believe a great workplace is built through trust, purpose, and a people-first approach. By earning this Certification, Magic Bus India Foundation has demonstrated its commitment to prioritising employee experience and cultivating a culture where people thrive. This milestone celebrates the team’s dedication to creating a workplace that inspires excellence.”

Speaking about the recognition, Jayant Rastogi, Global CEO, Magic Bus India Foundation, said, “Being certified as a Great Place to Work® for the sixth consecutive year is a significant milestone for Magic Bus. It reflects the strong culture we have built and the commitment of our people, who bring our purpose to life every single day. This recognition is a testament to the passion, resilience, and belief of our teams in creating opportunities for young people from underserved communities. Their dedication enables us to equip youth with the skills, confidence, and pathways to sustainable livelihoods, helping them transform their futures and contribute meaningfully to India’s growth story.”

Monika Bawa, CHRO, Magic Bus India Foundation, added, “We are proud to receive this recognition, which reflects the strong culture and shared values that define Magic Bus. Our people are at the heart of our work, and we remain committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment that encourages collaboration, continuous learning, and well-being. By investing in our teams and enabling them to grow, we empower them to drive meaningful impact and advance our mission of transforming young lives.”

By placing people at the centre of its approach, Magic Bus continues to strengthen a culture that encourages purpose-driven work, professional growth, and shared success. This recognition underscores the organisation’s ongoing efforts to create a workplace where teams are inspired to collaborate, innovate, and drive lasting social impact.

According to Great Place To Work research, job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the company’s profits and have a fair chance at promotion.
 

About Magic Bus India Foundation

Magic Bus India Foundation is one of India’s leading NGOs in education and skilling. Over the past 27 years, the organisation has expanded its reach and impact across the country through innovative, inclusive, and gender-responsive programmes.

With a strong focus on school-to-work transition, Magic Bus enables adolescents and youth from underserved communities to build the life and employability skills needed to break cycles of poverty and empower future generations. Magic Bus is also empowering women aged 25 years and above, in peri-urban and rural areas, to enable their economic and financial independence.

Through its Adolescent Programme, Magic Bus equips adolescents aged 12 to 18 years with life skills and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), reaching over 38 lakh adolescents. The programme is implemented across 22 states and Union Territories and is strengthened through partnerships with 11 state governments and NITI Aayog, with interventions across nearly 30% of India’s aspirational blocks. Girls account for 52% of participants.

The Livelihood Programme empowers youth aged 18 to 25 years by equipping them with life and employability skills. Since 2015, over 7.15 lakh youth have been skilled, with 80% placed in sustainable jobs. Young women constitute 60% of participants, reflecting a continued focus on gender equity.

The Rural Livelihood Programme empowers women by strengthening life skills, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills. The programme has supported over 2000 women across seven states to establish and sustain enterprises and move towards financial independence.

For more information, visit www.magicbus.org.

About Great Place To Work®
Backed by 30 years of data, Great Place To Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. Through its proprietary For All™ Model and Trust Index™ Survey, it gives organizations the recognition and tools to create a consistently positive employee experience. Its mission is to help every place become a great place to work for all, driving business growth, improving lives, and empowering communities. Through globally recognized and coveted Great Place To Work Certification™ and highly competitive Best Workplaces™ Lists, Great Place To Work enables employers to attract and retain talent, benchmark company culture, and increase revenue. Its platform enables leaders to truly capture, analyze and understand the experience of every employee, and compare outcomes with data collected from more than 100 million employees in 150 countries worldwide. 

Follow Great Place To Work on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram or visit www.greatplacetowork.in.

PwC India Foundation strengthens climate resilient livelihoods for more than 400 farming households through flood recovery initiatives

In Moga, the initiative begins at the household level. PwCIF is supporting more than 90 beneficiary households, with kitchen gardens and backyard poultry, to move towards natural farming, boosting household income and improving nutritional outcomes. Each garden, of about 600 sq. ft., provides year-round access to safe, chemical free vegetables and enables families to save an estimated INR 1,500–2,000 per month on vegetable purchases.

At the same time, the project is building proof points for scale. Ten multi-crop model farms are demonstrating how natural farming, intercropping and soil friendly practices can improve farm economics, with model farmers targeted to increase their incomes by 40%. As these practices gain traction, neighbouring farmers are beginning to replicate them, creating a growing circle of indirect beneficiaries.

To further strengthen farm-based livelihoods, the initiative includes a community-based jaggery processing unit that supports value addition to locally grown sugarcane and better price realisation for farmers. Shared fossil fuel‑free multi-seeding drills are also being used as village-level tool banks to enhance farm efficiency and encourage climate-smart cultivation practices.

As part of the ongoing efforts, the PwC India leadership team visited Moga to engage with farmers and community groups, assess the progress of natural farming and livelihood diversification projects, and reaffirm the organisation's long-term dedication to disaster resilience and livelihood restoration programs.

"PwC India Foundation's role in Punjab is centred around helping farming communities transition from crisis to resilience," said Jaivir Singh, Vice Chairman, PwC India Foundation. "By merging natural farming, diversified livelihoods, and robust village institutions, we aim to support farmers in Moga and Tarn Taran to rebuild with dignity with these initiatives in turn creating replicable models that can be curated to different local contexts across more districts in the country."

The successful implementation in Moga laid the foundation for an extension of the initiative to Tarn Taran. In this flood-affected border district, PwCIF is collaborating with more than 325 households to restore agricultural land, integrate natural farming, and strengthen village disaster response and resilience committees.

Beyond Moga and Tarn Taran, PwCIF’s broader engagement across India focuses on restoring livelihoods, strengthening critical local infrastructure and building community-led disaster preparedness across districts affected by floods. The Foundation aims to create integrated, scalable models that can support farming communities in navigating future climate and livelihood risks, while contributing to India’s long-term sustainable development.

Gharni River: Desilted. Revived. Alive
 

With groundwater declining and monsoons often turning rogue, the response is bold, structured, ambitious, and practical - building resilience, restoring water bodies, and securing long-term water stability for the state.
 

A Nation Running on Empty

India’s water crisis is no longer a distant warning - it’s an everyday challenge. Nearly 80% of the country’s agricultural and domestic water needs rely on groundwater, while only about 20% come from rainfall and surface sources like rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. For more than two decades, extraction has outpaced natural recharge, causing water tables to fall. Disruptions in the hydrological cycle and increasingly erratic rainfall have intensified stress.
 

The imbalance is stark: an estimated 239 trillion litres of groundwater is extracted each year, yet only around 6% of rainfall is effectively stored, while nearly 78% flows into rivers and eventually the sea. Aquifers remain under severe strain, highlighting the urgent need for structured conservation, storage, and recharge systems.
 

Between Drought and Flood

For years, large parts of Maharashtra have swung between extremes - drought and flood. Failed or uneven monsoons bring acute scarcity, while heavy rainfall rushes away unchecked, causing damage instead of relief. Streams and rivers that once held water longer are now shallow and silted, reducing storage and weakening groundwater recharge. Increasing reliance on borewells and deeper wells further lowers water tables.
 

Communities face frequent droughts, declining agricultural productivity, crop losses, flood damage, and dependence on tanker water. This cycle - scarcity, over-extraction, runoff, and loss - reveals that the problem is not rainfall alone, but how water is managed. Structured, long-term conservation became not just necessary, but urgent.
 

Jalyukt Shivar 2.0: Turning Rain into Security

The initiative is driven by a single, practical goal: make Maharashtra drought-resilient through systematic water management. Its core objectives:

• Capture and store rainwater efficiently

• Strengthen groundwater recharge

• Stabilise and improve agricultural productivity
   

By rebuilding natural water-holding systems, Jalyukt Shivar 2.0 converts short-lived monsoons into year-round security - benefiting farmers, villages, and future generations.
 

Reviving Maharashtra’s Waterways

Jalyukt Shivar 2.0 revitalises rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes by desilting, deepening, and widening channels. Pond and lake silt is reused on marginal farms, improving soil fertility.
 

Maharashtra faces a challenging reality: 80–90% of rainfall falls within just a few months, and most of it runs off without recharging groundwater. Jalyukt Shivar 2.0 changes this, raising infiltration from 6% to 25–35% through scientific, phased interventions:
 

• Phase I (2013 - 2019): Focused on drought-prone regions, desilting, stream deepening, and water storage

• Phase II (2024 - 2026): Expands coverage, consolidates long-term water security
   

Scale & Impact

• 2,90,64,668 cubic metres of silt removed from rivers, including Gharni, Tavarja, Jana, Mudgul, and more

• 16,716 million litres of water conserved since 2013

• 12,38,175 total beneficiaries
  ​

Farm-Level Benefits:

• Higher yields: Consistent water and soil moisture support better cultivation and crop rotation.

• Stronger incomes: Multiple crop cycles and diversified farming reduce risk and stabilise earnings.

• Flood resilience: Wider, desilted streams prevent waterlogging, erosion, and crop loss.

• Lower drought risk: Recharged aquifers provide water even during dry spells.
   

National Recognition

In November 2025, The Art of Living Social Projects was honoured by the Ministry of Jal Shakti with two national awards - Best Civil Society at the 6th National Water Awards 2024 (for the second consecutive year) and Best NGO award under Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari (JSJB 1.0).
 

These accolades recognise the scale, innovation, and measurable impact of Jalyukt Shivar 2.0 - a model for science-driven, community-led, long-term water resilience across India. As Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has said, “Our survival depends on water; it is the basis of our life force. We need to protect and nurture the sources of water.” This insight underlines the very ethos of Jalyukt Shivar 2.0: protecting water is protecting life.

About The Art of Living Social Projects

The Art of Living, a non-profit, educational and humanitarian organisation founded in 1981 by world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, is deeply committed to addressing India’s pressing water challenges. Through large-scale water conservation initiatives, the organisation works to alleviate water scarcity, restore ecosystems and enhance the quality of life for communities across the country.
 

To learn more about the initiative or explore CSR partnerships, visit: Best NGO for CSR projects in India.
 

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Seema Singh spends time with children supported by MeghaShrey, the self-funded foundation through which she educates, mentors and empowers young lives across India

In a candid exchange with host Karishma Mehta, Seema opens up about her journey from a sheltered upbringing in Patna to building a life of extraordinary impact in Mumbai. What emerges is a portrait of a woman reshaping lives far from the spotlight.

Watch the full conversation here: youtu.be/9DuHfQiEO-I?si=f3_d0EXCbIcUH32W

At the heart of her work is MeghaShrey, an NGO she self-funds entirely, with no CSR grants and no corporate sponsorships.
 

Named after her children Meghna and Shrey, the organization has touched thousands of lives, from adopting a school of 1,000 girls in Bihar with scholarships and self-defense training, to vaccinating nearly 100,000 women against cervical cancer across rural Maharashtra, Bihar, Punjab, and Delhi.
 

She also supports 150 children in Mumbai with education and sports, and aids over 120 senior citizens at an old age home in Dahisar.

Her anti-dowry advocacy was sparked by something deeply personal, watching her household helper unable to marry off her daughter because the groom's family demanded a scooter. That moment, she says, changed everything.

Beyond philanthropy, Seema champions India's artisan economy through her fashion label SS by Seema Singh, created to support weavers and emerging designers hit hardest by the pandemic.

This is the kind of conversation you'll want to sit with.

Launch of Birth Anomalies Network of India (BIND)

In India, birth anomalies affect an estimated 600,000 newborns annually and contribute significantly to infant mortality, lifelong disabilities, and financial and emotional strain on families. As deaths from infectious causes decline in India, congenital anomalies account for a growing proportion of child mortality but often receive insufficient attention.

Gaps in Care for Children with  Anomalies

BIND seeks to align stakeholders across government, healthcare, research institutions, and civil society to strengthen surveillance and data systems, promote preventive measures, expand awareness of anomaly scans and newborn screening, improve timely access to quality treatment, and drive evidence-informed policymaking in a coordinated way. At the core of the initiative is the proposed National Birth Anomalies Registry, which aims to generate authentic data, identify preventable risk factors, and guide equitable resource allocation.

Speaking at the launch, Mamta Carroll, Vice President and Regional Director, Asia, Smile Train, said, “Birth anomalies have remained under-recognized in public discourse for far too long. BIND aims to create a unified platform that brings together clinicians, researchers, caregivers, policymakers and civil society around a shared national purpose. BIND is launched with an ambitious vision to a more enabling and inclusive environment where every child born with a birth anomaly has timely access to timely information, quality treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term support, and every family is empowered with the care and dignity they deserve.”

Dr. Anita Kar, Director, Birth Defects Research Foundation, Pune highlighted the research gap, stating, “India lacks robust nationwide data on the true burden, causes, and long-term outcomes of birth anomalies. Without strong surveillance and registry systems, policies remain fragmented and reactive. Children with congenital conditions require integrated, multidisciplinary care, from early diagnosis to safe and sustained comprehensive care supported by sustained public investment and evidence-based planning.”

The launch of this initiative on March 2, 2026, at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi and was attended by healthcare leaders, researchers, civil society organizations, affected individuals and families to advance a coordinated national agenda. A whitepaper outlining the roadmap for a proposed National Birth Anomalies Task Force and recommendations was released at the event.

About Smile Train India: www.smiletrainindia.org

About Birth Defects Research Foundation: www.birthdefectsindia.com

Rotary Club of Chennai Legends and Rotary Dist 3234 Donate 225 Free Bicycles to Schoolgirls in Chennai

Rtn. Anirudha Roychowdhury, Past Director of Rotary International, attended the event as the Chief Guest, while AKS. Rtn. Vinod Saraogi, District Governor of RI District 3234, participated as the Guest of Honour. The occasion was also graced by Rtn. Ravi Sundaresan, District Governor Nominee (2028–29), RI District 3234; Rtn. Dr. Latha Rajendran, Chair – DEI 2025–26, RI District 3234; Rtn. Dr. Kumar Rajendran, Project Chair, Rotary Club of Chennai Legends; and Rtn. Dr. M. Durga, Chair – CSR, Rotary Club of Chennai Legends.

Prior to the bicycle distribution, Rotary Club of Chennai Legends conducted a road safety awareness programme for the beneficiaries in association with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. The bicycles distributed were high-quality models manufactured by a leading Indian brand and specially designed for girls.

Meridian Global Ventures Private Limited extended support for the initiative through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding, while participating Rotary Clubs also contributed towards the project.

Speaking on the occasion, Rtn Dr. Kumar Rajendran said: “The Gift of Mobility is both important and empowering for these girls. It enables them to travel to and from school independently, without having to rely on others, thus ensuring continuity of education and safety. Along with the bicycles, we conducted a hands-on road safety programme to ensure that they ride safely and confidently. We are grateful to fellow Rotary Clubs and Meridian Global Ventures for their support. We will continue to donate bicycles every year in the future.”

He further added that Rotary Club of Chennai Legends identified deserving girl students. It may be noted that Rotary Club of Chennai Legends has been actively supporting livelihood initiatives by donating sewing machines to deserving women and providing free tailoring training at its vocational training centre.

For more details: cl@ri3234.org.

White Tiger in captivity : Shubhobroto Ghosh

For the American ambassador there are many wonderful opportunities to experience the beauty of elephants in India, a country that has revered the creature in art, history, folklore and culture and as the symbol of worship as Ganesha. The National Heritage Animal Of India, with more than sixty percent of their wild population found in India, is found in many national parks and sanctuaries in India where they can be observed in their regal splendor, interacting their own kind and indulging in patterns of behaviour that are similar to our own. Surely, for a representative of a foreign country, it is more befitting to watch these animals as nature intended them to be, rather than in unnatural surroundings where they have been reduced to pathetic caricatures of their natural selves.

Elephants in Haathi Gaon in Jaipur photo credit : Shubhobroto Ghosh

“World Animal Protection requests the representatives of all foreign countries in India, be they officials for tourists, to refrain from patronizing cruel elephant elephant rides, not only in Jaipur, but throughout the country. Wild animals should be admired where they belong in the wild, and India offers rich and diverse opportunities in this regard,” says Gajender Kumar Sharma, Country Director, World Animal Protection in India.

There is also the topic of abuse of captive tigers that has come into media spotlight of late. Seventy two tigers have died in captive facilities in Chiang Mai in Thailand reportedly due to a virus. More than two million Indians visit Thailand every year and numerous Indian tourists visit low welfare captive venues that house tigers in Thailand, to endorse captive animal abuse, specifically to ride elephants and take close up photographs with animals like tigers. The recent incident highlights the focus on the unethical and exploitative nature of this cruel industry that is abusing big cats for profit. With the Big Cat Summit announced to take place in India in 2026, World Animal Protection urges all authorities in the Ministry Of Environment and Forests and Ministry of Tourism to discourage any activities that promote the abuse of big cats in India and abroad, including close encounters with big cats in substandard zoos in countries like Thailand. “World Animal Protection has already exposed the plight of captive tigers in Thailand and continues to remain vigilant to ensure these atrocities do not continue,” says Gajender Kumar Sharma, Country Director, World Animal Protection in India.

There is also concern about the plight of a captive white tiger in Patna Zoo that has been seen to display stereotypic behaviour, a common pattern of behaviour in captive carnivores. World Animal Protection has extensive information and research material on this kind of behaviour that is considered to be the result of prolonged captivity and deprivation of natural stimulants that shape the lives of wide ranging carnivores like tigers. In this regard, World Animal Protection has alerted the Central Zoo Authority to the welfare aspects of this particular tiger, requesting immediate attention to alleviate the animal’s behavioural status and physical health.

In a fast changing and conflict ridden world, the motto of World Animal Protection remains, wildlife belongs in the world.

For more information, please contact : Gajender Kumar Sharma, Country Director, World Animal Protection

Email : gajenderksharma@worldanimalprotection.org.in.

Mobile phone : 9313333283

Inaugural lamp lighting at Vishwa Yuvak Kendra’s Aahvaan 2026, symbolising shared commitment to collaboration, impact, and inclusive development

The inaugural session set the tone by highlighting the evolution of CSR in India from compliance to strategic collaboration. Chief Guest Dr. Rajesh Tandon, Founder President, PRIA and Co-chair, UNESCO Chair in CBRSR, urged stakeholders to align social and financial capital and focus on grassroots impact evaluation and regional dialogue. In his keynote address, Guest of Honour, Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, IAS (Retd.), Former DG & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), noted that CSR has grown into a INR 36,000 crore ecosystem and must now prioritise accountability, measurable outcomes, and long-term nation-building.

Vishwa Yuvak Kendra’s Aahvaan 2026 brings leaders together to deepen NGO–CSR partnerships for inclusive growth and Viksit Bharat @2047

Across multiple panel sessions, participants examined evolving CSR regulations, livelihood generation, technology for social good, CSR implementation, strategic partnerships, and village-centric development. Discussions highlighted the need to move beyond skilling to sustainable livelihoods, integrate soft and life skills, strengthen post-placement support, and ensure long-term donor and corporate commitment.

Panels on technology for social good stressed inclusive design, equitable access, and treating technology as core infrastructure rather than a standalone solution. Speakers shared examples of digital platforms enabling healthcare, livelihoods, women entrepreneurship, and data-driven decision-making, while cautioning against exclusion, fragmented systems, and weak monitoring.

On Day 2, sessions focused on bridging gaps between CSR and NGOs, environmental stewardship, preventive healthcare, and alignment with government priorities, particularly in aspirational blocks. The Viksit Gaon, Viksit Bharat @2047 session underscored community-led development, diversified rural livelihoods, education funding, climate resilience, and accountability as pillars of inclusive growth.

The valedictory session reflected on key learnings and the way forward. Chief Guest Mr. Pavitra Kumar Dubey, IRS, Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Delhi, called for CSR to move beyond checklist-driven approaches toward emotionally and strategically invested partnerships. Speakers emphasised capacity building, transparency, monitoring, and shared ownership as essential to sustainable impact.

Concluding the conclave, Mr. Uday Shankar Singh, CEO-Vishwa Yuvak Kendra, called for structured partnerships, shared knowledge platforms, and data-driven, community-empowering interventions. He emphasized that Aahvaan is not merely an event but a collective responsibility, calling for stronger bridges between grassroots realities and corporate decision-making, aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.

Sector leaders across the nation including Dr. Rajesh Tandon, Dr. Bhaskar Chatterjee, Mr. Pavitra Kumar Dubey, Mr. Uday Wankawala, Mr. Vivek Prakash, Mr. Ashok Kumar Gupta, Mr. Vishal Bhardwaj, Mr. Chetan Kapoor, Mr. Arun Upadhyay, Mr. Sandip Kumar Katna, Mr. Mathew Joseph, Mr. M. Prabhakar Das, Ms. Sudha Jhijaria, Mr. Nishant Sinha, Mr. Dhiren Handique, Mr. Vipul Kant Upadhyay, Mr. Sandeep Kumar, Mr. Sujeet Sarkar, Mr. Ashutosh Burnwal, Ms. Monika Walia, Mr. Ajay Pandey, Mr. Sushant Verma, Dr. K.K. Upadhyay, Dr. Nayan Chakravarty, Dr. P.K. Sahoo graced the event and shared their thoughts. The programme was coordinated by Manjunath K, Programme Officer, Vishwa Yuvak Kendra.

Lives cannot wait-RDIF observed International Rare Disease Day 2026 at SGPGI, Lucknow

A special “Walk4Rare” Awareness Walk was organized to spread awareness among the general public. The walk created significant visibility and sensitized the community about the challenges faced by rare disease patients and their families.

The primary objective of the event was to provide a comprehensive platform for patients and caregivers to address their concerns related to diagnosis, treatment options, caregiving challenges, physiotherapy, and other essential medical assistance. Experts conducted interactive sessions to answer general queries and guide families regarding available support systems. The program also included cultural performances by patients and families, celebrating resilience and hope within the rare disease community.

Dr. Devendra Gupta, Chief Medical Superintendent of SGPGI, underlined the critical role of Patient Advocacy Groups in bridging the gap between patients, healthcare providers, and policymakers. He stressed that collaborative efforts are essential to ensure early diagnosis, accessible treatment, and sustained care.

Dr. Kaushik Mandal, Head of the Department of Pediatrics, SGPGI Lucknow, assured the community that the medical fraternity stands firmly with rare disease patients. He stated, “We are available 24x7 to support this community because we understand their suffering very closely.”

Mr. Saurabh Singh, Co-Founder & Director of Rare Diseases India Foundation (RDIF), stated that the Rs. 50 lakh funding cap under the National Policy for Rare Diseases 2021 is insufficient for many high-cost and lifelong treatments, particularly for Group 3 patients. He expressed concern that several patients are deteriorating after exhausting the sanctioned funds, leading to interruption or stoppage of treatment. He also highlighted that some rare diseases are still awaiting inclusion under the policy framework. Emphasizing that patients are not seeking free services but affordable and sustainable access to medicines, he added that the community remains hopeful for positive intervention from the Supreme Court of India to ensure justice and continuity of care.

The Program concluded with a strong message of unity, awareness, and collective responsibility — reaffirming the commitment to build an inclusive healthcare ecosystem where rare disease patients are not invisible but empowered.

More than a commemorative milestone, Purple Manthan was positioned as a strategic stock-taking, asking a critical question: Have we moved from rights on paper to inclusion in practice?
 

APD’s Resource Book on Accessibility in Educational Institutions unveiled at Purple Manthan 2026, marking 10 years of the RPwD Act
 

At the heart of the conclave was the launch of APD’s ‘Resource Book on Accessibility in Educational Institutions’, a first-of-its-kind, practice-oriented guide designed to help schools, colleges, and universities embed accessibility across infrastructure, digital systems, pedagogy, and campus life.
 

Developed by APD, the resource book distils over a decade of the organisation’s on-ground implementation experience, policy engagement, and institutional partnerships. It provides institutions with actionable frameworks, checklists, and design pathways to translate statutory mandates into measurable, everyday inclusion.
 

Launching the book, Mrs Manmeet Nanda, Additional Secretary, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), said, “The RPwD Act laid the legal foundation for accessibility, but its true impact depends on how consistently and thoughtfully it is implemented on the ground. This resource book is a timely and valuable contribution, offering institutions a clear, practical roadmap to translate policy into everyday practice. By bridging the gap between legislation and lived experience, it has the potential to significantly strengthen inclusive education in India.”
 

Dr N. S. Senthil Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, APD, said, “A decade after the RPwD Act, we must shift the conversation from compliance to commitment. Inclusion cannot remain a checklist; it must become a design principle. Through this Resource Book, APD seeks to equip institutions not just to meet legal standards, but to reimagine learning spaces where accessibility is foundational, not an afterthought. Purple Manthan is our call to action for the next decade, one anchored in accountability, collaboration, and measurable change.”
 

Purple Manthan 2026 featured high-level discussions on policy, practice, and innovation, with a strong emphasis on translating rights into real-world outcomes. Three thematic sessions, on Livelihoods, Accessibility, and Governance & Data, explored the structural and intersectional barriers that continue to limit full participation.
 

APD anchored the accessibility-focused session, moderated by Dr Bhumika Modh, Head – Policy Advocacy and Collaborations, APD, which examined the shift from legal mandates to mainstream implementation. The session explored how inclusive design, community-based approaches, and technological innovation can collectively build enabling environments for participation across physical and digital spaces. The conclave concluded with The Manthan, an interactive strategy articulation session led by Prof. Anil Suraj of IIM Bangalore, consolidating cross-sector insights into forward-looking recommendations for the next decade.

An MoU between The Art of Living Social Projects & Autocracy Machinery signals the launch of a nationwide mission to revive India’s water bodies
 

Responding to a Growing Need

The Art of Living Social Projects has received an overwhelming number of requests for lake and pond rejuvenation from across the country. In many inhabited areas - from expanding cities to small towns and villages - untreated sewage continues to flow into local water bodies. The consequences are stark: water turns dark and foul-smelling, oxygen levels plummet, fish perish, algal blooms spread unchecked, and once-thriving ecosystems slide into slow, suffocating decline.
 

The new partnership ensures that The Art of Living Social Projects can undertake scientifically designed restoration projects anywhere in India, supported by appropriate funding and technical capacity.
 

Autocracy Machinery in Action: Innovation on Water, Under Water and On Land

Autocracy Machinery, an emerging Indian start-up, brings specialised equipment designed to operate on water, under water and on land - enabling thorough, end-to-end restoration. From removing invasive weeds and decades of silt to clearing sludge and stabilising lake beds, the machinery tackles the visible damage head-on.
 

Mechanical cleaning is the critical first step. Years of pollutants and sediment must be cleared before a water body can recover.
 

Nature-Based Healing: Bio-remediation and Phyto-remediation

Following the physical cleaning process, The Art of Living Social Projects will introduce ecological restoration measures to ensure long-term sustainability.
 

Bio-remediation involves using beneficial microorganisms to naturally break down sewage, organic waste and harmful pollutants present in the water.
 

Phyto-remediation uses carefully selected aquatic plants to absorb toxins, heavy metals and excess nutrients, thereby restoring water quality in a natural and environmentally friendly manner.
 

Advanced Oxygenation through Nano Bubbles

To strengthen natural restoration methods, The Art of Living Social Projects will introduce nano bubble technology - an advanced system for water oxygenation and purification.
 

These ultra-fine oxygen bubbles, less than 200 nanometres in size, remain suspended in water instead of rising to the surface. Containing over 95% oxygen, they disperse evenly and release oxygen gradually, boosting dissolved oxygen levels, supporting beneficial microbes and accelerating the breakdown of pollutants.
 

The result is clearer water, healthier aquatic life and stronger ecosystem recovery.
 

By combining mechanical, biological and technological solutions, this approach shifts restoration from a one-time clean-up into lasting ecological renewal.
 

Reviving Communities Through Water

India’s lakes and ponds are not idle waters; they are living ecosystems, climate buffers and anchors of community life. When a water body comes back to life, the impact reaches far beyond its banks - groundwater recharge improves, biodiversity returns, health risks decline and livelihoods strengthen, as communities reclaim spaces that once shaped their identity. Their restoration is not just an environmental priority, but a social and ecological necessity.
 

About The Art of Living Social Projects

The Art of Living, a non-profit, educational and humanitarian organisation founded in 1981 by world-renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, is deeply committed to addressing India’s pressing water challenges. Through large-scale water conservation initiatives, the organisation works to alleviate water scarcity, restore ecosystems and enhance the quality of life for communities across the country.
 

To learn more about the initiative or explore CSR partnerships, visit: Best NGO for CSR projects in India
 

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NR Foundation donates 14 three-seater metal sofa sets to the District Hospital & Epidemic Diseases Hospital, Mysuru, enhancing patient comfort and supporting community healthcare

The donation was formally handed over in the presence of District Surgeon, Dr. Sathish N. V, Resident Medical Officer Dr. Hariprasadh J. and NR Foundation Chairman Sri R. Guru. The support comes in response to a requisition from the Office of the District Surgeon, which highlighted the urgent need for seating arrangements in outpatient departments and wards. With hundreds of patients and relatives visiting the hospital daily, the availability of proper seating is critical to easing their experience during long waiting hours.

“At NR Foundation, we believe that true service lies in addressing the everyday needs of people with dignity and compassion. Healthcare is not only about medicines and treatment, it is also about the environment in which patients and their families spend their time. By providing these metal sofa sets, we hope to ease their experience, offer comfort during difficult moments, and reinforce our commitment to community welfare. This initiative is a small step in our larger vision of supporting healthcare and uplifting lives across Mysuru and beyond,” Sri R. Guru, Chairman, NR Foundation

“We are deeply grateful to Mr. R Guru and NR Foundation for their generous support. The support of 14 three-seater metal sofa sets will greatly improve the comfort and dignity of our patients and their families, especially those who spend long hours waiting in the OPD and wards. Such contributions directly strengthen public healthcare facilities and reflect the compassion and commitment of the Foundation towards community welfare,” Dr. Sathish N. V, District Surgeon, District Hospital & Epidemic Diseases Hospital, Mysuru

This initiative builds on NR Foundation’s long-standing support for healthcare, including its critical contributions during the pandemic. At that time, the Foundation provided cots to the District Hospital, along with sanitizers and face masks, supporting both the community and the district administration in their fight against COVID-19. These efforts underscored NR Foundation’s commitment to standing by society during times of crisis.

Today, through the support of medal sofa sets, NR Foundation continues to reinforce its belief that small, thoughtful interventions can create meaningful change. The Foundation remains dedicated to healthcare, education, women empowerment, and skill development, ensuring that its legacy of compassion and service touches lives across Mysuru and beyond.

About NR Foundation

NR Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the NR Group, the makers of Cycle Pure Agarbathi. Guided by the values of compassion, community service, and sustainability, the Foundation is dedicated to creating meaningful impact across healthcare, education, women empowerment, and skill development. Over the years, NR Foundation has supported initiatives ranging from rural healthcare camps and livelihood programs to educational scholarships and cultural preservation projects. Rooted in Mysuru yet reaching communities across India, NR Foundation continues to uphold the Group’s legacy of service by fostering dignity, opportunity, and long-term social transformation.

Eminent healthcare leaders and scientific experts at the Metropolis Centre of Genomics Scientific Symposium in Mumbai

The symposium also marked the formal unveiling of Metropolis’ Centre of Genomics to the clinician community, reinforcing the Company’s broader clinical engagement initiative focused on embedding advanced molecular diagnostics into routine medical practice. As precision medicine gains momentum in India and globally, the forum highlighted the shift from episodic testing to integrated, molecular-driven care pathways enabling earlier diagnosis, precise risk stratification, and personalised treatment across oncology, neurology, and women & child health.

Ms. Ameera Shah, Promoter and Executive Chairperson, Metropolis Healthcare addressing at the Centre of Genomics Scientific Symposium

Across oncology, discussions centred on tumour profiling, biomarker-driven therapies, and the expanding role of next-generation sequencing in guiding targeted cancer care. Neurogenomics sessions examined inherited and rare neurological disorders, including genetic epilepsies and neuromuscular conditions, highlighting how genomic testing can reduce diagnostic delays and enable personalised management strategies. In women and child health, experts explored reproductive genomics, prenatal diagnostics, and genetic counselling, underscoring the role of early molecular insights in improving pregnancy outcomes and paediatric care. 

These thematic discussions were conducted through parallel sub-specialty sessions led by Key Opinion Leaders, Medical Advisory Board members, and distinguished national and international speakers, featuring panel discussions and case-based deliberations to deepen clinical engagement across specialties.

Clinicians also shared real-world case experiences demonstrating how genomics is enabling a transition from symptomatic management to evidence-based, targeted interventions, improving diagnostic clarity and reducing uncertainty in complex clinical scenarios. The discussions reflected a broader shift toward longitudinal, data-driven diagnostic journeys that support continuous and personalised patient management.

Commenting on the initiative, Ms. Ameera Shah, Promoter and Executive Chairperson, Metropolis Healthcare Limited, said, “The next phase of healthcare will be defined by how effectively genomic intelligence is embedded into clinical workflows at scale. The opportunity ahead lies in creating connected ecosystems where diagnostics, data science, and clinical expertise work seamlessly together. At Metropolis, we are focused on integrating molecular intelligence into everyday decision-making so that precision medicine moves toward becoming the standard of care, not the exception.”

Dr. Kirti Chadha, Chief Scientific and Innovation Officer, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd., said, “As genomic medicine expands, the real challenge is not access to technology but ensuring accuracy, interpretation, and accountability at every step. Scaling responsibly requires rigorous validation frameworks, structured reporting standards, and close collaboration between scientists and clinicians so that genomic findings are applied with clarity and confidence in patient care.”

The symposium featured participation from an eminent panel of national and international clinicians and experts, including Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee Dr. Suresh Advani, Senior Consultant, Medical Oncology, Jaslok Hospital; Dr. Aniruddha Deshpande, Professor, Sanford Burnham Prebys, La Jolla, California; Prof. Stefan Bohlander, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Auckland, New Zealand; Dr. Jyoti Bajpai, Senior Consultant, Precision Oncology, Sir H.N. Reliance Hospital and Apollo Hospital; Dr. Mehboob Basade, Senior Consultant, Medical Oncology, H.N. Reliance Hospital, Jaslok Hospital and Saifee Hospital; Dr. Anita Bhaduri, Senior Consultant, Histopathology, P.D. Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai; Dr. Charulata Sankhla, Neurologist, P.D. Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai; Dr. Rahul T. Chakor, Neurologist, Nair Hospital, Mumbai; Dr. Neelu Desai, Paediatric Neurologist, P.D. Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai; Dr. Pradnya Gadgil, Senior Consultant, Paediatric Neurology and Complex Epilepsy, SRCC Children’s Hospital; Dr. Mayank Nilay, Clinical Geneticist, Post Graduate Institute of Child Health, Noida; Dr. Sunita Tandulwadkar, Ex-President, FOGSI and Chief IVF Consultant and Endoscopist, Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune; Dr. Chander Lulla, Consultant Sonologist and Fetal Medicine Specialist, Head – Ultrasound, Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai and Senior Consultant at Reliance HN Hospital and Ria Clinic; and Dr. Anupkumar Rawool, Senior Consultant Clinical and Cancer Geneticist, Founder and Director, Sahaj Genetic Clinic, Pune.

About Metropolis Centre of Genomics 
The Centre of Genomics at Metropolis Healthcare Limited is an integrated precision diagnostics platform built on the Company’s long-standing expertise in molecular diagnostics and precision oncology. Bringing together two CAP-accredited national referral laboratories, advanced next-generation sequencing technologies, and multidisciplinary scientific expertise, the Centre delivers clinically actionable genomic medicine across India.

It supports high-impact specialties including oncology, neurology, reproductive health, transplant immunology, and rare diseases through a comprehensive portfolio of NGS-based assays, robust bioinformatics, clinical interpretation, and genetic counselling across the care continuum. By combining cutting-edge technology with strong clinical governance and scientific stewardship, the Centre transforms complex genomic data into actionable intelligence, enabling earlier diagnosis, targeted therapies, and personalised patient management.

Beyond its current capabilities, the Centre of Genomics serves as a platform for continuous test development, AI-enabled analytics, and deeper digital integration to further strengthen clinical outcomes and operational excellence. With active engagement in pharmaceutical programs, clinical trials, and international collaborations, it is positioned as a strategic partner for global research, companion diagnostics, and precision-led drug development.

About Metropolis Healthcare Limited 
Established in 1981, Metropolis Healthcare Limited is India’s second-largest diagnostic chain, led by visionary leader Ms. Ameera Shah, Promoter and Executive Chairperson. With over four decades of excellence, Metropolis has been a pioneer in delivering best-in-class diagnostic services to patients, healthcare providers, and corporates across India and Africa. The company’s extensive footprint spans 28 states, 7 Union Territories, and over 750 towns in India, supported by a robust network of more than 220 laboratories, 4,800+ service centers, and over 10,000 touchpoints. 

Each year, Metropolis serves millions of individuals by providing actionable health insights that empower better clinical outcomes. Metropolis offers a comprehensive range of more than 4,000 tests and profiles, including advanced tests for diagnosing cancer, neurological disorders, infectious diseases, and various genetic abnormalities. The company’s commitment to quality and accuracy is reinforced by its consistent CAP proficiency score of over 98% for the past decade, placing it among the top 1% of laboratories worldwide for quality assurance. The Metropolis philosophy is built on the pillars of technological superiority, a warm, patient-centric approach, and reliable diagnostic reports. 

For more information, please visit www.metropolisindia.com or click on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

The Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation announced the awardees for the 29th Mahaveer Awards, recognising outstanding individuals and institutions for their selfless service in the fields of Non-Violence & Vegetarianism, Education, Medicine, and Community & Social Service.

L-R: NIRMAN Odisha; Sangkhumi Bualchhuak Mizoram; Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation - Karnataka; CORD - Himachal Pradesh; Sarhad - Maharashtra

The awardees for the 29th Mahaveer Awards are: Sarhad, Maharashtra - Non-Violence & Vegetarianism; CORD, Himachal Pradesh - Education; Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation, Karnataka - Medicine; Smt. Sangkhumi Bualchhuak, Mizoram - Community & Social Service; and NIRMAN, Odisha - Community & Social Service.

Sarhad works to promote peace and non-violence in conflict-prone regions through cultural dialogue and youth engagement. CORD empowers marginalised communities, especially women and persons with disabilities, through education and rural development initiatives. Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation provides accessible cancer care through its hospitals and outreach programmes in Karnataka and Odisha. Smt. Sangkhumi Bualchhuak of Mizoram has dedicated decades to advancing women’s rights and community welfare. NIRMAN works with tribal communities in Odisha to strengthen livelihoods, women-led institutions, and food security.

Instituted to honour exemplary humanitarian efforts, the Mahaveer Awards are presented annually to individuals and organisations that have made sustained contributions towards the welfare of the underprivileged and the weaker sections of society. Each Mahaveer Award carries a cash prize of Rs. 10 lakh, along with a commendatory citation and a memento.

With the selection of the 2026 awardees, the total number of Mahaveer Award recipients has now reached 101, covering 26 States and 2 Union Territories. So far, 96 awardees have been honoured prior to this edition. Over the years, the Mahaveer Awards have been presented by eminent personalities including the President of India, Vice President of India, Governors, Chief Ministers, and Union Ministers at formal functions.

For the 29th Mahaveer Awards, 267 nominations received from across the country were carefully evaluated by an eminent Selection Jury, headed by Justice Shri M. N. Venkatachaliah, Former Chief Justice of India. The members of the Selection Jury include Acharya Shri Chandanaji Maharaj, Eminent Sanyasini; Dr. Justice Shri D. Y. Chandrachud, Former Chief Justice of India; Shri S.Gurumurthy-Part time Director RBI and Editor Thuglak, Prof B.M. Hegde Chairman Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan Mangalore Kendra,  Shri T. S. Krishnamurthy, Former Chief Election Commissioner of India; Shri D. R. Mehta, I.A.S. (Retd.), Former Chairman, SEBI; Shri Prabhat Kumar, I.A.S. (Retd.), Former Cabinet Secretary, Government of India; and Justice Shri G. S. Singhvi, Former Judge of the Supreme Court of India.

In his comments, Shri Sugalchand Jain, Founder, Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation, said, “We believe that individuals and organisations dedicated to non-violence & vegetarianism, education, medicine, and community & social service play a vital role in the holistic development of our nation. For nearly three decades, through the Mahaveer Awards, we have been recognising the extraordinary contributions of such changemakers who work tirelessly for the welfare of society. We are honoured to recognise the awardees of the 29th edition whose inspiring efforts continue to uplift the underprivileged and promote compassion and social harmony. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to them and express our gratitude to the esteemed jury members for their thoughtful and meticulous selection process.”

The Foundation has also invited nominations for the 30th Mahaveer Awards from individuals and institutions engaged in selfless service in the four award categories. Nomination forms can be downloaded from the Foundation’s website: www.bmfawards.org. 

NDMC Students Bring Book Series “Smiles That Shine” to Life Through Theatre for National Cleft Day

As part of this initiative, Smile Train India rolled out "The ABCs of Change" (Awareness, Behaviour, and Confidence) across 10 NDMC schools, using storytelling, interactive learning, and creative engagement to build early awareness, empathy, and inclusion among primary school children. The programme integrates cleft awareness into classrooms, positioning children as active participants and ambassadors of change within their schools, families, and communities.

Central to the initiative is Smile Train India's picture book series, "Smiles that Shine," the first-of-its-kind children's series designed to promote empathy, kindness, and understanding around facial differences, including cleft lip and palate. Through imaginative storytelling and relatable characters, the books normalise differences, encourage conversations around self-confidence and identity, and help reduce stigma from an early age.

The school programme concluded with a three-day creative theatre workshop led by Rahul Khanna, a renowned theatre practitioner and storytelling facilitator. Primary school students from NDMC schools developed and performed short plays inspired by the "Smiles that Shine" stories, bringing the narratives to life through expressive enactment and reinforcing messages of empathy, inclusion, and acceptance.

Cleft lip and palate is a treatable birth difference, affecting approximately 1 in every 700 children. However, lack of awareness, social stigma, and misinformation often delay treatment, impacting a child's health, speech development, confidence, and social integration. By embedding awareness within schools, Smile Train India and NDMC aim to encourage a more inclusive environment for children with facial differences.

Speaking on the initiative, Kritika Choudhary, Director, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) said, "Schools are not only places of learning but also where empathy and inclusion are shaped. This partnership with Smile Train India brings together health awareness and creative learning. By engaging children through stories and theatre, we hope these values extend beyond classrooms into homes and communities."

Mamta Carroll, Senior Vice President and Regional Director, Asia Smile Train India, added, "Cleft care goes beyond medical treatment; it is about building confidence, dignity, and a sense of belonging. Through initiatives like Smiles that Shine, The ABCs of Change, and the culminating theatre workshops, we are using storytelling to help children understand and embrace differences, and to grow up with empathy, kindness, and inclusion at their core."

By anchoring cleft awareness within classrooms and creative expression, Smile Train India and NDMC reaffirm their shared commitment to early intervention, inclusive education, and community-led advocacy, ensuring every child born with a cleft has the opportunity to grow up healthy, confident, and included.

Over 35,000 babies with cleft conditions are born in India each year, and many of them go untreated because of social stigma, misconceptions and a lack of knowledge about the treatment that is available, by improving community level awareness. Smile Train’s school outreach program aims to spread awareness amongst the young minds.

For cleft treatment related query or support, please call our toll-free helpline number: 1800 103 8301.

Enabling Leadership, a non-profit organisation working to equip children from underserved communities with essential life and leadership skills, will host the ELevate 2026 National Finals on February 7 & 8 at the Reva University Campus in Bengaluru. Now in its fourth edition, ELevate has grown into India’s largest mixed-gender football league, the country’s biggest competition for original music compositions, and a national showcase of creativity and innovation through building-block challenges.

Regional Finalists from one of the villages presenting their original composition during the EL Create Regional event

The ELevate 2026 National Finals will be graced by Ms. Meena Chaturvedi, Vice Chair, Gainwell Group as Chief Guest, and Sri. Vikas Kishor Suralkar, I.A.S. Commissioner for School Education, Govt. of Karnataka as the Guest of Honour, who will join educators, donors, partners, volunteers, and supporters in celebrating the achievements of India’s future leaders.

The ELevate journey began over six months ago for the children with qualifiers and regional leagues conducted across 9 cities and 50 villages. More than 10,000 children from government and low-income schools participated in mixed-gender football matches, original music composition abd performance competitions, and building block challenges — demonstrating exceptional teamwork, resilience, and decision-making.

Speaking about the National Finals, Ravi Sonnad, CEO, Enabling Leadership, shares: “ELevate is not about winning trophies. It’s about what children learn about themselves along the way — confidence, courage, teamwork, and the belief that given the right opportunity, they can define their own futures. The awards Enabling Leadership has received in recent months recognise the scale and depth of our work, but ELevate represents its heart. When 650 children step onto a national stage — competing, collaborating, and presenting impact projects — they embody leadership in its truest form. With scholarships supporting their higher education journeys, we are ensuring that talent is met with opportunity.”

From this nationwide journey, 650 outstanding students emerged as National Finalists, representing 55 teams that will now compete at the ELevate 2026 National Finals in Bengaluru. In recognition of both excellence and potential, scholarships worth Rs. 25 lakh will be awarded to approximately 200 national winners, supporting their access to higher education and helping remove financial barriers to their future aspirations.

What sets ELevate apart is its focus on leadership beyond the field and stage. Alongside the competitions, students present impact projects — real-world initiatives designed and implemented by the children themselves to address issues in their schools and communities. These projects reflect the practical application of leadership skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, empathy, and initiative, nurtured through Enabling Leadership’s year-long programs.

Through football, music, and creative problem-solving, ELevate enables children to experience equality in action, challenge stereotypes, and discover their own voice.

About Enabling Leadership

Enabling Leadership is a global non-profit organisation that equips children from under-served backgrounds with the essential Life and Leadership skills necessary for them to work themselves out of the cycle of poverty and become productive and responsible adults.

The organisation currently reaches around 10,000 children across 7 cities and 45 villages in India, Cambodia, Singapore and Kenya. Its programs use the mediums of music (Enabling Leadership Create), football (Enabling Leadership Play) and Lego-type building blocks (Enabling Leadership Build) to inculcate 21st century skills, values and attitudes so students grow to be tomorrow’s role models, global citizens, and change makers.

For more details, please visit: enablingleadership.org.

Declaration of Consciousness Movement (DOCM) Founder- Adhipen Bose Nandhiji

Through sustained initiatives including a formal press interaction, public dialogue, and broad public engagement, DOCM has articulated its perspective on why the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi merits consideration for the Nobel Peace Prize. These efforts reflect an evolving understanding of peace not merely as the absence of conflict, but as a conscious and continuous process shaped by governance, dialogue, and responsibility in an interconnected world. The press engagement marked a significant milestone, providing a platform to highlight how contemporary peace extends beyond traditional definitions. Discussions emphasized the role of awareness-led leadership in fostering stability within nations and contributing constructively to regional and global institutions.

DOCM’s framework for conscious leadership is reflected across nine key areas of impact: humanitarian solidarity reaching more than 150 countries; peace-oriented diplomacy and strategic restraint; environmental stewardship and climate leadership; economic development and poverty alleviation; women’s empowerment through initiatives such as Naari Shakthi; the advancement of digital public infrastructure and governance transformation; cultural diplomacy through yoga and soft power; promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship; and a strong democratic mandate anchored in public trust.

Equally significant has been the public response. Individuals from diverse backgrounds have come forward to lend their voices, reinforcing the belief that leadership guided by conscious intent and long-term vision can create impact beyond national boundaries. This collective participation reflects a shared aspiration for peace that is proactive, preventive, and rooted in human dignity.

As part of this broader vision, DOCM has also proposed August 8 (8/8) as World Consciousness Day, symbolizing balance and the alignment of inner awareness with outward action. India’s civilizational heritage of non-violence and consciousness-based wisdom positions it uniquely to advance this proposal at the United Nations.

At its core, DOCM affirms that peace is sustained when consciousness guides leadership. Through continued dialogue and collective participation, the movement remains committed to advancing awareness as a foundational pillar for a more harmonious and resilient world.

To learn, participate, and add your voice to this Declaration, visit signdc.org.

To know more about the exposure and efforts by DOCM please click on the link below. 

News Articles

Amar Seva Sangam, a premier organization in the field of disability management recently launched one of India's largest Sensory Park at its Ayikudi Center, in Tenkasi District, Tamil Nadu. Developed across five acres with the support of the Australian Consulate in Tamil Nadu, the sensory park integrates nature-based therapeutic interventions, universal accessibility, and dignity-centred rehabilitation, strengthening inclusive, community-based support systems for persons with disabilities. This initiative marks a significant milestone in advancing inclusive, community-based rehabilitation in the State and reflects a shared commitment of Amar Seva Sangam and the Australian Government towards inclusive development, dignity, and empowerment of persons with disabilities.

Amar Seva Sangam Launches, One of India’s Largest Sensory Parks in Tamil Nadu

Supported under the Australian Government’s Direct Aid Program (DAP), funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and administered through the Australian Consulate-General in Chennai, the Sensory Park, with a grant of INR 8 lakhs was inaugurated by Mr. Cameron Noble, Deputy Consul General, Australian Consulate-General, Chennai.

In his inaugural address, Mr. Cameron Noble reaffirmed the Australian Government’s strong commitment to building inclusive societies where persons with disabilities can fulfil their potential. He highlighted that the support to Amar Seva Sangam aligns with Australia’s International Disability Equity and Rights Strategy, integrating disability inclusion across foreign policy, international development, and humanitarian programs. He noted that strengthening the therapeutic and vocational components of the Rehab Orchard would support sensory integration, early intervention, and agricultural-based vocational training for children and adults with disabilities."

Thanking the Australian Government for its valuable support, Mr. S. Sankara Raman, Promoter, Co-Chairman and Secretary of Amar Seva Sangam, said, "The sensory park serves as a sanctuary for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, offering a range of therapeutic and vocational activities such as planting, watering and harvesting, sensory engagement through herbs and soil, tactile pathways, rope bridges, water-based play, and skill training in composting and solar drying. This initiative reinforces Amar Seva Sangam’s long-standing commitment to holistic rehabilitation and social inclusion. Support through the Australian Government’s Direct Aid Program will further strengthen our efforts focused on inclusive development, dignity, and the empowerment of persons with disabilities. We firmly believe that such initiatives highlight the critical role of international partnerships in advancing sustainable, locally driven, disability-inclusive development."

Chief Guest Mr. Kamal Kishore, IAS, District Collector, Tenkasi, special invitees - Padma Shri Mr. D.R. Karthikeyan, Former Director of CBI, Mr. T.S. Krishnamurthy, former Chief Election Commissioner of India (Virtual presence), CA. Mahadevan, Samruddhi Trust, Chennai, and Padma Shri Shri S. Ramakrishnan, Founder Chairman & President of Amar Seva Sangam were present during the inauguration.

Other distinguished guests included: Dr. Murugaiah, Vice President, Amar Seva Sangam; Mr. T. V. Subramanian, Treasurer; Mrs. Pattammal, Committee Member; Mrs. Sulochana Krishnamoorthy, President, Handicare International, Canada; Mr. V. Mahadevan, Samruddhi Trust, Chennai; Dr. T. A. P. Valathakutti, President, Udavikkaram Tamil Nadu Association; Professor Chidambaram, State President, Pondicherry Udavikkaram Association; Dr. Rema Chandramohan, Deputy CEO, Centre of Excellence for Autism, Chennai; Dr. Karpagam, Gynaecologist, Chennai; Mr. S. Raman, Premier Industries; Mr Muralidharan, from Australia, along with government officials, panchayat leaders, and representatives from civil society.

About the Sensory Park 
A symbol of dignity, independence & inclusion, Amar Abdul Kalam Rehab Orchard sensory park is spread across five acres and is located in Amar Seva Sangam, Ayikudi, Tenkasi. It is designed as a multi-functional therapeutic environment amidst 600 amla trees and 200+ native fruit varieties to support a higher-order rehabilitation ecosystem. The Park integrates structured sensory pathways, play-based therapeutic equipment, motor-planning zones, and vocational elements, which collectively supports enhanced sensory processing, improved motor coordination, strengthened social interaction, better employability outcomes, and the overall well-being of the children and adults with intellectual and developmental delays.

For more details, please visit: www.amarseva.org.

About Amar Seva Sangam
Founded in 1981, Amar Seva Sangam is a pioneer in disability management and inclusive development, offering services such as early intervention, education, vocational training, and community rehabilitation. The organization remains committed to the mission of integrating differently-abled individuals into mainstream society, fostering self-reliance, and advocating for sustainable, inclusive growth.

Magic Bus representatives with youth participants at their Employers Summit

As part of this initiative, Magic Bus is convening the Employers Summit Series, its official pre-summit engagement ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026. The multi-city series, being held across Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai, is anchored in the theme “AI-Ready Talent: What Employers Really Want Tomorrow.” With editions in Chennai and Hyderabad already concluded, the Employers Summit Series now moves to Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai, building on early conversations that set the tone for inclusive, ethical, and scalable AI adoption.

The series aims to strengthen employer–youth linkages and shape demand-driven skilling pathways by bringing together employers, policymakers, CSR leaders, academia, and youth innovators. By aligning industry expectations with grassroot realities, the series supports India’s goal of democratising access to AI skills and preparing an AI-ready workforce at scale.

The India AI Impact Summit 2026, organised under the IndiaAI Mission by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), is India’s flagship platform to accelerate AI adoption and workforce transformation. The Summit will convene global leaders to shape a future where AI benefits every citizen. Magic Bus’s pre-summit series plays a vital role by channelling employer insights and workforce readiness strategies into national deliberations.

Arun Nalavadi, Chief of Programmes – Livelihood, Magic Bus India Foundation, said, "At Magic Bus, our mission is to ensure that youth from underserved communities are not left behind as the world of work evolves. Our AI skilling programmes are built on the belief that access to future-ready skills should not be limited by geography or socio-economic background. Leveraging technology, we combine AI with life and employability skills to deliver impact at scale. By aligning with employers and providing foundational AI literacy, we bridge the gap between aspiration and opportunity, making AI a pathway to sustainable employment."

As one of the early movers in the development sector, Magic Bus launched the AI for Masses initiative to equip young people with future-ready skills and enable a smooth transition to the world of work. A flagship programme under this initiative, AI–Connect with Work (AI-CWW), is a 7–10-day intervention for college students and graduates from underserved communities. It builds practical AI awareness and workplace-relevant skills, preparing youth for emerging roles in an AI-driven economy. Last year, 35,000 youth were skilled through AI-CWW, and the programme is on track to reach 1.5 lakh participants this year. By equipping youth with the skills and confidence to make informed career and life choices, the programme empowers them to support their families, break the cycle of poverty, and become role models in their communities.

About Magic Bus India Foundation

Magic Bus India Foundation is one of India’s leading NGOs in education and skilling. Over the past 26 years, the organisation has expanded its reach and impact across the country through innovative, inclusive, and gender-responsive programmes.

With a strong focus on school-to-work transition, Magic Bus enables adolescents and youth from underserved communities to build the life and employability skills needed to break cycles of poverty and empower future generations. Magic Bus is also empowering women aged 25 years and above, in peri-urban and rural areas, to enable their economic and financial independence.

Through its Adolescent Programme, Magic Bus equips adolescents aged 12 to 18 years with life skills and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), reaching over 38 lakh adolescents. The programme is implemented across 22 states and Union Territories and is strengthened through partnerships with 12 state governments and NITI Aayog, with interventions across nearly 30% of India’s aspirational blocks. Girls account for 52% of participants.

The Livelihood Programme empowers youth aged 18 to 25 years by equipping them with life and employability skills. Since 2015, over 7.15 lakh youth have been skilled, with 80% placed in sustainable jobs. Young women constitute 60% of participants, reflecting a continued focus on gender equity.

The Rural Livelihood Programme empowers women by strengthening life skills, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills. The programme has supported over 1,100 women across six states to establish and sustain enterprises and move towards financial independence.

For more information, visit: www.magicbus.org.

Mpower Team at Tata Mumbai Marathon 2026
 

Over 700 participants - including employees and senior leadership from Mpower and Aditya Birla Group companies, along with college students from across Mumbai - came together at the Tata Mumbai Marathon to spotlight the importance of mental health through collective, visible action. While many joined the Dream Run, others took on the half marathon (21 km) and full marathon (42 km), reflecting a strong personal and organisational commitment to mental wellbeing. Student volunteers lined the route, cheering runners and amplifying mental health messages, reinforcing the belief that mental wellbeing is a shared responsibility across generations and communities.
 

Over the past decade, Mpower has built an integrated mental health ecosystem spanning prevention, early intervention, and clinical care, with 14 clinical units including mental health centres, affordable care foundations, and counselling cells embedded in college campuses across India. Through its partnerships with government and public institutions, Project Samvedana strengthens rural mental health screening and referrals through district hospitals and Primary Health Centres - saving an average of 410 hours and Rs. 3,754 per individual by reducing delays and access-related costs.
 

Mpower works closely with frontline and vulnerable populations through targeted, high-impact interventions. Project Saksham, implemented with the Mumbai and Maharashtra Police, provides trauma-informed counselling and mental health support to survivors of violence, police personnel, alleged perpetrators, and their families - integrating mental health care into routine policing processes. Project Masoom supports children in state-run Child Care Institutions through trauma-focused counselling and caregiver sensitisation, while Project Mann, in partnership with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), delivers mental health literacy, psychological first aid, screening, counselling, and dedicated helpline support across high-stress security environments. At the national level, Mpower supports the Government of India’s Tele-MANAS initiative and operates the Mpower 1-on-1 Mental Health Helpline (toll-free: 1800-120-820050), a 24×7 free counselling service, while COPE Clubs across colleges train peer supporters to normalise mental health conversations and enable early help-seeking among young people.
 

Since its inception in 2016, Mpower has reached over 7 million beneficiaries, with impact spanning awareness, counselling, clinical care, and crisis support. Its work has contributed to measurable improvements in mental health literacy, increased utilisation of services, and stronger institutional responses across education, healthcare, and public systems.
 

The Tata Mumbai Marathon provided a fitting moment to reflect on this decade-long journey - underscoring Mpower’s belief that mental health must be embedded into everyday life and supported through continuity, collaboration, and long-term engagement rather than episodic interventions.
 

As Mpower completes 10 Mindful Years, the focus remains on building responsibly and sustainably, while ensuring that mental healthcare in India continues to be credible, ethical, accessible, and trusted.
 

About Mpower
Mpower, an initiative of Aditya Birla Education Trust is a pioneering social enterprise dedicated to transforming India approach to mental health. Founded 10 years ago, Mpower has emerged as a leading force in spreading awareness, reducing stigma, and delivering holistic mental health care. With a robust team of over 200 trained professionals, Mpower impacts more than 121 million lives across seven cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi, Kota and Pune. Operating through five key verticals - Movement, Clinical Care, Outreach, Academia, and Mpower 1 on 1 - Mpower offers a comprehensive range of services. The Movement focuses on changing cultural perceptions and alleviating stigma. Clinical Care provides world-class mental health services through the Centre, the Foundation, and the Cell, catering to various needs from holistic care to affordable support for the underprivileged. The Outreach vertical drives awareness and capacity-building through IGNITE Programs for schools, colleges, NGOs, and corporates. Academia equips individuals and professionals with skills to handle mental health crises and foster empathy. The Helpline offers 24/7 multilingual support, while special projects like Samvedana enhance mental health care in primary health centers. Mpower’s integrated approach and collaboration with government agencies underscore its commitment to creating a supportive and stigma-free mental health landscape.

Students of Ranga Rao Memorial School for Differently Abled perform a classical dance during the 37th Annual Day celebrations in Mysuru

The event was inaugurated by Sri Nataraj S., Joint Director, Directorate for the Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens, who also presided over the prize distribution ceremony. He was joined by Sri Raghavendra K.S., DDWO, Department of Empowerment of Differently Abled & Senior Citizens, Mysuru, and Sri R. Guru, Chairman, RMSD.

Dr. Ashoka D.R, K.A.S, Director, Directorate for the Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens, Bangalore, connected online to address the students and parents, as he was unable to attend in person due to work commitments.

Speaking at the Annual Day Celebration Sri Nataraj S., Joint Director, Directorate for the Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens said, "Ranga Rao Memorial School stands as a model of compassionate education. The students here are not just learning they are leading us toward a society that values dignity, accessibility, and equal opportunity.  I deeply appreciate RMSD’s commitment to nurturing independence and dignity among visually impaired girls. The school continues to be a beacon of hope, offering holistic education, vocational training, and emotional support to its students.”

On the occasion Mr. R. Guru, Chairman, NR Foundation said, "Each Annual Day reminds us why this school exists to empower, to uplift, and to celebrate the limitless potential of our girls. Their courage and creativity inspire us to build a more inclusive tomorrow, where every child is seen, heard, and celebrated."

The evening featured a spirited cultural programme by the students, showcasing their talent and confidence through classical dance, folk performances, martial arts demonstrations, skits, and multilingual medleys. Among these, the technology-enabled skit performed by differently abled students emerged as the main attraction, drawing admiration for its innovative use of assistive tools and creative storytelling. The theme of the evening celebrated resilience, inclusion, and the transformative power of education.

The Annual Day reaffirmed RMSD’s legacy of empowerment, drawing heartfelt applause from attendees and reinforcing the importance of inclusive education in building a compassionate society.

Largest Student Mood Parade for Mental Health Awareness at Mpower Youthopia

Held as part of Birlotsav, the college’s intercollegiate youth festival, the Mood Parade witnessed the participation of over 900 students aged between 8 and 20 years, who came together to express 12 identified emotions. The parade aimed to normalise emotional expression and spark meaningful conversations around mental health among young people.

Mpower Youthopia sets a world record for the Largest Student Mood Parade for Mental Health Awareness

The two-day Mpower Youthopia festival saw an overwhelming response, with over 7,000 students from more than 50 colleges across Mumbai and neighbouring regions taking part in a wide range of awareness-driven activities.

In addition to the record-breaking event, Mpower conducted an on-ground survey among students attending the festival to understand their emotional support-seeking behaviour and the challenges influencing it. The findings revealed that 55 percent of students turn to friends when seeking emotional support, while 25 percent rely on family members. Notably, 15 percent reported not seeking support from anyone, and only 5 percent approached psychologists or teachers, highlighting the continued low engagement with formal mental health services.

The survey further identified academic pressure (30 percent) as the leading concern among students, followed by personal relationship issues (25 percent). Career-related anxiety (20 percent) and anxiety or overthinking (20 percent) were also prominent, while body image issues and social bullying (5 percent) emerged as additional stressors.

Commenting on the initiative, Mrs. Neerja Birla, Founder of Mpower and the Aditya Birla Education Trust, said, “Mental health support must reach young people where they are—on college campuses and within their everyday lives. Initiatives like Mpower Youthopia bring together awareness, access and peer engagement, empowering students to seek support without fear and actively contribute to a culture of well-being. This is an investment in the emotional resilience of India’s future.”

With recent data indicating that over 7 percent of Indian adolescents experience mental health challenges and a significant care gap persists, Mpower is strengthening and expanding its campus-focused initiatives to improve awareness and access to timely mental health support for young people across the country.

About Mpower
Mpower, an initiative of Aditya Birla Education Trust is a pioneering social enterprise dedicated to transforming India's approach to mental health. Founded 9 years ago, Mpower has emerged as a leading force in spreading awareness, reducing stigma, and delivering holistic mental health care. With a robust team of over 200 trained professionals, Mpower impacts more than 121 million lives across seven cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi and Pune. Operating through five key verticals—Movement, Clinical Care, Outreach, Academia, and Mpower 1 on 1—Mpower offers a comprehensive range of services. The Movement focuses on changing cultural perceptions and alleviating stigma. Clinical Care provides world-class mental health services through the Centre, the Foundation, and the Cell, catering to various needs from holistic care to affordable support for the underprivileged. The Outreach vertical drives awareness and capacity-building through IGNITE.

Programs for schools, colleges, NGOs, and corporates. Academia equips individuals and professionals with skills to handle mental health crises and foster empathy. The Helpline offers 24/7 multilingual support, while special projects like Samvedana enhance mental health care in primary health centers. Mpower’s integrated approach and collaboration with government agencies underscore its commitment to creating a supportive and stigma-free mental health landscape.

Elephant in Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo in Bangkok in Thailand Photograph credit: Abhishek Shankhwar

Nearly two in three captive elephants are still living in poor conditions, despite some limited progress since the last assessment in 2019.

Elephants continue to endure short chaining, inadequate diets, dirty living conditions, lack of veterinary care and forced tourist interactions including riding, washing and shows.

The research, led by World Animal Protection elephant expert and wildlife veterinarian Dr Jan Schmidt-Burbach, assessed 236 tourism venues housing 2,849 elephants across Thailand between February 2024 and January 2025. Encouragingly, observation-only elephant experiences with no direct human contact are increasing.

In 2024, 7.3% of captive elephants were kept at venues offering observation only experiences, compared with 4.6% in 2010.

The findings are published in Bred to Entertain - A new assessment capturing 15 years of Thailand's elephant tourism industry, released on 12 January 2026. Link:

Using nine animal welfare criteria, the study found persistently low welfare standards across venues, with results almost identical to those recorded in 2019. World Animal Protection has long documented the severe physical and psychological harm caused by elephant rides and shows, driven by harsh training methods and restrictive living conditions that prevent elephants from expressing natural behaviours.

This study is of cardinal importance to the elephant riding situation in India given the status of riding elephants, especially the eighty elephants in Amer Fort in Jaipur in Rajasthan, the restarting of elephant rides in Corbett National Park (Tiger Reserve) and the tragic death of an elephant safari elephant named Swarnimoyee in Kaziranga on 11 December, 2025. The current situation is untenable and continuing research like the recent study in Thailand continue to show that captive elephants suffer in confined spaces and that the current tourism policy worldwide that somehow finds it acceptable that wild animals in captivity are entertainers needs to change.

In India, we are faced with massive issues of habitat loss and human animal conflict and the need of the hour is to address these in situ, rather than bring in more elephants into captivity and add to the wildlife trade and wildlife entertainment problem.

We understand that in a fast changing world, business models are adapting to new demands and tastes, and there is a very significant trend toward humane animal treatment that moves away from traditional practices of treating animals as commodities and commercial resources rather than sentient beings.

Regarding sentience, we are increasingly seeing very big strides in recognition of sentience in all animals, with debates becoming increasingly prevalent on whether all forms of animals, including invertebrates and forms of animals that have traditionally not been considered as being particularly sentient fit the sentience category and if sentience can extend to artificial intelligence in the advanced learning models that are now being developed. 2026 is being considered a cardinal year for discussions on the subject of sentience, with New Zealand making significant strides in this area. Sentience in animals like elephants and great apes now clearly show that their cognitive and behavioral abilities make them candidates for many rights that are accorded to humans.

World Animal Protection has been working on several levels to address the problem of sentient animals like elephants being mistreated: by lobbying and advocating for policy changes with the government, by convincing corporates to come out of offering cruel elephant rides and by engaging people to pledge not to take elephant rides anywhere, in any venue.

It is hoped that with emerging consciousness on the nature of animal sentience and emerging research that shows that breeding and maintaining elephants in captivity represent unscientific and immoral attitudes to our relationship with other life forms, wildlife tourism practices will change. In this regard, World Animal Protection is pleased to welcome Wildpaw Adventures and North East Travels under the wildlife friendly tourism initiative with the hope that other travel companies will follow their suit to move to more responsible travel practices.

“We hope the Thailand report research will encourage outbound Indian tourists to avoid low welfare venues abroad and exercise responsible travel choices in India to respect sentient animals like elephants. With India assuming the Presidency of BRICS in 2026, it is important for governments to recognize the role of sentience in framing policies toward tourism involving animals, wildlife trade and treatment of farm animals with regard to health and zoonoses as well,” says Gajender Kumar Sharma, Country Director, World Animal Protection in India.

Mr. Apoorv Bajaj, Trustee, Bajaj Foundation felicitate the Chief Minister of Tripura, Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha along with Mr. Uday Shankar Singh, CEO, Vishwa Yuvak Kendra
 

Bajaj Foundation was felicitated for its exemplary contribution to the successful organisation of Heritage Fest 2025, as well as for its impactful initiatives in natural farming, water conservation and management, education, and livelihood promotion. The award on behalf of the Foundation was received by Mr. Apoorv Nayan Bajaj, Trustee, and Mr. Mahendra Phate, Programme Manager, Bajaj Foundation.
 

Vishwa Yuvak Kendra was recognised for its consistent and impactful role in youth development, national integration, capacity building of civil society organisations (CSOs), and nation-building. The award was received by Mr. Uday Shankar Singh, Chief Executive Officer, and Ms. Mukta Bhardwaj, Programme Officer. For decades, VYK has been implementing residential training programmes, digital learning initiatives, youth leadership development, women empowerment activities, and national-level collaborations, benefiting lakhs of young people across the country.
 

Addressing the gathering, the Hon’ble Chief Minister appreciated the contributions of both institutions and stated that organisations such as these play a vital role in strengthening youth potential, preserving cultural heritage, and empowering communities that are key pillars of national progress.
 

The awards were presented during an international programme organised by Yuva Vikas Kendra, Tripura during the week-long Heritage Fest 2025 that brought together the young volunteers of culture and heritage from various neighbouring countries like, Nepal, Srilanka and others. Click to watch a short video on the Instagram handle of @bajajgroupofficial www.instagram.com/reel/DTZNlOrjItE/?igsh=MTdhMmp4a3JjYWc0Yg==
 

The recognition bestowed upon Bajaj Foundation and Vishwa Yuvak Kendra upon this international platform, stands as an official acknowledgement of the vision, dedication, and grassroots impact of Bajaj Foundation and Vishwa Yuvak Kendra.
 

Bajaj Foundation is committed to nation building through inclusive and sustainable rural development in Wardha district of Maharashtra, Sikar district of Rajasthan and Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Through its integrated interventions in last 2 decades, the Foundation has rejuvenated 245 rivers and constructed 130 check dams, enabling irrigation across 3.5 lakh acres of farmland. It has trained 1.25 lakh farmers in natural farming practices, making 1.6 lakh acres chemical-free, and strengthened livelihoods through 4,500+ women self-help groups benefitting 56,000 families. By imparting skill development training to over 9,000 rural youth and women, promoting 6,000 biogas plants and 4,000 solar units, and establishing 30 Farmer Producer Companies (FPOs), Bajaj Foundation continues to lay a strong foundation for Aatmanirbhar Bharat, empowering the youth and rural communities to achieve long-term self-reliance and prosperity.
 

On the occasion, both Bajaj Foundation and Vishwa Yuval Kendra reiterated their commitment to further strengthening their initiatives in the larger interest of society and the nation.

A survivor-led digital movement, You&Me, captured attention across India for its heartfelt expression of gratitude, human connection, and second chances at life. What began with blood cancer and thalassemia survivors thanking their life-saving stem cell donors soon evolved into a wider cultural moment, one that DKMS Foundation India, a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing blood cancer and blood disorders such as thalassemia and aplastic anaemia, recognised and amplified for its meaningful impact.

Visuals showcasing survivor-led You&Me social media posts and creator participation driving the nationwide digital movement

On 13 June, survivors began sharing their videos and messages on Instagram Reels, offering candid and heartfelt tributes to the individuals who changed their lives by giving them a second chance. The authenticity of these expressions sparked a ripple effect across digital platforms. Inspired by these stories, employees at DKMS Foundation India joined the movement by sharing their own You&Me moments, messages dedicated to people who had supported, guided, or inspired them in meaningful ways.

The trend quickly gained momentum, with more than 1,000 individuals posting on Instagram to thank someone meaningful in their lives. Leading digital creators, including KK Create, Harshit Arora, Mr. Surenzo, and Nirmal Alfred, joined the movement, collectively generating over 1 million views across social media platforms. This amplification helped extend the message beyond core communities, playing a meaningful role in raising awareness about blood stem cell donation and its life-saving impact. Together, the participation of survivors, the public, and creators reinforced the need for more registered blood stem cell donors, encouraging audiences to engage, learn, and take action.

Patrick Paul, Executive Chairman at DKMS in India, said, “DKMS Foundation, India, celebrates the survivors who initiated this campaign, the donors who gave hope, and the community members who helped You&Me become a meaningful reminder of empathy and human connection. Through survivor stories, the campaign narratives take an effort to normalize conversations around stem cell donation, a critical yet often under-discussed need in India.”

He also added, “The registered blood stem cell donor number is insufficient in India. Currently, only 0.09% of the eligible Indian population is registered as blood stem cell donors. Delay in finding a blood stem cell donor can be life-threatening in many cases. Blood cancer and Blood disorders are progressing rapidly. Every five minutes, someone in India is diagnosed with blood cancer, and over 10,000 children are born with thalassemia major every year. Therefore, there is an urgent need to adopt better methodologies to increase donor registrations.”

Over time, You&Me evolved from a deeply personal expression of gratitude into a collective movement centered on connection and awareness. While the initial digital momentum has settled, the impact continues through the stories shared and the conversations it sparked, reinforcing the idea that a single act of kindness can offer someone a second chance at life.

Individuals between 18 and 55 years of age, in general good health, with a BMI under 40, and not already registered, are eligible to sign up as potential blood stem cell donors.

About DKMS Foundation, India

DKMS Foundation India is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the fight against blood cancer and other blood disorders such as thalassemia and aplastic anaemia. The foundation aims to improve the situation of patients in India and across the world by raising awareness about blood stem cell transplantation and registering potential blood stem cell donors.

For more information, please visit: www.dkms-India.org.

Blanket distribution by Councillor Kunal Yadav and Nanhi Veena Foundation
 

The blanket distribution drive was strategically conducted in high-need areas including Chakkarpur Village, Labour Chowk, Phase 1 Cross Roads, and multiple labour settlements, where exposure to the elements is most severe. The initiative not only provided essential winter relief but also brought smiles and a sense of comfort to many children, elderly people, and families struggling to cope with the cold.

This was the fourth blanket drive organized by the Nanhi Veena Women’s Welfare Foundation, underscoring its sustained commitment to underserved communities. The Foundation’s mission aligned seamlessly with Councillor Yadav’s dedication to public service and constituent welfare.

Speaking about the activity, Councillor Kunal Yadav shared, “When the mercury drops to such perilous levels, safeguarding human life becomes our foremost responsibility. By providing warmth to the poorest of the poor, we are doing more than distributing blankets - we are affirming that no one in our community is forgotten during these difficult times.”
 

Councillor Kunal Yadav at blanket distribution initiative in Gurugram
 

The relief operation was led on-site by Councillor Yadav alongside Karen Wilson Kumar and Pooja Lal, Founders of the Nanhi Veena Women’s Welfare Foundation. The team was strongly supported by Sunita Sachdeva from the Councillor’s office and Aanya Kumar, whose tireless coordination ensured that aid reached individuals and families living in the most precarious conditions.

The success of the drive was made possible through the generous patronage and support of community members and well-wishers. The organizers extended heartfelt gratitude to Gisela Ghani, Ajai Goyal, Navneet Gorowara, Pradeep Bhatia, S.K. Jolly, Paul Thatchil, Gaurav Gupta, Sujoy Mishra, and many others whose contributions were instrumental in extending relief to numerous families during the ongoing cold wave.

In a joint statement, Nanhi Veena Women’s Welfare Foundation, Karen Wilson Kumar and Pooja Lal said, “Our foundation believes deeply in the power of collective action. Witnessing the Gurgaon community come together to protect the poorest of the poor is a powerful testament to compassion in action.”

Nanhi Veena Women’s Welfare Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to women’s empowerment and the social upliftment of marginalized communities. Through sustained community engagement, advocacy, and relief initiatives, the Foundation works to bridge critical gaps and bring meaningful support to those in need.

For more details visit www.facebook.com/share/1Fv7gQxyHF/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Follow Councillor Kunal Yadav - www.instagram.com/kunalyadav_ward23/?igsh=MWN1a2pjNGxueDY1cA%3D%3D#

Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah planting and watering a sapling at the Rewa Model Farm
 

The project was inaugurated in the august presence of Hon’ble Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Mohan Yadav, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister Shri Rajendra Shukla, and Chairman of the Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Trust Shri Prasana Prabhu. The occasion reflected strong institutional commitment towards promoting Natural Farming as a sustainable and farmer-centric agricultural approach in the state.
 

Developed by Art of Living’s Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Trust in collaboration with Basaman Mama Gaushansh Vanyavihar and the Government of Madhya Pradesh, and inspired by the vision of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the Rewa Model Farm has been established as a live demonstration and training centre for Natural Farming. The project showcases practical, low-cost, and scalable farming practices suitable for small and marginal farmers.
 

Spread across approximately 2.5 to 3 acres, the Rewa Model Farm functions as a working, field-based model rather than a conceptual pilot. The entire plot was developed in a very short period of time due to the dedication, discipline, and sustained efforts of AOL-SSIAST volunteers. Volunteers worked tirelessly on the ground, from land preparation and layout planning to plantation, input preparation, and infrastructure support, often contributing long hours with a strong sense of ownership and service. Their disciplined teamwork and commitment played a critical role in translating the vision of the model farm into a fully functional reality within a limited timeframe.
 

Chairman Shri Prasana Prabhu explaining the Rewa Model Farm and its Natural Farming systems
 

During the inauguration, Chairman Shri Prasana Prabhu guided the dignitaries through the various components of the farm, explaining how the integrated systems operate and how farmers can replicate these practices on their own land.
 

A key highlight of the project is the multilayer farming system, which enables cultivation of multiple crops at different levels within the same plot. This optimises land use, reduces risk through diversification, and is designed to enhance farmers’ income by over five times compared to conventional single-crop farming.
 

The Rewa Model Farm also includes dedicated horticulture and medicinal plant plots. Fruit-bearing saplings, vegetables, and medicinal species have been planted using Natural Farming methods, creating additional income opportunities while supporting nutrition and long-term sustainability.
 

Another important feature inaugurated was the Bio Input Centre, which focuses on preparing natural inputs such as Jeevamrut and Ghanajeevamrut using desi cow dung and cow urine. These inputs enhance soil microbial activity, improve soil structure, and restore long-term soil fertility, while reducing dependence on chemical fertilisers and external inputs.
 

AOL-SSIAST has been working in the field of Natural Farming for over 17 years and has trained more than three million farmers across India. The Rewa Model Farm builds on this experience and serves as a structured training and demonstration hub, where farmers learn through direct observation and hands-on engagement in soil health management, crop planning, natural pest control, and bio-input preparation.
 

Inspired by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s vision of working in harmony with nature, the Rewa Model Farm reflects the belief that sustainable agriculture strengthens farmer self-reliance, village economies, and long-term rural resilience.
 

The Rewa Model Farm Project now stands as a practical and replicable model for Natural Farming in Madhya Pradesh and beyond, offering a clear roadmap for sustainable and inclusive agricultural development.
 

Donate Now | Support Sustainable Agriculture

Your contribution helps empower farmers, revive indigenous seed systems, and scale Natural Farming across India. Together, we can nurture the soil, strengthen rural livelihoods, and build a healthier future for generations to come.
 

Donate now: ssiast.artofliving.org/donate
 

About AOL-SSIAST
Founded in 2009 under the vision of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the Art of Living’s Sri Sri Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Trust is a pioneering force in India’s sustainable agriculture movement. AOL-SSIAST has trained over 3 million farmers across 24 states in Natural Farming practices and empowered 1.15 lakh farmers in suicide-prone districts. With a strong network of 2,300+ certified trainers, AOL-SSIAST has transformed over 5,56,000 acres into climate-resilient, chemical-free farmland. Its holistic work spans farmer training, seed banks, Goshalas, afforestation, and regenerative agri-models - driving a future-ready, farmer-centric, and environmentally sustainable India.

Global Maitri Festival 2025 to Celebrate Sanskriti, Maitri Bhaav, and Seva Bhaav

Joining this year’s celebration are esteemed dignitaries including Shri. Arjun Meghwal, Union Minister of Law and Justice; Shri Prataprao Jadhav, Union Minister of AYUSH, Health and Family Welfare; Shri Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra; and many more. The occasion will also be graced by veteran celebrities such as Jackie Shroff, Smita Jaykar, and Kajal Aggarwal.

Global Maitri Festival is honored to have the Maitri Cultural Economy Summit as our Cultural Partner for the year. With their participation, we bring culture to the forefront on this grand stage through a one-of-a-kind cultural performance that highlights India’s unique cultural identity, celebrates our sanskriti, and contributes to the revival of our rich cultural heritage on a scale like never before

Each year, the celebration reflects Bharat’s inclusive spirit and the timeless message of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. Guided by the physical presence of Maitreya Dadashreeji, Visionary of the Festival and Founder of MaitriBodh Parivaar, the event draws its depth and purpose from His leadership. The 2025 edition revolves around the theme Ek Bharat Hum Bharat, emphasising unity and shared identity at a time when collective consciousness is vital. This message reflects a renewed call for citizens to rise above differences and recognise their origin as one family. This year, the festival showcases four transformative initiatives driving lasting social reform. Maitri Adarsh Gram for rural development, Chinta Mukt Bharat 2032 a national initiative for mental and emotional well-being, Yuva Parivartan for youth development, and Vishwa Shanti Maha Yagnya in association with Akhil Vishwa Gayatri Parivaar for global peace and harmony.

The highlight of the festival is the annual address by Maitreya Dadashreeji, offering profound guidance and inspiration to help individuals overcome mental health challenges and navigate the year ahead with clarity and strength.

The Global Maitri Festival 2025 invites individuals from all walks of life to participate in this collective celebration. Registration and details of the free event are available at www.maitribodh.org/gmf, or you can call 8929 707 222 for more information­­­.

Dr. Payal Kanodia of M3M Foundation, Pankaj Bansal of M3M India and Aishwarya Bansal of Smart World with the World T20 Champion Indian Women’s Blind Cricket Team

Led by Captain Deepika T. C. of Karnataka and Vice-Captain Ganga S. Kadam of Maharashtra, and accompanied by Team Manager Ms Shika Shetty, the undefeated Indian team scripted history by winning the world’s first-ever global cricket championship exclusively for women cricketers with visual impairment. In a commanding final against Nepal, India restricted the opposition to 114/5 and chased the target in just 12.1 overs, showcasing confidence, skill, and teamwork.

The champions were welcomed and felicitated at M3M IFC, Gurugram, where Dr Payal Kanodia interacted closely with the team, acknowledging their extraordinary discipline, mental strength, and commitment to excellence. A World Kettlebell Champion herself, Dr. Kanodia shared reflections on the power of perseverance, focus, and self-belief—drawing parallels between elite sport and para-sport, and reaffirming the Foundation’s belief in sports as a powerful tool for dignity, confidence, and social inclusion.

The interaction also spotlighted M3M Foundation’s Lakshya Programme, a flagship initiative dedicated to identifying, nurturing, and supporting talented athletes across Olympic, Paralympic, and grassroots sports. Through structured mentorship, training support, and holistic development, Lakshya continues to empower sportspersons to compete and excel at national and international platforms.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Aishwarya Mahajan, Managing Trustee and President, M3M Foundation, said, “These champions have not only created sporting history, but have also inspired the nation by redefining resilience and inclusion. Their achievement reinforces our belief that when opportunity meets determination, limitations dissolve. We are proud to celebrate women who embody courage, excellence, and equality.”

The visit concluded with an engaging dialogue, exchange of experiences, and a shared commitment to strengthening India’s para-sports ecosystem. The champions’ presence served as a powerful reminder that when opportunity meets courage, history is created.

About M3M Foundation

M3M Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the M3M Group, working across education, health, livelihoods, sports, and environment. With a reach across 22 states and over 1,300 villages, the Foundation has positively impacted more than 5 million lives, driven by a vision of inclusive, sustainable, and transformative nation-building.

Representatives of the Indian Army, M3M Foundation and local schoolchildren at the school infrastructure handover ceremony in the LoC region of Poonch

The handover ceremony took place during the Mendhar Festival and was graced by Major General Kaushik Mukherjee, Sena Medal, Indian Army, symbolising the strong collaboration between M3M Foundation and the Indian Army in improving community development and child welfare in border regions. The event drew the participation of over 2,000 students, teachers, community members, government representatives, NGO partners, and Army officials, demonstrating widespread support and collective responsibility for strengthening education in LoC districts.

Through this initiative, the Foundation has provided enhanced classroom infrastructure, digital learning tools, basic utilities, and co-curricular resources—addressing long-standing gaps in these institutions. These improvements are expected to boost attendance, strengthen teaching outcomes, increase digital readiness, and uplift morale among students and teachers. For families living in frontline areas, better school infrastructure represents not just improved learning conditions, but also stability, safety, and hope for a stronger future.

Speaking about the initiative, Dr. Payal Kanodia, Chairperson and Trustee, M3M Foundation, said, “Children in border communities grow up with extraordinary challenges, yet their aspirations remain limitless. Strengthening schools along the LoC is our commitment to ensuring they receive the same dignity, opportunity, and safe learning spaces as any child in the country. Education must be inclusive, resilient, and accessible—and we are honoured to stand with these communities in building a brighter future.”

This initiative reinforces M3M Foundation’s broader mission of promoting inclusive and quality education, aligned with India’s development priorities and global commitments such as SDG 4 (Quality Education). By strengthening schools in the LoC region, the Foundation continues its endeavour to reach the last mile and empower communities that face the greatest barriers to progress.

About M3M Foundation

M3M Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the M3M Group and is committed to bringing equitable development that ensures a life of dignity for every individual. The Foundation works on key areas such as education, healthcare, environment, disaster management, skill development, and community welfare. Programs like iMpower, Lakshya, Sarvoday, Saakshar, and Sankalp are empowering communities across India with sustainable, inclusive development models.

Children and Climate 2025 conference organised by Terre des hommes (India)

In India, the impact of climate change is accelerating, with over 85% of districts exposed to recurring extreme climate events such as heatwaves, floods, and cyclones. These shocks directly affect children’s nutrition, education, protection, mental health, and long-term development.

At the Children and Climate conference, participants explored these intersections through an integrated, child-sensitive lens. Discussions focused on designing climate programmes that strengthen social protection systems, embed child-sensitive health responses, and support families facing climate-induced migration. Manavi Bhardwaj from India Climate Collaborative, Sarbjit Singh Sahota from UNICEF India, Harini Kannan from J-Pal, Pragya Vats from IPE Global, and Dr. Sudeshna Chatterjee from WRI were some of the panelists. The event also amplified community voices, highlighting how local experiences must inform larger climate-resilience frameworks.

The conference structure drew from the project cycle management approach, enabling a step-by-step examination of how child-centred climate interventions should be planned, financed, implemented, and evaluated. Panel discussions and breakout sessions encouraged funders, practitioners, and researchers to collectively identify gaps, share evidence, propose innovative financing models, and understand the practical challenges of mainstreaming climate considerations into existing child-focused programmes.

Speaking at the event, Anindit Roy Chowdhury, Multi-country Director (India & Nepal), Terre des hommes, said, “Children are not merely victims of the climate crisis, they are essential actors in shaping resilient and inclusive futures. Yet the systems meant to support them still respond in fragments. Climate risks intersect with health, protection, and migration in a child’s life, and our solutions must reflect that. Through this convening, we aim to strengthen the collective resolve to design truly integrated programmes that prioritise children’s rights, safety, and well-being”.

Children and Climate 2025 reinforced the need for multi-sectoral partnerships and sustained cooperation across development, climate, and social systems. Tdh India reaffirmed its commitment to advancing integrated solutions that safeguard children in India’s most climate-vulnerable contexts, and to collaborating with stakeholders to shape a more inclusive, resilient future for every child.

About Terre des hommes (Tdh) India

Terre des hommes (Tdh) India is a leading child-rights organisation working to strengthen health, protection and resilience systems for vulnerable children, youth and communities across high-risk geographies. With a deep focus on digital innovation, climate-resilient child protection, safe mobility and maternal and child health, Tdh collaborates closely with government departments, frontline workers, and community institutions to drive long-term structural change. Since 2016, Tdh India has reached more than 500,000 children, families, and community members, advancing safer childhoods, stronger systems, and equitable access to care and opportunity.

Yamini Kumar Jaipuria felicitated with 'ET NOW Impactful Women Leaders of India 2025' Award

Over the years, Ms. Jaipuria has transformed Cosmo Foundation into a catalyst for large-scale social change. Under her guidance, the Foundation today works across 155 villages and 55 rural schools, reaching more than 68,000 children through its integrated Education, Environment and Empowerment framework. Her focus on bridging learning gaps, strengthening digital access, and nurturing confidence among first-generation learners has created one of India’s most meaningful rural education models.

Speaking on the recognition, Ms. Jaipuria said, “This award belongs to the extraordinary children, teachers, women, and community partners who make our work possible. At Cosmo Foundation, we believe inclusive progress begins at the grassroots. Every initiative we undertake is aimed at helping individuals unlock their potential and shape their own futures.”

Her work in education is anchored in reimagining how rural India accesses knowledge. She has championed digital inclusion by establishing 29 computer labs across multiple states and launching the Cosmo DigiPathshala, a WhatsApp-based hybrid learning model that has already reached more than 2,300 students. Her commitment to language confidence has driven English learning programmes across rural schools, supported by bilingual digital content that has enabled thousands of students to learn in a format that feels both accessible and aspirational.

Ms. Jaipuria’s leadership in women empowerment has opened new pathways for employability and financial independence. Initiatives such as the EV Assembly Technician Course for Women, along with scholarships and mentorship platforms like the Udayan Shalini Fellowship, have helped young women envision and pursue modern careers with confidence. Her programmes on safety, hygiene and menstrual health have catalysed behavioural change across villages, ensuring that girls remain in school and communities adopt healthier, dignified practices.

Her commitment to environmental stewardship is equally deep-rooted. From leading tree plantation efforts to driving sustainability awareness in schools, she has championed an early understanding of climate responsibility among young learners. The Foundation’s environmental initiatives have strengthened community resilience while encouraging children to think as guardians of the planet.

Today, as India navigates the balance between traditional learning and rapid digital transformation, Ms. Jaipuria offers a distinctly Indian perspective on what the future of learning should look like – one that blends technology with cultural context, community participation, and equitable access.

Her work continues to demonstrate how thoughtful leadership can shape both systems and mindsets, making this recognition from ET NOW a powerful testament to the impact she has created and the possibilities she continues to inspire.

About Cosmo Foundation

Established in 2008, Cosmo Foundation is the community outreach initiative of Cosmo First Ltd., working to uplift underdeveloped communities near its operational locations in Karjan (Vadodara District) and Gangapur (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar District), as well as in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, and the tribal district of Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh). The Foundation’s programs focus on Education, Environment, and Empowerment, impacting more than 7.5 lakh (750,000) beneficiaries through various initiatives.

About Cosmo First Ltd.

Established in 1981 by Mr Ashok Jaipuria, Cosmo First Limited is an over four-decade-old global conglomerate. Its consumer vertical comprises Cosmo Consumer, which is into Window Films, Paint Protection Films & Ceramic Coatings for automobiles, and Zigly Pet Care, which provides a digital-first omni channel pet care ecosystem. Its industrial vertical includes Cosmo Films for specialty films for packaging, labels, lamination, and industrial applications; Cosmo Speciality Chemicals for coatings, adhesives and masterbatches, and Cosmo Plastech for rigid packaging. With sustainable innovation, development, and research embedded in its core values, Cosmo First serves customers in 100+ countries.

Gorilla Bua Noi in Pata Zoo in Bangkok in Thailand Photo credit: Shubhobroto Ghosh
 

World Animal Protection strongly presented the case against industrial animal agriculture at the COP 30 event, given the evidence that shows widespread animal abuse and environmental damage. It is a matter of continuing concern that industrial agriculture and factory farming are causing massive cruelty to animals by confining them to inadequate spaces, using antibiotics for their husbandry for greater quantities of meat, fish, milk and eggs and are releasing harmful effluents into marine and air ecosystems. With rising awareness on the destructive and counterproductive characteristics of these industries towards environmental pollution and climate change, it is of pressing urgency to tackle their further growth and institute systemic change to mitigate current practices.
 

The burgeoning global trade in wildlife affects India strongly with a marked rise in the demand for non native exotic pets that are being seized in different parts of the country and also in different parts of the world designated for arrival in India. This is a worrisome trend and graphic visual images have emerged showing captive animals kept in conditions of extreme confinement and enormous cruelty. It is of utmost necessity to recognise that this cruel and counterproductive trade be immediately stopped and international linkages are identified and transnational action is initiated to curb this trade. World Animal Protection has done extensive research on exotic animal pets and is of the strong view that wildlife belongs in the wild and should be cherished there and not exploited for a few greedy people. This point was made very cogently during the recently concluded CITES conference in Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
 

Wild animals in entertainment present a difficult challenge all over the world, with the resurgence of elephant rides in Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand and the continuing spectacle of abuse of elephants in Amer Fort in Jaipur. Tigers are being captivity for tourist photo opportunities at close quarters in many venues in Thailand and several other countries and a very significant number of tourists visit these places and patronise them with tourist revenue and destination guidance. World Animal Protection has an ongoing programme of engaging with tour companies and resorts to take a responsible stance on wildlife tourism by not promoting abusive activities involving wildlife in entertainment. In this regard, World Animal Protection is pleased to have Her Expeditions, Svasara, Indian Wildlife Adventures, Pandav Hotels and Marttik Gardens take the wildlife friendly pledge to promote responsible wildlife tourism in India and beyond. World Animal Protection hopes that the example set by these companies will encourage other groups to follow suit and desist from offering itineraries in their tours and destination guidance to places that exploit wildlife in captivity.
 

Elephant in Samutprakarn Crocodile Farm and Zoo in Bangkok in Thailand Photo credit: Abhishek Shankhwar
 

World Animal Protection has also engaged with the Prime Minister’s Office in 2025 to raise awareness on the plight of India’s National Heritage Animal and hundreds of schoolchildren from N K Bagrodia School and Cambridge International School have written letters to the Prime Minister urging him to ban elephant rides in India. Endeavours have also been taken to engage with the Rajasthan Forest Department to obtain the latest update on the status of the riding elephants of Amer Fort in Jaipur. “World Animal Protection is calling upon all stakeholders as well as tourists to take a pledge not to ride elephants in any venue,” says Gajender Kumar Sharma, Country Director, World Animal Protection in India.
 

10 December, 2025 is World Human Rights Day and International Animal Rights Day. It is not a coincidence that Human Rights Day and Animal Rights Day fall on the same date, 10 December, the date was intentionally chosen by animal rights advocates to highlight the connection between human rights and animal rights and to emphasize that all sentient beings deserve respect and protection from suffering and torture. 

Human Rights Day commemorates the date in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a foundational document in international human rights law and activism.
 

International Animal Rights Day (or World Animal Rights Day) was established in 1998, on the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to call for the recognition of a universal declaration for animal rights, modelled on the principles of the human rights declaration.
 

Across the globe, billions of human beings and animals are suffering in silence, because of systemic injustice.

On this day, we call for all living creatures, humans and non humans, to be treated respectfully and with compassion, with institutional safeguards put in place against their abuse.
 

For more information, please contact: Gajender Kumar Sharma: gajenderksharma@worldanimalprotection.org.in.

Phone: 9313333283

At a time when India is reimagining its public infrastructure, this initiative highlights a critical question: Are our public spaces truly built for everyone?
 

APD’s Kalaburagi CMHP team volunteers during the IDPD audit drive organised by APD using the Yes to Access app
 

Through the Yes to Access (YTA) app, volunteers assessed everyday spaces, public buildings, transportation hubs, schools, workplaces, health centres, and community facilities, offering a ground-level view of how accessible India really is. As of November 30, the platform has already collected over 2,00,000 audits nationwide.
 

This year’s drive aligns with the global IDPD 2025 theme, “Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress,” and brings to the forefront a systemic issue that often remains invisible. Teams across APD’s programmes, Early Intervention, Inclusive Education, Livelihoods, Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation, and Advocacy, joined staff, volunteers, persons with disabilities, and community members to evaluate both rural and urban locations.
 

The YTA app enabled participants to conduct structured assessments capturing physical access, safety, signage, service usability, and overall inclusiveness.
 

Speaking about the initiative, Dr NS Senthil Kumar, CEO, APD, said, “Accessibility cannot remain an afterthought. It has to be measured, witnessed, and acted upon. This audit drive shows what collective action can achieve when communities, persons with disabilities, and technology come together. The insights we gather will help us push for real, on-ground improvements across the country.”
 

The coordinated effort also included 1,243 website accessibility audits conducted by 44 APD employees. APD will share key findings with local authorities, civic agencies, and partner networks to advocate for actionable upgrades and support compliance with accessibility standards.
 

About The Association of People with Disability (APD)
The Association of People with Disability (APD) is a non-profit organization based in Bengaluru, working since 1959 to empower people with disabilities from underprivileged backgrounds. APD’s comprehensive programs span early intervention, education, healthcare, livelihoods, and advocacy, reaching children and adults with physical, intellectual, and multiple disabilities. With a strong focus on creating sustainable impact, APD partners with communities, corporates, and governments to build a more inclusive society where persons with disabilities live independent, dignified lives.

More information: www.apd-india.org.