Sowmya Mani

Ravneet Kaur based in Ludhiana began with the assumption that she did not have a green thumb. She now grows cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, radish and more.

The thingQbator programme — a Cisco and nasscom foundation initiative — nurtures young innovators by providing mentorship, funding, and resources to solve societal issues using technology. Since 2018, it has incubated over 58 startups, addressing challenges in education, agriculture, mental health, and accessibility, empowering students to become job creators and future-ready entrepreneurs.

Pakka Limited, started by K K Jhunjhunwala in Ayodhya in 1981, has transformed into a compostable packaging business, with a yearly production capacity of 50,000 tonnes. Their factory is powered by rice husk where they recover 95 percent of chemicals used!

Vituscare Medlife Pvt Ltd, started by Prabhat Shrivastava, Dr Saurabh Pokhariyal and Pankaj Tandon aims to increase the number of dialysis centres in Tier 2 and 3 towns to make quality renal care accessible to all Indians.

Srinivasan N, Sriram Visvanathan and Srinivas Padmanabharao formed the Tranquil Charitable Foundation (TCF) and adopted the Gubbalala Higher Primary School in Bengaluru. Over the past 15 years, the school strength has more than tripled, alumni are pursuing engineering, medicine and doctorates today.

Nayana Mehta, a talented home cook, fulfilled her dream of starting a business amid the COVID-19 pandemic, at the young age of 66! She runs Maami’s Munchies from her home, serving snacks, sweets and pickles across the country.

Tanvi Deore rekindled her passion for swimming after 18 years and overcame every challenge to swim across the English Channel.

Food technologists Snehal Ambekar and Sayak Gupta have designed an automated cultivator for growing microgreens.

Dr Sumitra Meena, a paediatrician who grew up in a Rajasthan village has built Babynama, a digital paediatric care platform that provides 24/7 support for parents through calls and WhatsApp.

Chandrashekhar Mandal started Digital Labour Chowk to support daily wage labourers by connecting them with employers through an online platform.