Can you help fight climate change by contributing just 30 seconds of your day? Can artificial intelligence prepare meals reminiscent of your mother’s cooking? How are thousands of senior citizens harnessing the power of social media to fight misinformation?

‘Igniting Ideas for Impact’, an audiobook by Accenture India and The Better India, embarks into a journey of exploring these and more transformatory ideas over a course of six chapters.

Traversing India’s landscape, we delve deep into some of the nation’s pioneering startups and the revolutionaries behind them. The people you will hear from in this book include Geetha Manjunath talking about her transformative battle for early breast cancer detection; Saket Modi on his global mission for cyber security; Aishwarya Karnataki on her endeavour to include thousands living with an invisible disability; and Manish Amin on his goal of printing human organs to save millions of lives – to name a few.

We speak to Indians wheeling in sea change across sustainability, women in leadership, deep tech, innovation, artificial intelligence, and the future of the workforce.

Author & Edited By: The Better India | Accenture India

When Women Lead to Build Foundations, Not to Break Ceilings: This chapter on women in leadership delves into the creative solutions brought forth by female leaders. It focuses on women who take charge in boardrooms and recounts their distinctive paths of reshaping their work environments. The theme also addresses the obstacles they encounter, the valuable lessons they gather, and other aspects of their journeys.

Author: Swapna Majumdar
Edited by: Divya Sethu & Tanaya Singh

Sources:

1) https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5184599/india-electric-scooter-and-motorcycle-market

2) https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/october-marks-breast-cancer-awareness-month-heres-what-we-need-to-know-and-do-to-keep-the-disease-away/article66030432.ece

3) https://theswaddle.com/goi-underestimates-breast-cancer-incidence-report-finds/

4) https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/breast-cancer

5) https://www.ibef.org/blogs/women-entrepreneurs-shaping-the-future-of-india

6) https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/women_entrepreneurs.html

7) https://www.msmex.in/learn/what-is-bharatiya-mahila-bank-business-loan/

8) http://www.ncgtc.in/en/products-n-services/cgfmu

9) https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1809847

10) https://startupmission.kerala.gov.in/schemes

11) https://startupmission.kerala.gov.in/events/she-loves-tech-india-6134f8e2a49a6

12) https://www.tnpscthervupettagam.com/currentaffairs-detail/thozhilanangu/

13) https://www.missionstartupkarnataka.org/vriddhi-scheme?en

14) https://wehub.telangana.gov.in/

The Sustainable Switch: How to Grow Without Harming the Environment? This chapter explores the meaning of sustainability in depth from the lenses of entrepreneurs engaged in developing solutions for organic waste management, air pollution and generating finance for climate change solutions. These individuals have developed unique solutions that not only abide by their concepts of sustainability, but also give us a shot at a cleaner and healthier future. Here are their stories as Indians building sustainable solutions, how they arrived at them and their thoughts on the larger sustainability business ecosystem in the country.

Author: Rinchen Norbu Wangchuk
Edited by: Divya Sethu & Tanaya Singh

Transforming The Future With Deep Tech: This chapter delves deeply into some of the most exceptional technological innovations, engaging with the individuals at the forefront of change led by tech. In a country like India, where the socio-economic and development challenges are unique, deep tech is the need of the hour as it has the potential to meaningfully address various aspects of these problems using new technologies.

Author: Swapna Majumdar
Edited by: Divya Sethu & Tanaya Singh

Inspiring Large-Scale Change With Innovations Driven by Empathy: This chapter encompasses a broad spectrum of innovations and fresh research and development efforts spanning across sectors, all of which are poised to bring about a positive impact on society as a whole. What connects these innovations? Empathy – an underlying emotion that inspired these innovations, while each innovator went on their own journey and battled different challenges in bringing them to life.

Author: Rinchen Norbu Wangchuk
Edited by: Divya Sethu & Tanaya Singh

Sources:

1) https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/education/valuation-of-iit-m-incubation-cells-start-ups-seen-touching-40000-crore/article66528309.ece

The Anatomy of AI: Will It Unleash an Entrepreneurial Revolution? This chapter delves into groundbreaking concepts and transformations that have emerged through partnerships with AI. Across various industries such as food, healthcare, and the creative fields, AI has become an indispensable tool, accomplishing tasks once deemed unimaginable. This chapter serves as a guide to better comprehend the world of AI and its innovative ideas.

Author: Damayanti Datta
Edited by: Divya Sethu & Tanaya Singh

Sources:

1) https://www.deccanherald.com/national/startups-in-india-rose-from-471-in-2016-to-72993-in-2022-1129560.html

2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8085630/

Indians Building the Future of India’s Workforce: This chapter explores concrete examples of how certain platforms pioneered by ordinary Indians are helping the country encash its demographic dividend, while also facilitating the entry of those often ignored, or left out of the formal workforce. It examines a range of exceptional ideas, policies, and trends that advocate for investing in talent and gives an acute sense of the work that goes behind providing people with the necessary skills to find quality jobs.

Author: Rinchen Norbu Wangchuk
Edited by: Divya Sethu & Tanaya Singh

Source material for figures and facts cited in ‘Key Takeaways’

'UNIFIED SKILL INDIA DIGITAL PLATFORM TO BE LAUNCHED TO EXPAND DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM FOR SKILLING'; Published on 1 February 2023 courtesy Press Information Bureau, Government of India

'Post-pandemic job recovery for Indian women slower than men: Report' by Nupur Dogra; Published on 22 February 2023 courtesy Business Standard

'Skilling India — Here's how the govt's new emphasis could turn our demographic dividend into reality' by Chhavi Banswal; Published on 15 February 2023 courtesy CNBC TV-18

'The enduring sexism of India’s tech industry' by Raksha Kumar; Published on 1 November 2022 courtesy Rest of World