Surat

Once hit by a deadly plague, Surat is now India’s cleanest city. With smart tech, community effort, and a Rs 500 crore waste economy, it shows how cleanliness can become a habit.

When her children grew up and moved on, Beena Kalathiya turned her empty afternoons into something extraordinary — a space where elderly women, long forgotten by formal education, could finally learn to read and write.

Jigna and Rahul Shah, a doctor couple based in Surat, grow many varieties of vegetables, fruits, ornamental plants while breeding fish on their home terrace despite their busy schedules.

Rahul Kacha from Surat is proving that rainwater isn’t just a resource — it’s a revolution in sustainability.

L&T has planted mangroves across 150 hectares in Karanj and Hansot, Gujarat, through its Blue Carbon initiative. This effort has boosted farmer incomes and enhanced ecological balance, providing a sustainable livelihood while restoring biodiversity and protecting the coastal environment.

Ecovia was founded by Dhwani Mehta, Pranjul Jain and Parikshit Joon in 2021 with the sole intent of reducing the plastic material used in packaging online purchases.

Retired professor Dr Mohini Gadhia from Surat is a home gardener who grows a variety of vegetables and fruits in her garden. She shares some tips on how nature helps her heal despite a severe illness.

Avid home gardeners, Subhash Surti and his family’s home boasts of over 400 organic plant varieties such as seasonal vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants and more. But the most unique part of this garden is a special potato that grows in vines rather than underground. Here’s how.

Radhakrishna and Shakuntala Choudhary are a retired couple from Surat, Gujarat, who launched ‘Keshpallav Hair Oil’, in June. They claim their oil helps with male pattern baldness, hair fall and other issues.

Dr Salim Channiwala, a mechanical engineer and former director at Sardar Vallabhai National Institute of Technology in Surat, has developed a bio-organic liquid fertilizer made from slurry and 16 micronutrients.