At the age of 22, Ambedkar was awarded a Baroda State Scholarship for three years and went to New York City to do a M.A and PhD at Columbia University. For the first time he experienced the joys of life in an atmosphere free of caste restrictions. Having secured a seat in London School of Economics, he goes to London to study law but returns midway when his scholarship runs out. Going abroad showed him that life could be without oppression too and goes on to write the Indian constitution and becomes India’s first law minister.

“My five years of staying in Europe and America had completely wiped out of my mind any consciousness that I was an untouchable, and that an untouchable wherever he went in India was a problem to himself and to others.” - Ambedkar, Waiting for a Visa

In London, the teenager struggled to assimilate to the way of life, didn’t enjoy the cold weather and worried constantly about his vegetarian diet and frugal lifestyle. From a shy teenager who tried to conform to English society, to a brown man in South Africa who bore the brunt of racial abuse, he went on to expel the British from India, cultivating a method of peaceful resistance that continues to occupy a unique place in history. Today, Gandhi is the most recognized ‘brand’ in the world and has influenced men like Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.”

Ambani founded Reliance Industries, which became the first private Indian company to be included in the Fortune 500, and popularized the shareholding culture. Ambani’s legacy lives on, as India enjoys his business model of high-quality services at affordable prices, which impacts several industries including petrochemicals, textiles and telecommunications. Reliance Industries continues to give back to the nation through infrastructure creation at cities such as Jamnagar and high-quality schools and hospitals.

“Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one's monopoly.”

In doing so, he enhanced not only the Tata brand but also Brand India. The launch of the Nano, the $2000 ‘people’s car’ brought the world’s attention to India. He continues the legacy of Tata Trusts which balances purpose and profits in all their businesses.

“What drove me — a man on a two-wheeler with a child standing in front, his wife sitting behind, add to that the wet roads — was a family in potential danger.” Ratan Tata on the Nano.”

Indira was a trailblazer, by compulsion as much as choice – she no global Indian predecessors. She rose through corporate America to become the CEO of PepsiCo. As CEO, she would send personal letters to parents of her employees in gratitude demonstrating how her leadership style was influenced by Indian family values. She recognizes India as a great market for Pepsi, and thousands of farmers benefited from Pepsi’s procurement strategy. Her meteoric rise continues to inspire Indian girls through the lesson that excellence can break the glass ceiling.

“Leave the crown in the garage.”

In Serbia, Murthy was dragged off a train, his passport was confiscated and he spent 120 hours without food or water in a railway station jail cell. Such mistreatment in a communist country turned the "confused Leftist" into a "determined capitalist." He borrows Rs 10,000 from his wife and starts Infosys with six colleagues, with the mission to become the country’s most respectable company. He pioneers the Global Delivery Model, now adopted by every IT outsourcing company. Infosys becomes a cutting-edge IT giant, employs more than 250,000 people, generates a market capitalization of about ₹6 trillion, lays the foundation for the Indian IT services industry and ends up transforming Bengaluru into India’s Silicon Valley.

“Respect, recognition, and reward flow out of performance.”

As a senior consultant at the BM Birla Heart Research Centre in Kolkata, he got the opportunity to treat Mother Teresa, who influenced his sense of empathy. He went on to set up his own hospital, Narayana Hrudayalaya in Bengaluru, with a new cardio-care model based on accessibility at all income levels. He aimed to overturn a situation where critical healthcare is so lopsided that only three out of 100 open heart surgeries are performed. A typical heart bypass surgery costs about $123,000 in the US and about $8,000 in India but Dr Shetty aimed to reduce the cost to $800. His model is an example of how entrepreneurial zeal and drive can deliver where governments cannot. His purpose-driven model (Build it >> Prove it>> Scale it >> Extend it) can be applied in numerous ways to alleviate the poor and disadvantaged in India.

“If the solution is not affordable and accessible, it's not a solution.”

He was responsible for transforming Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, with his cloud-based, mobile-first thinking, which he got from reading ‘The Growth Mindset’ by Carol Dweck. His position as CEO is representative of many Indians who have risen through sheer merit and contributed thereby to building India’s brand equity. Today he is a US citizen and lives in Seattle but his Indian origins and understanding of the Indian market gives Microsoft an advantage in terms of making investments and inroads into India’s digital infrastructure and future.

“I fundamentally believe that if you are not learning new things, you stop doing great and useful things.”

She joined Howard College, studied law and started her career a civil rights’ prosecutor in San Francisco, and rose to become California’s Attorney-General. Her sharp legal and oratory skills catapulted her into national politics as a member of the Democrat party. She was named the running mate for Joe Biden in the 2020 election and broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in US history, as well as the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president. In the process, she has enhanced the equity of brand India and inspires thousands of young women to aspire to the highest office.

“Do not let anyone ever tell you who you are.”

Her scientific accomplishments and her recent book ‘A Young Innovator's Guide to STEM’ show that innovation and entrepreneurship begin with empathy and that one does not need to be a scientist or have a PhD to solve the world's problems. She inspires kids to use science and technology to create social change and encourages girls to study STEM subjects. Her story reminds our policymakers that innovation needs to be part of our curriculum and how such thinking can be a savior to India's and the world's problems, and that anything can be solved by you and me.

“My goal has really shifted not only from creating my own devices to solve the world's problems, but inspiring others to do the same as well.”

With a second master’s and doctorate from the University of Colorado, she began work at NASA. Upon becoming a US Citizen, she applied to the prestigious NASA Corps. She was selected for her first flight in 1991, on the ill-fated ST-107, which disintegrated on its return. Kalpana was not only the first Indian woman to be in space, she pushed the frontiers of science for mankind. She continues to inspire thousands of women and has streets, dorms and supercomputers named after her. Always grateful to Tagore High School, she would have two kids from the school visit NASA every year.

“The path from dreams to success does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get on to it and the perseverance to follow it.”

He pioneered many management theories including: Core Competence, Dominant Logic, Strategic Intent, Bottom of the Pyramid, Emerging Economies and Co-creation. The management guru, who is a ‘Distinguished Professor’ at the Ross School of Business, Michigan, also guided Indian CEOs during the critical period of rapid globalisation in the 2000s. He believes in the power of imagination and compares entrepreneurs with freedom fighters. He also believes that companies should look beyond profits and be a force of good.

“The problem of poverty must force us to innovate, not claim "rights to impose our solutions.”