Hardeep Singh Puri
Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India

The Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award - India was established by Jubilant Bhartia Foundation and Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship as an endeavour to promote social entrepreneurship in India. For over a decade the award has been recognising & awarding entrepreneurs who implement innovating, sustainable and scalable solutions to social issues for underserved communities of India.

Madhura Dasgupta Sinha - Aspire For Her(AFH)
aspireforher.com

Year Established: 2021

Area of Activity:

• AFH partners with corporations to establish specialised communities such as Tech4Her, Women Leaders, and EntrepreNaari. These targeted networks cater to specific professional and entrepreneurial needs, offering tailored support women across various stages of life and careers—from schoolgirls and college students to professionals in IT, finance, sports, and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Impact Numbers

• Reach: Reaching 550,000 women across 15+ communities securing 1,000 placements.
• Other aspect: 1,200 mentorship sessions, supported 20 cohorts across 100 courses, and invested over 50,000 learning development hours

Akshay Saxena - Avanti Fellows
www.avantifellows.org

Year Established: 2010

Area of Activity:

• Avanti Fellows provides free STEM education and career guidance to economically disadvantaged students in India. Their high-intensity tutoring helps top students achieve significant success and improve their families' financial situations. Unique for open-sourcing its educational content, Avanti Fellows' programmes are used nationwide.

Impact Numbers

• Reach: Free content for 2M+ students across 7 states, 30K students in intensive tutoring.
• Other: Helped 5K+ students enter elite STEM institutions, median salary INR 6 lakh helping to break intergenerational poverty.

Hunny Bhagchandani - Torchit
www.mytorchit.com

Year Established: 2010

Area of Activity:

• TorchIt uses a multifaceted approach to support individuals with disabilities by focusing on affordable, accessible assistive technologies and inclusive education. Their strategy includes raising awareness, improving availability, and ensuring affordability. They design user-friendly devices and offer vocational training, while collaborating with communities and stakeholders to integrate their solutions.

Impact Numbers

• Reach: improved the lives of over 300,000 people with disabilities across 40 countries.
• Other aspect: 40% increase in employment rates &a 30% rise in educational enrolment among users and supported 120 PwDs as micro-entrepreneurs