When we first met Sarthak* in November 2025, he was eight years old and in Grade 2. We remember seeing him sitting on his teacher’s chair with both legs up, his shirt untucked, tear stains on his face, and demanding her phone.  We came to know Sarthak through our work as Social Work Fellows with Brain Bristle, a Mumbai-based non-profit working to advance autism inclusion and equitable education for children in low-income schools. The Fellowship places selected Master’s students of psychology with specialised training in under-resourced schools across Mumbai. The Fellows work to address systemic gaps and help children learn…

Unlike a decade ago, terms like Air Quality Index (AQI), particulate matter, and AQ sensors have become a part of everyday vocabulary in almost all Indian cities today. The rising threat of air pollution makes it all the more important to generate greater awareness about its causes, manifestation and impact on people at large. Being informed is the first step towards playing an active part in finding and implementing solutions towards cleaner air. Sarath Guttikunda, Founder/Director of UrbanEmissions believes that awareness creation on air quality should start as early as in schools. UrbanEmissions is a think tank that primarily focuses…