Partho Burman

Bay leaf cultivation in North Dinajpur, West Bengal, has grown into a Rs 400 crore industry in 20 years. Women are key in sorting and drying, earning dignified incomes and reshaping agricultural livelihoods. Learn how this spice boom is changing lives.

Armed with nothing but curiosity, 70-year-old Krishna Chandra Halder from Hooghly cross-pollinated two papaya varieties to create a new hybrid. Today, he harvests 75,000 kg annually, trains other farmers, and proves that innovation can thrive in even the most humble farms.

Behind every Manam Chocolate bar is a farmer’s name, a family’s story, and a field in West Godavari. By working directly with cocoa farmers, this brand is blending impact with indulgence—and showing the world that India’s best chocolate grows from care, not just cacao.

Dr Biswajit Roy, Assistant Professor at Pijush Kanti Mukherjee Mahavidyalaya, West Bengal, with the help of villagers, has preserved ancient historical relics in the Debagram Museum in the village.

Matiur Rahaman from West Bengal is a social activist who has been bringing back dead bodies from abroad. He has also liberated many labourers who got stuck either in overseas jails or detention camps since 2017.

Twenty farmers from Balagarh Block in West Bengal’s Hooghly district are growing a variety of watermelons using the poly mulching technique endorsed by the ATMA (Agriculture Technology Management Agency) scheme. This method saves water and improves the fertility of the land too.

Trained in Karate and national award winning champion, Kaushav Sanyal, a police constable in West Bengal believes that no girl should go without a basic knowledge of self-defence.

Curiosity about earthquakes and seismology led Dr Ranjit Das, originally from Assam, to develop his own Physics-based earthquake measuring scale that is now named after him — the Das Magnitude Scale (Mwg).