Ranganath Thota

Why is collaboration amongst CSR funders limited? Aditya Natraj (CEO, Piramal Foundation) believes the reason is - deep specialization needs to precede collaboration. Only when a funder has deep domain knowledge in any sector (water, forests, edtech, tribal communities ...) built up over many years, will other funders value it and want to collaborate, because there is no way they can invest that much time on their own. He talks about the expertise that Tata Steel Foundation and Tata Consultancy Services CSR have built over decades, which he has tapped into. He also uses the auto manufacturing example to illustrate the point that deep specialization benefits the whole system, as well as individual components of the system. #dusspokeindiainc 2025 is here, and Aditya is our first featured leader of the year. This is the 2nd of 4 videos of our conversation. The link to the 1st video is in the comments. Simple, grounded, thought provoking ! Give Grants Give Give Discover Saurabh Adeeb Somedutta Chatterjee

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Building India’s own social media, for the world. 🌍 Every country today depends on US platforms for expression, distribution, and identity. That dependence is risky - whether for creators, startups, or national ecosystems. At Medial, we’ve been proving that a sovereign social network is not just possible, but inevitable. And unlike many who only talk about this narrative, we’ve actually built a unique app that works, scales, and fills a global whitespace. 📊 Where we are today: •⁠ ⁠400K+ users worldwide •⁠ ⁠Website traffic dominated by the US •⁠ ⁠Fastest growing startup community and also the biggest All built from India, for India, but designed with the conviction that this model can serve any country that wants its own voice. 🚀 Why this matters: •⁠ ⁠Nations shouldn’t depend on US companies for critical digital infrastructure. •⁠ ⁠Local ecosystems deserve platforms aligned with their context and culture. •⁠ ⁠India has the scale and talent to create the next global platforms—not just consume them. •⁠ ⁠Despite hundreds of apps, there’s no truly professional-first social platform that fosters real conversations over vanity metrics. Medial is proving that gap exists - and can be filled. The world needs alternatives more than ever. Medial isn’t just another social app. It’s our shot at building future tech that scales globally, from India outward. We’re still early. We don’t have billions in the bank. But we do have proof: a fast-growing community, real traction, and a product people want to open every day. If you believe in an India-to-the-world narrative, this is the time to back it and join Medial. Because every time we “partner” instead of building, it’s an acceptance that we weren’t good enough to create on our own. We don’t accept that. Neither should you. 💛

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In conversation with Satinder Walia, Founder Kidspiration, a prominent child psychologist advocating for child wellbeing and neurodiversity. In this insightful session, Satinder shares comprehensive and deeply relatable perspectives on child development. Key reflections: ·      Children are always right – It’s about working towards their strengths and compensating towards their weaknesses  ·      Academic achievement is highly prioritized in India - Importance of social emotional learning needs as much consideration ·      Gifted IQ is talked less, programs for gifted kids are yet to be developed ·      Impact of social media on kids and what maybe done around it  ·      A wonderful piece of advice for women – Passion drives business, so if you are passionate about something and have a vision, don’t leave it! Follow the link for complete video and more… This is one conversation you simply cannot afford to miss https://lnkd.in/g3MxkC8r #ChildWellbeing #ChildPsychology #PositiveParenting #EarlyChildhoodDevelopment #MentalHealthMatters #LearningAndGrowth #HolisticDevelopment #ParentingSupport #LinkedInCommunity

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How will innovation happen in education if we continue to lock teachers and students in a single room, both literally and metaphorically? This piece by @Anurag Behar, CEO Azim Premji Foundation, reminds us of what we’ve lost by over-standardising education. In my two decades in higher education, I’ve witnessed firsthand how accreditation systems, in the name of 'quality', have created a rigid, performative culture that discourages experimentation and independent thought. Teachers are treated as syllabus delivery agents. Classrooms become cages. And yet we expect creativity and critical thinking from our students? It doesn’t work that way. We need a liberal, trust-based approach where a teacher can step out, read, reflect, reimagine, and return with a better way to teach. Pedagogy is not a checkbox. It's an evolving art. Let’s stop confusing control with quality. Let’s give teachers back their freedom to innovate. That’s where true transformation begins. Ravi K. Dhar Screengrab: Mint

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From Grassroots to Digital: Scaling Leadership with CORO India. A bit longer. Do give it a read. For years, CORO India’s Grassroots Leadership Development Programme (GLODP) — a flagship fellowship nurturing leaders from marginalised communities — has drawn its strength from deep community engagement and trust. Its application process, long rooted in pen-and-paper forms and manual screening, reflected this personal and grounded approach. In 2025, the programme took a significant step forward. Partnering with Dhwani Rural Information Systems RIS, GLODP embraced a digital application system, extending its reach while staying true to its grassroots ethos. The impact has been profound. What was once around 1,000 applications has now expanded to more than 3,000, drawn from 40 districts and 350 blocks across Maharashtra and Gujarat. Remarkably, this growth has been managed by the same dedicated team, now working with greater speed, transparency, and traceability. The choice of technology played an important role in making this possible. Built on Frappe — an open-source framework — the system offered robust capabilities such as workflows, dashboards, user management, audit trails, and security straight out of the box. This meant faster delivery, lower costs, and a reliable platform without the overheads of a fully custom stack. For programmes like GLODP, where resources are carefully managed and impact is paramount, these choices matter. At Dhwani RIS, we remain inspired by organisations like CORO. Supporting them in advancing their missions through the thoughtful use of technology is at the heart of our work. By enabling scale and efficiency without losing sight of community roots, we believe digital transformation can truly strengthen social change. Seeing grassroots leaders confidently use the system in practice has been deeply rewarding. It is a reminder that when technology and purpose come together, impact multiplies. The success of this transition has also sparked new possibilities. Building on the GLODP experience, CORO is now looking to digitise its other flagship initiatives — Samta, which works to turn constitutional values into lived realities, and the Gender Sensitisation programme, which challenges entrenched social norms and advances equity. These programmes, much like GLODP, rely on strong community processes, and digital tools can help them achieve scale, efficiency, and deeper impact while staying true to their grassroots ethos. #TechForGood #DigitalTransformation #OpenSource #Frappe #COROIndia #GrassrootsLeadership #DhwaniRIS Sabera Thyagarajan Shivani Mehta Deepak Batra Dhwani Rural Information Systems Reshma Anand Rushabh Mehta

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Insights from ‘EdTech for Equity’: Reinforcing KITE’s Vision for Public Education. +++ Today's Fireside Chat with Kavita Sanghvi , Director - Education, Kotak Education Foundation, at the ‘EdTech for Equity - Critical Conversations’ conference provided an invaluable platform to discuss KITE's journey. It was a privilege to elaborate on the journey, challenges, and successes of implementing EdTech across Kerala’s public education system. My responses consistently highlighted our foundational principles: 1. FOSS (Free and Open Source Software): A commitment to accessible, adaptable, and cost-effective technological solutions. 2. Teacher's Autonomy: Empowering educators as central figures in digital integration, not just users. 3. Pedagogy-based Digital Content: Ensuring technology serves learning objectives, driven by educational theory, not just novelty. The engagement underscored the critical role of these pillars in building a robust, equitable, and sustainable digital learning environment for all students. My sincere thanks to IT for Change ( specially to Gurumurthy Kasinathan ) and Critical EdTech India for organizing this vital dialogue. #EdTechForEquity #KITEKerala #FOSS #TeachersAutonomy #Pedagogy #PublicEducation #DigitalTransformation #ITforChange

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