Post by Suchit Nanda

🚀 Day 2, Stage 1 of #ImagiNxt2026 (May 23rd, 2026) was when I had the privilege of moderating an incredibly inspiring session at ImagiNxt focused on a topic close to my heart. The forty minutes session was: “The Other India Is Already Innovating: Grassroots Innovations driving inclusivity and demand driven solutions” 🌱✨ Three amazing speakers on my panel were: ·        Dr. Vipin Kumar Chief Scientist #NIF (National Innovation Foundation - India) ·        Prerana Langa CEO #AKAH (Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India) ·        Osama Manzar Founder & Director #DEF (Digital Empowerment Foundation) #Grassroot #innovation, #AI & #technology can #democratize opportunity at an unprecedented scale if combined with strong human systems and institutional support making it super impactful. However before #Artificial #Intelligence, it should be All Indians – All Included. How far are we from getting there? And the AI conversation cannot remain limited to technology alone.   Grassroots Innovations are vital, bottom-up solutions created by ordinary individuals in the informal sector to address local, needs. They drive #inclusive #growth by #empowering #rural #economies, generating #community #entrepreneurship and providing #frugal, #sustainable alternatives that are deeply rooted in regional contexts. In my decades long experience, I have seen three game changing technology waves - internet, social networks and AI - I can safely say that the #smartphone was the biggest as it combined the 3 into one handheld device in our pocket which affordably reached billions.   For me, starting out from a deep tech background to development, I was part of various initiatives of IDRC, UNDP, and the core team that helped form Reliance Foundation (RF) in 2010 with hands-on guidance and personal directions of Shri Mukesh Ambani and Smt. Nita Ambani. #RF addressed the big challenges faced in India and took progress to the villages with Bharat India Jodo (BIJ) and India’s largest Tech platform of RFIS (RF Information Services). The larger opportunity and also question is how do we expand access to grassroot innovation, strengthen public systems, accelerate entrepreneurship, & create pathways to dignified livelihoods at scale.   We don’t have a tech problem. We need Awareness, Education and Support. 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 who 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥. As part of the team that brought ImagiNxt, I am delighted to have contributed to this inaugural edition hosted by Maharashtra Tourism. Two-day event featuring 150+ Indian & global speakers, 250+ startups & 100+ investors, with conversations around #AI, #infrastructure, #media & #India’s next phase of technology-led growth. Thank you Deepak Lamba, Anant Dwivedi, Kunal Mukherjee, Paurush Sharma, and sajid desai. And big thank you to all the panellists for their time, sharing their wisdom, and deeply insightful dialogues. To know more visit: https://www.imaginxt.in/