Who We Are

“What is really needed to make democracy function is not knowledge of facts, but right education.”

Mahatma Gandhi

Established in August 2019, Sterlite EdIndia Foundation is a Section 8 not-for-profit independent organisation (formerly a part of Sterlite Tech Foundation). It works towards strengthening the quality of education in India through teacher education, institutional strengthening, and data-driven governance.

Since inception, EdIndia has worked closely with teachers, Pre-Service Teachers, Government Institutions, Education Administrators, Private Institutions, and Non-Government Organisations to improve access to quality education and strengthen learning ecosystems for school-going children in India.

Today, EdIndia is present across six states and works closely with SCERTs, DIETs, Municipal Corporations, and NGO partners. Through its programs, EdIndia focuses on building future-ready teachers, strengthening institutions as Centres of Excellence, and enabling data-driven decision-making within the education system.

With a strong focus on systemic impact, research, and implementation grounded in field realities, EdIndia continues to work towards creating an education ecosystem that is equitable, responsive, and future-ready.

EdIndia Quality Education Framework

Our Vision

Every child in the country has access to quality education

Our Mission

To empower educators by enhancing teacher capabilities and fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making within the public education system

Our Goals

Strengthen teachers’ professional capabilities
Reposition teaching as an aspirational profession
EdIndia Center Goal Image
Foster a culture of data-driven decision making within the public education system
To Support Institutional Strengthening of Teacher Education Ecosystem

Our Values

Innovation

Encourage a culture of innovation; innovation and frugality in ideas and actions.

Perseverance

Hardworking and the spirit of never giving up; consistently striving for continuous improvement of outcomes to be achieved.

Collaboration

Collaboration for synergistic outcomes; cross-team collaboration; collaboration within the team members; external collaboration.

Integrity

Ethical behaviour and accountability of responsibility; legal, moral, financial, and data integrity; ownership.

Respect

Respect and compassion for all stakeholders; being open to ideas and perspectives beyond prejudice, respecting diversity and inclusivity.

Our Journey

Since inception in 2019, we have kept education as our core focus and have developed programmes that help us scale our goals in multiple ways

2026

Scale & Governance

The Institutional Strengthening Program was implemented across Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Tripura.

50 DIETs and 380+ education administrators

The Teacher Education Program scaled across 6 states directly engaging with pre-service teachers and Teacher Education Institutions.

6 states, 19,000+ pre-service teachers, and 105 Teacher Education Institutions

The Data Analytics Support Program continued to enable evidence-based governance and system-level decision-making within education departments.

1000+ key decisions, 926 administrators engaged, 48,000+ school-level administrators trained.

EdIndia Timeline Action 2026

2025

Digital Deepening

The Institutional Strengthening Program implemented in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand in partnership with SCERTs and 37 DIETs.

Partnered with BMC Education Department to analyse data for Classes 1 to 4, Class 10 mid-year assessments, and scholarship exam preparation initiatives, for over 1 lakh students across 800+ schools.

The akrava App digital learning platform introduced Mock CTET/STET preparation, courses, webinars, and 1000+ teacher resources.

EdIndia Timeline Action 2025

2024

Expansion

The Pre-service Teacher Education Program launched in Rajasthan.

The SCERT Institutional Strengthening Program initiated

Engagement across Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Tripura, reaching 7,332 pre-service teachers and 538 teacher educators across 50 Teacher Education Institutions.

EdIndia Timeline Action 2024

2023

Partnerships

System-level engagement in Maharashtra strengthened through strategic partnership with the Directorate of Education.

The in-service Teacher Education Program in Rajasthan was successfully completed and transitioned to the government.

The Pre-service Teacher Education Program expanded to private Teacher Education Institutions in Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

5,795 pre-service teachers, 372 teacher educators, 1,739 schools.

EdIndia Timeline Action 2023

2022

Competency Building

The Pre-service Teacher Education Program was initiated in Uttarakhand.

The Community Empowerment Program launched in Tripura.

EdIndia partnered with UNESCO MGIEP to strengthen digital pedagogy competencies among educators.

EdIndia Timeline Action 2022

2021

Geographical Growth

Teacher Education and Data Analytics initiatives spread initiated in 5 states while launching the Pre-service Teacher Education Program in Chhattisgarh

The Data Analytics Support Program initiated in Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh.

EdIndia Timeline Action 2021

2020

Virtual Action

A large-scale Virtual Teacher Training Program was implemented across Rajasthan and Maharashtra, supporting the continuous professional development of nearly 2 lakh teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuring continuity in teacher capacity building during this critical period.

EdIndia Timeline Action 2020

2019

Inception

Sterlite EdIndia Foundation was established as an independent Section 8 not-for-profit organisation, and the Teacher Education Program was launched in Rajasthan.

Data Analytics Support Program was initiated in Maharashtra.

Pragyan App was launched to support teacher education.

EdIndia Inception 2019

Board of Directors

JYOTI AGARWAL

JYOTI AGARWAL

Board Director, Sterlite EdIndia Foundation

Jyoti Agarwal is a philanthropist and social leader committed to creating meaningful change in people's lives. As a Board Director at Sterlite EdIndia Foundation, she provides strategic vision and leadership.

She is widely recognized for her immense contributions to public healthcare, especially in advancing affordable cancer care across India. As the Chairperson of Balco Medical Centre, she has successfully built a world-class oncology facility that provides accessible medical treatments alongside holistic emotional support systems for patients and their families.

Driven by a deep passion for social empowerment, she founded the Jeewan Jyoti Institute, a CSR initiative dedicated to equipping women with critical vocational skills and self-reliance opportunities. Her steadfast efforts across health and educational ecosystems continue to empower marginalized communities, foster resilience, and drive high-impact sustainable development models nationwide.

SONAKSHI AGARWAL

SONAKSHI AGARWAL

Managing Director, Sterlite EdIndia Foundation

As Managing Director of Sterlite EdIndia Foundation, Sonakshi is spearheading innovative, technology-driven solutions to improve public teacher education and strengthen the core academic architecture in India.

Her multifaceted strategy focuses on optimizing teacher capacity building, developing tailored analytics dashboards for administrators, and scaling app-based digital learning platforms. Additionally, she serves as a Director at the Sterlite Tech Foundation, steering high-impact community welfare programs centered on digital inclusion, women's livelihoods, healthcare, and ecological sustainability.

An alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Economics, Sonakshi seamlessly balances robust global strategic insights with a deep rooted understanding of India's localized development challenges, delivering data-backed decision-making frameworks across state education departments.

RUHIE PANDE

RUHIE PANDE

Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Sterlite Power

Ruhie Pande is the Group Head of Human Resources at Sterlite Power, a premier infrastructure developer. She contributes invaluable expertise in corporate organizational design and talent optimization models.

With an extensive corporate career spanning over two decades, she specializes in implementing large-scale strategic transformation, change management, and leadership development frameworks. She previously served as the CHRO at Godrej Properties and successfully established the foundational workforce architecture at Godrej Capital from the ground up.

Ruhie holds an MSc in Industrial and Occupational Psychology from Birkbeck College, London University, and is a certified PCC executive coach. Her cross-sector advisory expertise helps align administrative workflows at EdIndia, driving agile talent retention strategies to systematically support scalable educational transformations.

Board of Advisors

Arun C. Mehta

Arun C. Mehta

Arun C. Mehta holds a Ph.D. in Demographic Projections from the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, and is a specialist in EMIS, quantitative techniques, and the projection and forecasting of educational data. He has authored books on Education for All in India, enrolment projections, population projections, and upper primary education, and has contributed extensively to research journals and the NIEPA Occasional Paper Series. From 2001 to 2017, he played a key role in strengthening India’s Educational Management Information System at the national level and managed one of the world’s largest education information systems, the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE). He has published numerous annual reports based on UDISE data and has presented papers at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Dr Mehta has received professional training at the UNESCO Regional Office in Bangkok and the Harvard Institute for International Development, Harvard University (USA). His contributions have been recognised through several prestigious awards, including the e-Governance 2010 and eINDIA 2010 National Awards, the Manthan Award South Asia 2010, and the EMPI Indian Express Indian Innovation Award 2012. His recent research work is available at educationforallinindia.com.
Kathleen Naglee

Kathleen Naglee

Kathleen Naglee is an award-winning leader of innovative schooling and business practices. He has worked in diverse contexts including indigenous, impoverished and multinational communities for thirty plus years. In the past decade, she has been a Director of IB World schools in Finland and Estonia. She serves as a Commissioner for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is the former Chair of the US State Department sponsored Central and Eastern European Schools Association. She was named as a Top 75 Edruptors in Education in 2021. She is a frequent keynote speaker on the future of education.
Subir Shukla

Subir Shukla

Subir Shukla works on improving the quality of education system, beginning in 1986 when he lived in a tribal village for 6 years while working on primary education with Eklavya, MP. He has worked extensively with government systems, as Chief Consultant (DPEP, 1995-98) and Educational Quality Advisor (SSA) to MHRD (2009-11), and led the development of the Quality Framework for the RTE. He has consulted for most state governments in India and several national governments in Asia and Africa. Subir is also the co-author of a recently released book Child Development and Education in the Twenty-First Century, Springer, Singapore, 2019.
Pranati Panda

Pranati Panda

Prof. Pranati Panda is currently serving as a senior Professor and heading the Department of School and Non-Formal Education and School Standards and Evaluation Unit of NIEPA, New Delhi, India. She specializes in teacher professional standards, teacher management and leadership; teacher education governance, regulations and quality assurance; school governance, standards setting, quality assurance and evidence-based school improvement. Her significant publications include International Perspectives on Standards and Benchmarking in Teacher Education, the Oxford Encyclopedia of Global Perspectives on Teacher Education; Editor of the No Teachers, No Class: State of the Education Report for India, UNESCO, New Delhi and Landscape of teacher education in India (Routledge). Prof. Panda is consulted by UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank and many international organization.
Graham Thomson

Graham Thomson

Graham is a former Head of Educational Development Services, Scotland. He has worked extensively with school across the United Kingdom, Europe, India, and China to design and deliver Professional Learning Leadership Programmes. Focusing on improving the learning of both pupils and teachers. Graham has had several roles in the University of Edinburgh including Director of the Scottish Centre for Studies in School Administration. Other University of Edinburgh roles include Programme Director for an online school Masters’ Leadership Programme and Course Organiser for Masters’ courses for school leaders. He has also delivered a range of professional learning programmes for university colleagues in both Scotland and abroad. Graham currently has an honorary role at the University of Edinburgh.
Ayan Chatterjee

Ayan Chatterjee

Ayan Chatterjee is a seasoned professional with a career spanning over two decades, characterized by his expertise in scaling start-ups, government liaison, and driving impactful CSR and social impact initiatives. He is the Co-Founder of Life Circle, a tech-led geriatrics healthcare company, and the Co-Founder of ThinkTac, a STEM education start-up supported by Dr. C V Raman’s family trust. His transformative initiatives include anchoring the pilots and scaling up of the National Deworming program as part of Evidence Action, an intervention by Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo and Michael Kramer. He has also led Sterlite School Tech, which implemented the Virtual Classroom program across 480 Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai schools. His advisory roles extend to The Pravin Agarwal Foundation, which focuses on Paediatric Liver Transplant Support as well as Equality & Opportunity, headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Additionally, he serves as a member of the Global Collective for Socio-Emotional Learning & Digital Learning under UNESCO-MGIEP.
Our Team
Antony Nellissery

Antony Nellissery

Antony is the Head of EdIndia Foundation. Prior to the current role, he worked as Chief- School Excellence at Bharti Foundation. He has also worked with organizations like Save the Children, UNICEF, and Sight Savers International. Having graduated from IRMA, Gujarat, and being a product of Don Bosco Education, Antony's commitment to the development of children is evident in everything he does. He is the Global Goodwill Ambassador as declared by Global Goodwill Ambassador (GGA), a registered charity in USA. In addition to this, he has authored "The Skills Edge", a book intended to promote the 'skills approach' in school education.
Varun Bhamre

Varun Bhamre

Varun Bhamre leads the Monitoring & Evaluation, Technology, and research teams at EdIndia Foundation. He oversees data-driven strategies, digital solutions, and evidence-based research to strengthen teacher education and support government systems across states. With a strong background in analytics and program design, Varun plays a key role in driving innovation and building scalable models for impact. When he is not immersed in data and research, Varun enjoys long bicycling rides to de-stress and stay fit.
Nidhi Khandelwal

Nidhi Khandelwal

Nidhi works as the Chief Manager – Strategy, Partnerships & communications and focusses on partnerships and interventions around bringing a technological edge to EdIndia's offerings. She is a B.Tech in Biotechnology and has initially worked as Systems Engineer with Infosys. She has also worked with Teach for India and Sol's ARC before joining EdIndia. Nidhi is a travel enthusiast, and enjoys trekking and nature walks.
Pushpa Chandel

Pushpa Chandel

Pushpa is working as a Chief Manager - Academic Content & Digital Learning where she drives the development of innovative digital resources aimed at transforming teacher education. Pushpa brings over 18 years of experience in the education sector, having worked across schools, publishing, and Ed-Tech. She has held impactful roles such as School Principal, Head of Operations, and Organizational Development Consultant. An MBA from JBIMS with certifications in Leadership & Change (XLRI) and L&D (KPMG), Pushpa is passionate about improving learning experiences for students and educators alike. She enjoys gardening and singing in her leisure time.
Neerupama Sharma

Neerupama Sharma

Ms. Neerupama Sharma is the Chief Manager - Training at EdIndia. With a master's in Education and Psychology and a background in Botany, she is committed to advancing Learning and Development. Her career began as a Science teacher at Padma Seshadri, Chennai, and evolved to include curriculum design, school leadership, and K-12 assessments. She has led curriculum development and pre-service teacher training at Amity Centre for Educational Research and managed assessments and teacher training for professional development at Bharti Airtel Foundation. Neerupama is eager to contribute her expertise to EdIndia's mission.
Arijit Sen

Arijit Sen

Arijit leads the Digitization team at EdIndia, creating academic and promotional content for teachers across online and offline platforms. Over the past several years, he has focused on developing audio-visual resources to support teacher training, integrating art-based and child-centric pedagogy. Previously, he produced educational media with communities and established an art-based learning center in Bamor village, Tonk district with the help of local teachers and community helpers. With 15+ years in electronic and print media, he has also collaborated with organizations like Azim Premji Foundation and Community Theatre Tonk. He enjoys music, travel, photography, sports, and with a keen interest in exploring cultures to understand human behavior.
Kanchan Upasani

Kanchan Upasani

Kanchan is an HR professional with over 13 years of experience in Human Resource Management. She holds a Master's degree in Industrial Psychology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration. Her latest role was with Edify HR, where she delivered strategic HR support to clients, ensuring alignment with their business objectives. She is a proactive and results-oriented professional, deeply committed to driving organizational success through effective HR practices and strategic initiatives. Beyond her professional life, she is passionate about fitness and gymnastics. She is a certified gymnastics coach for toddlers and beginners, as well as a certified district-level gymnastics judge, and a mother of a 6-year-old.
Suman Arora

Suman Arora

Suman has devoted nearly 15 years to the social sector, concentrating on education and women's issues. Throughout her tenure in Rajasthan, she actively engaged with both governmental bodies and local communities, addressing vital concerns such as quality education for all children, advancing gender equality, and championing rights. For Suman, this endeavor has seamlessly intertwined with both her passion and profession.
Bharti Gupta

Bharti Gupta

Bharti is a versatile professional with rich experience in IT, Education, Skill Development, and Financial Inclusion. She has meticulously acquired this experience by working closely with Government bodies and Industries. Until recently, she was working with Accuinfra Technology Limited in Nigeria and has moved to Uttarakhand, India to join us.
Imdangjungla Jamir

Imdangjungla Jamir

Imdangjungla Jamir (Ajung) is working with us as a State Manager - Tripura. She holds a Master's in Peace and Conflict Studies from TISS. And a PG Program in Development Leadership from ISDM. She has close to 6 years of experience, including Gandhi Fellowship and impactful work with Lend A Hand India, where she supported Nagaland's Directorate of School Education. Outside work, she enjoys badminton and movies.

Recognition

BMC Education Department Felicitation

Felicitation by BMC Education Department for Remarkable Work in the FLN (Foundational Literacy and Numeracy) Initiative 2026

BSG Excellence Award

‘Community Engagement & Education for Sustainability' Award at the 1st BSG Excellence in Sustainability Awards 2025

Indian CSR Award

'Best Higher Education Initiative' award at the Indian CSR Awards & Summit

ET Rajasthan Business Award

'Excellence in EdTech & Digital Learning’ award at the ET Rajasthan Business Awards 2025 by The Economic Times

World CSR Day Award

‘Outstanding Contribution to Social Consciousness award’ at the World CSR Day 2025

Elets World Education Summit 2024

Our work got recognized with 'Innovative Product/ Service for Teacher Professional Development' at the 31st Elets World Education Summit 2024

IndianCSR & Sustainability Conclave Award 2023

Our work in Education got recognized with the IndianCSR & Sustainability Conclave Award, 2023 for CSR Excellence in Education

Mahatma Award 2023

Recognized with Mahatma Award 2023 for 'Social Good and Impact in Quality Education'

Best Innovative CSR Project Award 2023 Education

Best Innovative CSR Project Award 2023 Education

Indian Social Impact Award 2022

Our work in Tripura received the Indian Social Impact Award under the category of ‘Best Education CSR Project of the Year 2022-23’

Asia Power Award 2021

Received Asia Power Award 2021 under the category ‘CSR Initiative of the year – India’

CSR Times National CSR E-Summit 2020

Awarded as the ‘Best Corporate Foundation’ in Education Category for the CSR Project – ‘Project Pragyan’ at 7th National CSR E-Summit organised by CSR Times in 2020

GFEL Top 50 Organizations 2020

Recognised as ‘Top 50 Organizations in Education’ by Global Forum for Education and Learning, USA, 2020

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