Changemakers

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.

Co-founded by UP’s Shailendra Tiwari and Ananda Verma, Fasal’s precision farming innovation is helping farmers cut costs, boost yields, and save billions of litres of water.

Once struggling to make ends meet, Rashmi Durvey from Senguda village in Madhya Pradesh is now empowering thousands of farmers through PRADAN. With sustainable farming and self-help groups, she is proving how women can drive lasting change in rural India.

What started as Thuvakkam, a college tree-planting drive by Krishnakumar S and his friends, has grown into a large-scale effort to bring urban forests back in two major Indian cities. His work is not just reviving the soil but also rebuilding people’s connection with nature.