REACHING FOR THE STARS

A hockey player from a remote village in Jharkhand who dreams of playing for India in the Olympics, a civil servant who ushered in a 'space revolution' by launching astronomy labs in some 100 state-run schools in Uttar Pradesh, the 'Mushroom Lady' from desert state Rajasthan who launched a women's collective, a young tea farmer from Dibrugarh, Assam, who dreams of taking his produce global... these are some of the 'Bhagya Vidhatas' who signify a rising, aspirational India. And they were all at the India Today Conclave.

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THE BIG-TICKET REFORMS
BANEGA TO BADHEGA BHARAT

Manoj Konbegi, vice-president of Hockey Jharkhand, spoke about how losing the Nehru Cup school nationals final to Haryana led to the development of an astroturf hockey stadium in Simdega, now christened the cradle of hockey' in Jharkhand. Hailing from a nearby village where hockey is religion-school children can forget their satchels but not their hockey sticks here-is a young Sanjna Dungdung, centre-forward and captain of her school team who battles poverty and sweats it out on the hockey field as she chases her dream of playing in the Olympics.

As the chief development officer (CDO) of Bulandshahr (2020-22), Abhishek Pandey inspired children and adults alike to reach for the stars. The young IAS officer initiated the 'astronomy labs' idea in 2021 when the second Covid wave was raging and there were fears of the learning gap widening in schools. Now, the 'Khagol Kranti' has spread, with some 100 government schools boasting their own astronomy labs.