Objectives
The Aspirational India Foundation’s (AIF) purpose is to navigate the challenges of 21st century India with our civilizational sensibilities.
FOUNDING VISION
As India’s global heft increases and we stand on the cusp of impending changes in the world order, the Foundation envisages intellectual initiatives to help make the transition compatible with our civilizational values – thereby spreading them to the world as a model of an inclusive diversity that has marked our values for long.
MISSION
The Foundation will host offline and online events to explore core civilizational ideas and their relevance to India’s global future. It also plans to publish books that offer alternative frameworks for understanding India, addressing gaps left by mainstream academia and media. Read more
INITIATIVES
Youth Engagement Initiatives
Monthly ‘India Aspiration Report’ with actionable recommendations on key policy issues and challenges contemporary India faces.
Research and Analysis
Conduct thematically relevant research as desired by the stakeholders of aspirational India.
Educational Outreach Programs
Publication of Longitudinal Studies on Developmental aspects to advocate structural changes in the policy paradigm and dialogically synergize corporate India with society.
Founding Members
Mayur Shekhar Jha
Co-Founder, Aspirational India Foundation
Mayur hails from Jharkhand and is an alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). With over a decade of experience in business and economic journalism, he later founded NewsCode, India’s first hyper-local news aggregator app. After exiting NewsCode in 2019, Mayur has been actively working with educated yet unemployed youth in Jharkhand, helping them find purpose and direction.
He also founded Behtar Jharkhand, a sibling initiative of AIF, aimed at giving wings to the aspirations of Jharkhand’s youth. Behtar Jharkhand receives active guidance from the former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Shri Babulal Marandi.
Sajjan Kumar
Co-Founder, Aspirational India Foundation
Sajjan Kumar is from Bihar and also an alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University. He served as a Shakha Karyavah (RSS) at JNU from 2001 to 2005. A published author, Sajjan is currently a Fellow at the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library (PMML), New Delhi. His academic and ideological depth adds a civilizational perspective to AIF’s vision.