This 12 months, 27 Indian college students have discovered a spot within the ‘Roll of Honour’ of Diana Awards. ‘These distinctive younger individuals have demonstrated their capacity to encourage and mobilise new generations to serve their communities and create long-lasting change on a worldwide scale,’ an official assertion learn.
Instituted in reminiscence of the late Princess Diana, the award is the very best recognition a teen can obtain for social motion or humanitarian efforts. It’s supported by each her sons, HRH The Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, and offered by a charity bearing the identical identify.
Meet these Indians:
Aarush Kapur
Aarush Kapur, a 17-year-old scholar of Vasant Valley Faculty in New Delhi, has been awarded the Diana Award for bringing optimistic change and creating a long-lasting social influence by way of his NGO, BambooTree Youngsters’s Basis. Impressed by his personal expertise of being separated from his cousin, Aarush co-founded BambooTree Youngsters’s Basis (BCF), an NGO actively working with youngsters of separated households, to fight Parental Alienation.
To combat parental alienation, Aarush spearheaded a nationwide survey of household court docket litigants and authorized professionals to doc and uncover the true extent of the issue. As per BCF, he then led a nationwide marketing campaign, mobilising over 600 households throughout 12 cities for Parental Alienation Consciousness Day on April 25, 2024, reaching over 3,000 individuals.
Now, BCF has expanded its volunteer community from 15 to 300 people, launched an e mail helpline, and arranged counselling periods to help affected households.
Anaya Singhi
A 16-year-old, Anaya has developed a pioneering early studying curriculum for tribal youngsters aged 2–5, specializing in motor talent growth utilizing sustainable, cost-effective, and regionally out there sources reminiscent of mud, sand, and leaves. Whereas interning with an NGO, Anaya noticed the disparity in sources in comparison with her personal childhood experiences with occupational remedy in Mumbai. This led her to creating ‘SkillSnap’, a sustainable app designed to foster motor talent and sensory growth, making certain equitable early training alternatives. Via rigorous testing and collaboration with consultants, her curriculum has considerably improved the abilities of youngsters in Kanha and is now poised for growth with the potential to remodel early training throughout rural India.
Angad Tathgir
Angad’s journey as a social entrepreneur started with a dedication to handle the e-waste disaster in his group. Regardless of varied challenges initially, Angad raised $1,000 to launch ‘EcoBinRecycle’, an initiative targeted on amassing and responsibly recycling e-waste whereas elevating consciousness about its dangerous results. Beginning with simply 15 households, Angad has grown his challenge to serve 12 workplaces and 70 households, amassing 1.5 tons of e-waste. He additionally based ‘The Ambassadors Programme’, rallying youth to affix his trigger, and secured partnerships with organisations like ‘5RCycle’. Angad’s efforts have established a citywide e-waste assortment system, inspiring sustainable practices for future generations.
Anvi Kumar
17-year-old, Anvi is a psychological well being advocate and artist remodeling psychological well being training in India by way of her initiative, ‘The Thoughts Canvas.’ By integrating artwork and storytelling, she has reached over 250,000 college students and educators throughout 6,000 faculties, breaking stigma and fostering resilience. Her comics, workshops, mentorship and consciousness applications promote early intervention and emotional well-being in younger learners. Anvi additionally explored intergenerational perceptions of psychological well being and figuring out present gaps in psychological well being scholarship, along with her findings accepted for publication within the Worldwide Journal of Indian Psychology. Anvi additionally now champions common entry to psychological well being providers, advocating for the elimination of India’s 18 per cent tax on such important help methods.
Bhavna Dahiya
Bhavna (27) is the founding father of ‘RefugeEase’, a platform designed to help climate-displaced communities by way of AI-powered emergency responses, training, financial empowerment, and psychological well being providers. Impressed by her heritage and experiences with refugees, Bhavna’s work goals to handle international displacement challenges. She has represented climate-displaced communities at worldwide boards, advocated for coverage adjustments, and based the ‘Worldwide Council on Human Rights, Peace and Politics’ (ICHRPP). Bhavna has educated over 1,200 younger leaders and mentored youth throughout 40 nations. Via ‘RefugeEase’ and ‘ICHRPP’, Bhavna continues to create lasting influence, empowering displaced people and advocating for systemic change.
Diya Loka
Diya, a 17-year-old, is a founding father of ‘E-Cycl’, a youth-led initiative targeted on elevating consciousness about e-waste and its environmental influence. Beginning on the age of 14, she launched e-waste assortment drives and academic seminars throughout Hyderabad, later increasing to main cities in India. Via partnerships with organisations like SOIF Futures and Meta, Diya has collected over 10,000 kg of e-waste and reached 3,000 college students along with her message. Her work has reached over 5,000 people by way of international advocacy and conferences, reminiscent of WFSF (UNESCO) and GNIT’s WLC. Diya continues to encourage younger individuals globally to take motion on environmental points and is devoted to creating sustainable, youth-driven change.
Hridaan Sharma
The 16-year-old’s ardour for training and consciousness led him to handle the challenges of imaginative and prescient impairment in underserved communities. Observing college students struggling to see, he based ‘Imaginative and prescient to Imaginative and prescient’ to offer free eye exams, glasses, and counselling to college students from Delhi’s low-income faculties. The initiative’s two-pronged method contains on-site camps and the ‘Imaginative and prescient to Imaginative and prescient’ app, which empowers customers to carry out fundamental eyesight checks at house. Hridaan has impacted over 16,000 college students by way of 43 camps offering glasses to 1,600 college students, breaking stigmas round eye care and enabling numerous youngsters to totally take part of their training.
Jaisal Shah
From instructing his buddies chess at age 5 to mentoring a whole bunch within the KVO group, the 14-year-old has championed the transformative advantages of chess. Via free workshops and tournaments, he has instilled abilities like important pondering and confidence in contributors of all ages. Awarded the Nationwide Baby Award for Distinctive Achievement and the World Baby Prodigy Award, Jaisal’s initiatives have strengthened household bonds and created a tradition of resilience and creativity. As one in every of India’s youngest TEDx audio system and motivational chief, he conjures up others to beat failures and embrace challenges, leaving a long-lasting influence on his group and past.
Jayveer Sachin Kochhar
Jayveer’s ‘BreatheFree’ challenge works to enhance healthcare in India, particularly for marginalised communities. His revolutionary system tracks respiratory patterns to detect spinal and respiratory issues early, that are frequent causes of incapacity amongst deprived teams. By catching these points early, the system helps defend individuals’s well being and livelihoods. Jayveer labored with healthcare consultants and establishments to check the system on 84 people and goals to refine it into a cheap, accessible and user-friendly diagnostic software. Supported by a provisional patent, ‘BreatheFree’ holds nice promise to considerably influence well being outcomes whereas enhancing the social and financial situations of a few of India’s most susceptible populations.
Jeya Malhotr
Jeya has devoted herself to empowering college students with digital literacy and entrepreneurial abilities. As a founding member of ‘Tinker Champs’, she has mentored over 90,000 college students throughout India, instructing them essential abilities for launching digital ventures and turning into changemakers. Jeya spearheaded the ‘ATL Tinkerpreneur’ program and created ‘BizBox’, an entrepreneurship equipment utilized by over 100 college students. She additionally led ‘Maker Faires’, participating 500 contributors in innovation and collaborated with Atal Innovation Mission, Niti Aayog, Authorities of India. With a staff of fifty, she has supplied free training by way of self-learning portals and workshops, inspiring younger minds to interrupt limitations and pursue their entrepreneurial desires.
Kavya Mukhija
Kavya champions incapacity inclusion by addressing accessibility, fostering inclusive attitudes, and creating impactful content material. A Chevening Scholar pursuing her grasp’s diploma in Incapacity, Design, and Innovation at College School London (UCL), she combines humour, storytelling, data-driven analysis, and her personal experiences as a disabled particular person to problem societal limitations. ‘Namastey Incapacity’ is a digital help community empowering individuals by way of peer dialogue on inclusion and accessibility. From advocating for ramps in her faculty to international illustration at UN boards, Kavya addresses the difficulty at each degree. Her impactful initiatives embrace accessible tourism analysis as an NCPEDP-Javed Abidi Fellow on Incapacity and her digital content material creation, reaching over 100,000 individuals.
Mannat Samra
The 17-year-old’s work in prisoner rehabilitation and refugee training honours her experiences seeing the continuing influence of Indian Partition, and the devastating penalties individuals face when met with a punitive authorized system. In prisons throughout 4 Indian states, she has organised well being camps, donated medicines, and created libraries and leisure gardens. Her vocational coaching programmes have enabled 160 individuals to earn cash by working with style designers, and he or she is collaborating with psychologists to create a curriculum for younger individuals within the justice system. For refugees, she companions with NGOs to ship entrepreneurship programmes and has supported over 50 Gazan refugees in pursuing increased training. Mannat’s work champions training, inclusion, and above all, second possibilities.
Nikhil Tyrone Lemos
Nikhil (16) addresses challenges confronted by older individuals by way of revolutionary ventures. His standout challenge, ‘Meditel,’ is a tool making certain well timed medicine adherence, enabling safer, extra impartial well being administration. He additionally based ‘Elder Allies,’ which connects college students and older individuals by way of tech workshops instructing important digital abilities like on-line communication. Via these workshops, younger volunteers and older contributors have interaction in cross-generational studying, fostering mutual understanding and empowerment. These initiatives promote independence for older individuals and encourage younger individuals to interact in significant group service. With ‘Meditel’ and ‘Elder Allies,’ Nikhil creates impactful connections and drives lasting change in communities.
Niyati Sharma
The 24-year-old based the ‘Pratisandhi Basis’ at 17 to sort out taboos surrounding intercourse training in her group. Below her management, Pratisandhi has grown right into a youth-led secure area that trains over 1,000 younger volunteers and has instantly impacted greater than 75,000 individuals by way of coaching, advocacy, and outreach. Regardless of challenges and opposition, Niyati has labored tirelessly; she has constructed in depth volunteer networks, distributed 1000’s of condoms and sanitary merchandise, and created India’s first free digital sex-ed library with over 1,000 sources. In 2023, she additionally spoke on the FemNet4GTE convention and the UN, advocating for her imaginative and prescient of a youth-led, inclusive, and transformative method to intercourse training.
Radhika Dadhich Lambert
Radhika grew up in Rajasthan, witnessing extreme water shortage that hindered agricultural productiveness and prompted monetary pressure on native farmers. Motivated to discover a answer, she based ‘WaterAid’, introducing a cheap greywater recycling system comprised of sustainable supplies like activated charcoal, moringa seeds, and crushed corn cob. Her initiative has put in over 620 methods throughout 950 households, enhancing irrigation effectivity, boosting crop yields by 90 per cent, and enhancing incomes by 20 per cent. Radhika’s management contains mentoring 120 younger individuals, organising 30 workshops on sustainable practices, and overcoming challenges like social resistance and provide chain disruptions. Her efforts assist foster environmental stewardship and long-term resilience in communities.
Ratna Singh
Rising up, Ratna discovered her closest companion in nature, however as she grew older, she witnessed the speedy air pollution of the Ganga River. This impressed her involvement within the ‘Clear India Marketing campaign’, alongside organising local weather strikes, cleanup drives, and workshops. Ratna expanded her efforts globally, internet hosting seminars, interviewing environmental scientists, and creating I Can’t Breathe, a local weather comedian showcased at COP27. Along with her initiative, ‘Earth Security Valve’, Ratna has reached younger individuals from 15 nations throughout 5 continents, educating over 50,000 college students and mentoring faculties to undertake sustainable practices. Her programme ‘Ecofreak’ combines local weather motion and training, conducting participating nature-based workshops.
Rohit Sinha
Rohit based ‘Leidlik’ to bridge instructional and developmental gaps in rural India. Via initiatives like TechMastering, Innovation Port, and Nexture Summit, he has supplied free training to over 10,000 college students in want, fostering innovation and connecting them with trade leaders. He’s additionally spearheading formidable tasks in Rasabeda and Phulbani, a rural village in Jharkhand and Odisha respectively. Rohit funds these efforts by way of TechMastering and strategic partnerships, making certain sustainability. As a learner, mentor and author, he conjures up younger individuals by sharing his journey from a middle-class background to turning into a dynamic younger entrepreneur.
Shreya Agarwal
Witnessing the myths and taboos round menstruation and moved by her home helper’s lack of entry to menstrual merchandise, Shreya based ‘Interval Energy’. This student-led organisation combats interval poverty by offering menstrual merchandise, conducting self-defence periods for empowerment, and selling menstrual hygiene training. Via ‘Interval Energy’ Shreya has raised over Rs 1 lakh, distributed greater than 70,000 pads, and launched the thought of sanitary pad merchandising machines in faculties. Initially managing every little thing independently in Jharkhand, she expanded to Rajasthan, constructing networks and recruiting youth volunteers. Her aim is to create a stigma-free society the place nobody is hindered by their menstrual cycle.
Tanishka Ravikiran Nale
Tanishka, following the lack of a member of the family as a consequence of delayed medical assist, launched ‘Each Citizen a Life Saver’ to carry emergency preparedness to rural areas. She collaborated with native hospitals to organise CPR workshops, first assist coaching and roadside trauma help, reaching over 5,000 individuals in 15 months – from schoolchildren to manufacturing facility staff. Introducing the idea of ‘well being messengers’, Tanishka educated two representatives in every village to handle emergencies like cardiac arrests and pure disasters. Her efforts additionally embrace annual blood donation camps and fundraising to put in defibrillators in village panchayats, making certain swift medical help in distant areas.
Tara Sarna
Tara based ‘Youth for Youth’ (YfY) to help youngsters scuffling with bullying, low shallowness, and studying difficulties, impressed by her personal experiences in class. Recognising the dearth of help for college students, particularly in authorities faculties, she developed YfY to advertise peer-to-peer help and foster emotional wellbeing. The programme combines mindfulness, respiratory workout routines, and confidence-building workshops, serving to college students domesticate empathy, collaboration, and significant pondering. YfY’s hybrid mannequin has impacted over 650 faculties in 20 states, enhancing management abilities, educational efficiency, and shallowness amongst contributors. Tara envisions increasing YfY globally, creating youth-led networks that handle bullying and psychological well being challenges in communities worldwide.
Tejas Pugalia
Tejas based ‘Threads4Good’, to merge environmental sustainability with training. By upcycling 3,000 kg of textile waste, the organisation has created over 2,400 eco-friendly faculty baggage for kids throughout seven cities, while saving 60 million litres of water and 55,000 kg of carbon emissions. These schoolbags have enabled extra youngsters residing in poverty to attend faculty, who would in any other case miss three months of faculty throughout monsoon season, rising attendance from 44% to 78%. ‘Threads4Good’ has reached over 3,000 individuals offline and 60,000 on-line. With 450 volunteers, 20 workers from marginalised backgrounds, and partnerships with textile mills and NGOs, Tejas continues to increase his mission to help training and scale back waste.
Varsha Okay Purohit
Varsha launched ‘Smira’, aiming to alleviate city homelessness by offering clear clothes to enhance well being and hygiene, and instil hope. Motivated by her childhood custom of donating clothes throughout Diwali, Varsha started with a single drive in Pune, later scaling to 100+ drives throughout India. ‘Smira’ has since donated 50,000 kg of clothes, in addition to offering first assist and meals to these in want, impacting 30,000 individuals. With a imaginative and prescient to increase globally, Smira’s first worldwide drive in Nigeria impressed plans for operations in Algeria and Ethiopia. Varsha’s management, volunteer engagement and company collaborations, together with Tech Mahindra and Decathlon, proceed to place ‘Smira’ as a pressure for social influence worldwide.
Vidhi Miglani
The 17-year-old’s dedication to monetary literacy and empowerment has reworked the lives of over 5,000 rural ladies and established a community of 200 peer educators throughout 4 states in India. Via her organisation ‘DhanSarthi’, she has carried out 300 workshops, collaborated with banks to open 2,000 accounts for ladies, reached over 20,000 individuals in 10 states along with her Information to Monetary Literacy, and is presently engaged on growing an audiobook and podcast. Vidhi’s hands-on method, from aiding ladies with authorities schemes to organising vocational coaching, addresses systemic limitations, nurturing a self-sustaining community of girls geared up to dismantle patriarchal norms and obtain financial equality.
Vivaan Daga
Vivaan’s initiative, ‘CricMaths’, revolutionises maths training in India by combining his love for cricket and arithmetic. Utilizing reside cricket scores, the platform teaches math ideas in an attractive, relatable approach, addressing a important hole revealed by ASER 2023: over 50% of Indian college students battle with fundamental division. Constructing on his earlier challenge, ‘Maths Made Straightforward’, Vivaan collaborated with PlanetRead and different NGOs to pilot ‘CricMaths’. His tasks have benefitted greater than 1000 college students throughout six faculties. His hands-on method, from coding prototypes to consulting NCERT textbooks, ensures the platform’s influence. With funding secured for growth, ‘CricMaths’ guarantees to make math accessible and pleasing nationwide.
Vivaan Garg
The 17-year-old based ‘Ignite India’ to empower marginalised ladies and underprivileged youngsters by way of monetary literacy, microloans, and training. Collaborating with NGOs like Chaupal, Vivaan helped present $50,000 in microloans to 330 ladies, enabling them to begin small companies like tailoring and tea stalls. Vivaan additionally distributed 10,000 booklets to households residing in India’s slums, highlighting the federal government insurance policies and sources out there to them. Understanding the worth of expertise in social justice, he additionally labored on apps to scale back environmental waste and air pollution by way of trash assortment and carpooling, in addition to creating web sites for underrepresented NGOs that might not afford skilled providers.
Yash Sharma
Yash based ‘Official People of Queer’ to handle the dearth of genuine queer narratives in India, aiming to create a secure, consultant area for various LGBTQ+ tales. Impressed by private struggles with visibility, Yash launched the platform to offer hope and true illustration, showcasing experiences from throughout India. Initially modest in scope, with a must construct belief amongst a sometimes maligned group, ‘People of Queer’ has since obtained an amazing response. Reaching over one million individuals, and that includes 1000’s of people, it highlights underrepresented voices, gives sources, and builds group. Via workshops and mentorship, Yash empowers younger queer writers and advocates for youth-led queer initiatives, fostering inclusivity and resilience.
Zehn Kashyap
Born prematurely with Cerebral Palsy, Zehn is a devoted advocate for inclusion and variety. Via workshops, mentoring, podcasts, and TEDx talks, she has impacted over 5,000 college students and influenced insurance policies in training and employment. Partnering with the Youngsters First Psychological Well being Institute, she helped safe interventions for 10 underprivileged youngsters with disabilities and raised consciousness about particular training in over 100 households. Zehn additionally raised $5,500 to help artists with disabilities and supplied instructional kits to 500 youngsters in rural India. Her initiatives have reached over 500,000 individuals globally, spreading her message of empathy and transformative change.
