Changemakers

IAS officer Indrajeet Singh transformed Lucknow’s waste management, turning toxic legacy dumps into a net-zero waste city. With reforms, citizen participation, and waste-to-wealth projects, Lucknow rose from 44th to 3rd in Swachh Survekshan rankings.

Growing up visiting villages in Rajasthan, 17-year-old Sharanya Mehta witnessed first-hand the struggles of farmers coping with water scarcity. As part of The Better India’s Children’s Day series, she writes a Letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sharing her journey and vision for sustainable water management.

After having been called the ‘Youngest Changemaker from Kashmir’ and the ‘Green Ambassador of Dal Lake’, Srinagar-based Jannat Patloo, who is 14 years old, strives only for one thing: to see Dal Lake clean and shining again. As a part of The Better India’s series for this Children’s Day, she writes a Letter to our leaders.

Across India’s streets at night, stray dogs roam in danger — not just of hunger or illness, but of being invisible to passing traffic. On World Kindness Day, we look at a growing number of volunteers who are turning compassion into action.

From designing buildings to greener lifestyles, architect Nayana Premnath is inspiring 80,000 Indians to live sustainably. Through her platform and upcycling brand The Green Circle, she’s proving that small, mindful choices can spark big change.

While the internet argues over reclaiming slurs, one man in Haryana has spent 11 years counting them — and changing how India speaks. Because real change doesn’t always trend. Sometimes, it grows at home.

For over 20 years, Pragathi Charitable Trust has been a beacon for school dropouts and child labourers. Now, they need your help to keep their doors open.

Through the Bio Village 2.0 initiative, Daspara, in Tripura, has become a model for rural sustainable practices and renewable energy consumption. With better agricultural productivity, cleaner energy solutions, and a focus on community-driven development, Daspara is paving the way for a greener, more prosperous future for Indian villages.

What do you do with a weed that grows back in 14 days and kills everything in its path? In Trichy, 25-year-old ecologist Sushmita Krishnan found an answer — she turned it into handmade paper and trained 150 women to do the same.

An accidental discovery at Tal Chappar turned Sharvan Patel’s lens into a mission. Today, 130 Khailis ponds across Rajasthan sustain blackbucks, mongooses, peacocks, and migratory birds — but the journey began with just one pond.