Authored by Dipanjana Bhattacharjee, Program Director, Digital Bharat Collaborative
In a remote village in India’s heartland, Afsana Begum, an ASHA worker, sets out each morning to support expectant mothers and deliver critical health services. But her work looks very different today. The bulky registers are gone, replaced by a single tablet with the Utprerona app.
This change was sparked by Rahul, a young Gandhi Fellow. As part of Digital Bharat Collaborative (DBC), a part of Piramal Foundation, Rahul helped introduce the Digitised ASHA initiative- bringing digital tools to frontline health workers like Afsana. Though hesitant at first, the team’s patient support and practical training gave her the confidence to adopt it. Today, she covers more ground, captures more accurate data, and serves her community with even greater impact.
Such stories remind us that when young people are empowered with the right skills and purpose, they don’t just learn, they lead. On this World Youth Skills Day, we celebrate the young changemakers driving systemic transformation at the last mile.
Tech is Not Just a Tool, It’s a Culture
In today’s rapidly evolving world, technology isn’t just something we use occasionally – it’s becoming a part of how we think, connect, and solve problems together. Building a culture where tech fluency is the norm allows young people to see data not just as numbers on a screen, but as stories that inspire action and digital tools not as add-ons, but as everyday enablers of collaboration and innovation.
When technology is woven into daily practice, governance and public service can evolve from slow, paper-heavy systems into agile, responsive networks that better serve people’s needs. Creating lasting change, then, is about nurturing a mindset where technology is both learned and lived.
Harnessing the Demographic Dividend
Through DBC, our interventions champion technology adoption as a vital 21st-century skill for young people driving transformation in public systems.
Given the demographic dividend and the fact that India is the youngest nation in the world today, the role of youth in spearheading change initiatives and having a seat at the decision-making table can no longer be undermined. Coupled with the power of tech innovation, this duo is poised to be an unstoppable combination in transforming, and more importantly, simplifying the most complex problems of the world.
Our Gandhi Fellowship is grounded in this belief. Through hands-on exposure and field learning, Fellows are equipped to use digital tools for real-time monitoring, data-driven governance, and frontline delivery. Whether it’s strengthening public systems in Assam or improving maternal health in Bihar, young people are not just participating in the digital age but are actively shaping it.
Gandhi Fellows: Our Change Agents
In Sipajhar block, Assam, 28-year-old Sunita Devi was identified with TB symptoms during a door-to-door survey by ASHA worker Nalini Devi. Nalini had recently been trained by Gandhi Fellow Juhi through the Digital Bharat Collaborative.
With support from Juhi, the team began using the Nikshay app to digitize TB detection and follow-up. This ensured Sunita was quickly registered, diagnosed, and connected to free treatment and nutrition support. The digital process made patient tracking and coordination with health officials more efficient, helping strengthen local health systems and improve care on the ground.
Juhi and Rahul show us how young leaders are driving grassroots change through digitization – a hallmark of youth-led change management today.
From the Field to the Future
My insights in change management to promote a culture of digital skills at the forefront, are intricately linked to the stories of impact that young Gandhi Fellows inspire on the ground. This has helped shape an entire theory of change – one that is marked by complex problems and frugal solutions, characterized by collaboration, systems thinking, and deep empathy. Some of them have left an everlasting impact on my own outlook and approach to problem-solving.
This World Youth Skills Day, I’m reminded that the future of governance won’t be written by policies alone, it will be built by people. People like Juhi, Rahul, and thousands of others, who bring technology and empathy together to transform India’s future- one village, one hospital, one digital tool at a time.
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