When someone sees a problem and decides to fix it — not for fame, but because it simply must be done — that’s the kind of change India needs. This September, in Delhi, Optum Presents The Better India Showcase 2025, supported by the M3M Foundation, will honour the people who build those changes. It spotlights everyday courage, compassion in action, and solutions born of love and conviction.
This is not a glamorous affair. It’s a heartfelt salute to those who turned challenges into hope, often without waiting for an invitation. It shines a light on lives transformed through quiet resolve and persistent, caring action.
To celebrate the faces of change, the Showcase recognises heroes across nine meaningful categories:
- TBI Agri Changemaker
- TBI Woman Changemaker
- TBI Water Warrior, powered by Bisleri
- TBI Education Changemaker
- TBI Health Changemaker
- TBI Sustainability Changemaker
- TBI Social Impact Changemaker
- TBI Creator for Good
- TBI Young Innovator
Guiding the selection of these stories are 10 individuals whose own journeys speak of conviction and compassion. They will lend their judgement to stories that carry the strength of heartfelt action and deserve to reach a wider audience.
1. Dr Prakash Amte
Padma Shri (2002) | Ramon Magsaysay Awardee (2008) | Medical Director, Lok Biradari Prakalp
Dr Prakash Amte followed a clear yet brave compass: trading comfort for service in the forest. In 1973, with his wife Dr Mandakini, he chose to build ‘Lok Biradari Prakalp’ — a remote sanctuary in Hemalkasa that now embraces a free 40‑bed hospital, a residential school for over 600 Madia Gond children, and a wildlife refuge nestled in the trees.
Their story started with healing beneath open skies, tending wounds without light, and listening long before they could be heard. Together, they planted roots that grow stronger with each passing year.
2. Dr Mandakini Amte
MBBS, PG Diploma in Anaesthesia | Medical Officer, Lok Biradari Prakalp | Ramon Magsaysay Awardee (2008)
Dr Mandakini embraced a life of purpose when she left behind a stable medical career to join her husband, Prakash, in establishing Lok Biradari Prakalp at Hemalkasa. Together, they built a free hospital, a residential school, and an animal sanctuary, serving the Madia Gond tribal community from the 1970s onwards.
In 2008, their work was honoured with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership — recognising the compassion and courage that anchored their shared mission.
3. Anshu Gupta
Ramon Magsaysay Awardee (2015) | Founder‑Director, Goonj & Gram Swabhimaan
Anshu Gupta stirred a movement from a simple question — “Why is cloth overlooked in development?”— by starting Goonj with just 67 pieces of cloth in 1999. Today, it bridges urban excess and rural need by using discarded materials to build infrastructure, supply menstrual kits, and aid in disaster relief across 23 states.
Known as the ‘Clothing Man’, he reshaped empathy into dignity-based dialogue. His vision now lives in ‘Gram Swabhimaan’ — an initiative to restore rural dignity through collective action.
4. Shrashtant Patara
Chief Executive Officer, Development Alternatives | Executive Vice President, Development Alternatives Group
An architect by training, Shrashtant Patara has spent over three decades with Development Alternatives, bringing practical, sustainable solutions to India’s remotest regions. Since 1988, he has nurtured social enterprises delivering clean energy, affordable housing, safe water, waste recycling, and green livelihoods.
He now leads ventures like TARAurja, a renewable micro-utility, and the India Micro Enterprises Development Foundation, enabling entrepreneurship at scale. A Rockefeller Global Social Innovation Fellow, he blends vision with on-ground action, proving that sustainable growth and human dignity can advance together.
5. CVL Srinivas
Country Manager, WPP India (since 2017); former CEO, GroupM South Asia
With over 25 years in advertising and media, CVL Srinivas stands tall among India’s storytelling custodians. He has steered transformation at WPP India since 2017, after leading GroupM South Asia and key agencies including Mindshare and Maxus.
Under his leadership, WPP has invested deeply in building futures — through digital-skilling for nearly 20,000 underserved youth, founding ISDI‑WPP School of Communication, and partnering in sustainable legacy projects via the India 2022 consortium.
His direction lights pathways for purpose and inclusion in communications.
6. M Hari Menon
Country Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — India Office
Hari Menon leads the Gates Foundation’s work in India and across South and Southeast Asia, turning global expertise into local partnerships. Since 2019, he has guided initiatives in family health, sanitation, agriculture, women’s economic empowerment, and digital financial inclusion, working closely with governments, nonprofits, and communities.
Earlier, he advised Rohini Nilekani on water, governance, and environment, and held senior roles in policy and public health. An XLRI graduate, he champions solutions rooted in both vision and ground realities.
7. Shantanu Naidu
General Manager & Head of Strategic Initiatives, Tata Motors
At 32, Shantanu Naidu brings a fresh vision to leadership at Tata Motors. An engineering graduate from Savitribai Phule Pune University and Cornell MBA, he began with a reflective dog-collar design that drew Ratan Tata’s attention — leading to a valued mentorship and key roles at Tata Trusts, Tata Technologies, and the Office of Ratan Tata.
Named Social Impact Leader of the Year 2025, he blends innovation, education, and social entrepreneurship to inspire change across industries and communities.
8. Uma Ratnam Krishnan
Managing Director, Optum Global Solutions (India) & Independent Director, Goodyear India
Uma Ratnam Krishnan brings nearly three decades of experience weaving leadership with purpose. At the helm of Optum Global Solutions (part of UnitedHealth Group), she shapes global healthcare services and operational strategy in India. She also serves as an independent director on the board of Goodyear India, and previously led operations at Barclays Global Service Centre and Optimus Global Services.
An MBA graduate from IIM Bangalore, her leadership blends industry depth with commitment to inclusive growth and meaningful impact.
9. Dr Aishwarya Mahajan
Managing Trustee & President, M3M Foundation
Dr Aishwarya Mahajan brings over two decades of commitment to grassroots change through her leadership at M3M Foundation. With a PhD in Sociology, she guides programmes across 22 states, three union territories, 85 districts, and 871 villages — touching more than 4.4 million lives through education, livelihoods, conservation, and social inclusion.
Her initiatives — such as iMpower, Kartavya, Lakshya, and VanJeevan — combine strategic insight with empathy, empowering communities to lead their own journeys toward lasting resilience and pride.
10. Anuradha Parekh
Co-Founder & Chief Editor, The Better India
An engineer turned storyteller, Anuradha Parekh co-founded The Better India in 2008 with her husband, Dhimant Parekh — transforming weekend blogging into Asia’s most influential platform for positive news that now reaches millions of people a month.
Holding an MBA from ISB, she has guided the publication in amplifying more than 75,000 stories that inspired policy shifts, helped farmers, and strengthened communities. In 2022, NITI Aayog honoured her with the “Women Transforming India” award for her role in redefining media with optimism and purpose.
The jurors of the Showcase are game-changers who have moved mountains — from the densest forests to the biggest boardrooms. Builders of bridges, breakers of barriers, lifelines in times of crisis, their work has lit lamps in the darkest corners and sparked revolutions in how India learns, heals, and grows.
On 18 September 2025, they will join forces to put the spotlight on the heroes who make the impossible happen.
The stage is set. The stories are ready. History is in the making.
Watch this space for the latest updates on India’s most inspiring night of impact.
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