Global Indianstory Global Indian ExclusiveBasketball player Ishan Sharma is shooting his way to stardom

Basketball player Ishan Sharma is shooting his way to stardom

Written by: Team GI Youth

(October 26, 2023) When he was just about four years old, his father bought him a ball. While he first played soccer with it for the first couple of days, the kid soon started playing basketball with his friends with the same ball. It was here that Ishan Sharma, an Indian Canadian basketball player, started his journey. And today, the 6’5″ player has a reputation as a dangerous perimeter shooter.

“I think my biggest strength is my ability to shoot the ball in catch-and-shoot situations, off-the-dribble situations, live-ball situations and also creating my shot when defenders overplay me,” the player said in a recent interview, adding, “I have a high IQ for the game, play with a lot of skill and feel which allows me to use ball screens as well and make decisions off being a primary ball handler or secondary ball handler and just making the right read every time I touch the ball. So those are my strengths.”

Player | Ishan Sharma | Global Indian

After winning several games for his team at the Fort Erie International Academy, and leading the Canadian team in FIBA tournaments, the star player is set to join the University of Virginia’s basketball team for 2024. “Everybody is really humble here and that really stood out to me,” said Ishan, talking about his selection, “I really see myself fitting in well, both on and off the court, and improving my game.”

Starting young

Ishan’s parents moved from India to Milton, Ontario in search of better opportunities. Growing up Ishan watched several matches – of various sports – with his father and brother, who is also a Canadian Elite Basketball League player. But the one sport that allured him the most was basketball. “I grew up watching a lot of Klay Thompson, Tyler Herro, Devin Booker, those kinds of 2-guards, and they’re really skilled. They really can shoot the ball and I kind of like watching them model my game after them, see what I can add, and all that kind of stuff,” the player said, adding, “I started playing basketball when I was around four or five years old. I played rec basketball for the first time when I was in third grade. I played for like the local team in Milton called Halton Basketball and from there I just worked really hard playing for them for a long time. Worked hard, but then COVID happened and I found my way to UPLAY and so through UPLAY, I got some exposure and I met some people who have helped me get to where I am today.”

Ishan with his team

While at school, the player started representing his country in the FIBA competitions. Talking about his biggest takeaways, Global Indian said, “Being able to represent that country is the utmost honour. It’s truly a privilege to represent where you’re from in your home country, but one of my biggest takeaways is that basketball has become a global game. It’s not just the US, it’s not just Canada, but everywhere in the world. You know, Africa, Europe, these places have really tough, physical, skilled guys who can do everything. So you know, we have to always stay locked in because it’s not just North America now, it’s a global game. So it just opened my eyes to the world of basketball that’s obviously grown.”

Goals ahead

With a good height and strong catch-and-shoot ability, the basketball player feels that his greatest strength is the off-the-dribble situation – which can help the University of Virginia win several matches in the forthcoming season. But, there are also several fields that the player is looking to work on going forward. “First of all, I’m trying to get stronger physically. And also work on my finishing package around the rim, finishing over taller defenders, finishing through contact and I feel like those two things will help me at the next level,” the player said.

A Rubik’s cube enthusiast, who also loves to play pool when he isn’t at a tournament, is very proud of his Indian heritage. “I take a huge pride in that because basketball’s not that big in India, yet, so I can represent my country in a sport that’s not very popular and maybe kids growing up that look up to me who are Indian or Canadian Indian, they can look up to me and see that these things are possible. I can work hard. I can be in a similar situation and I can do whatever I want. I don’t have to let my background, my race, my heritage, or my country affect the things that I want to do. So I take a lot of pride in that,” said the player after winning a match recently.

Ishan with his family

As he starts a new journey in his life, Ishan is looking to inspire the next generation through his game. “I would just want to be remembered as someone who used their platform to inspire upcoming players, especially young kids who are of Indian descent or South Asian descent who maybe look at me and see something that they want to do and see that it’s possible. So just inspiring those kids who really want to do something with basketball or with sports in general,” the player expressed.

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Published on 26, Oct 2023

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Indrani Das: Indian-American STEM girl pioneers new treatment for brain damage

(December 15, 2022) A rebellion put Indian American Indrani Das on the path to research brain injuries, something that led her to win a quarter-million-dollar at the Regeneron Science Talent Search award as a 17-year-old. While most Indian parents coax their children to become doctors when they grow up, Indrani's parents weren't the same. With their roots in Kolkata, the banker couple had warned their daughter against opting for science. They even told her to not be a doctor. "Don’t become a doctor, it’s long and expensive. So, I decided I wanted to be a doctor,” she said. This passion led the Harvard University graduate to a medical-oriented project that focuses on her new approach to neurological damage. Always fascinated with brain injuries after learning about their irrevocable and devastating effects, she decided to learn more with her full-fledged project. As a senior at the Academy for Medical Science Technology in New Jersey, she explored how brain damage occurs and examined ‘astrogliosis’, a process that can lead to the excess production of a toxin that can damage neurons. She was keen to understand the nuances of how brain damage occurs and if she could figure out a way to slow

re out a way to slow or reverse the process. "My work centers on repairing the behaviour of supporting cells to prevent neuron injury and death. It was really that shock of what it can do to a person that pushed me to work," she explained.

[caption id="attachment_25387" align="aligncenter" width="683"] Indrani Das is an Indian-American young scientist[/caption]

This very work led her to win $250,000 at the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search, which is nicknamed the Junior Nobel Prize. "These diseases are so prevalent, so debilitating, it matters to me that I continue to work on this," she added. Her purpose is to treat traumatic brain injury which can lead to stroke, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's diseases. "In all these injuries, there is an insult to brain tissue which on the one hand causes neurons to die, but on the other hand causes supporting cells to calm these neurons. In my model, I found one of the problems which contributing to the disease condition, and then I also helped to treat it," she added.

The New Jersey resident was only three when she heard about the Regeneron Science Talent Search, as her love for science began blossoming at a young age. Seeing her fascination for dinosaurs and discovery at a young age, her parents suggested she submit her fossil findings to the competition. Years later, she not just applied but also took home the top prize for promoting neuron repair. But it wasn't a cakewalk for the Indian American who went through a process of reading scientific literature and running small experiments over many years to finally work on the subject.

[caption id="attachment_25388" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Indrani Das won the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search[/caption]

It was at the beginning of her high school as a 14-year-old that she began working on the project with only a rudimentary understanding of biology. The lack of in-depth experience with molecular biology and neuroscience was one of the biggest challenges for Indrani, which was exacerbated by the absence of "any one source for basic information." "What set the tone for my work was the learning curve I went through in the following months and years. I spent hours each day reading research journals to come to an understanding of the problems in a brain injury that I wanted to study, and used my growing knowledge base to help me conduct more and more refined experiments," the Global Indian said in an interview.

Being educated at the Bergen County Academy for Medical Science Technology, one of New Jersey's top public schools, she would often push her limits by conducting her research projects. That's when she wanted to focus on the brain. "Neurodegenerative diseases ruin a person's quality of life, they take away from (a person's) basic humanity. It was that impact I wanted to understand and to study and to try and repair,” she told CNN. With the help of mentor-cum-biology teacher Donna Leonardi, she embarked on her research journey, and began learning how cells lived and died by growing and manipulating cell cultures. She's also a member of the Stevens Lab at Boston Children's Hospital, where she works on synaptic pruning, a critical process in brain development.

[caption id="attachment_25389" align="aligncenter" width="601"] Indrani Das with her parents[/caption]

Indrani, who aspires to be a physician-scientist, is grateful to her parents for letting her follow her passion. "I’ll never forget my parents’ stories of how they worked full-time day jobs while securing additional degrees by night, and saved religiously for over a decade before my birth to provide me with the most comfortable life possible. I wouldn’t say that I’ve chosen a different path from my family, but that my choices reflect the evolution of theirs. We’re living the American dream," she added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVRNZzQZezQ

Indrani, who has plans of wrapping up her Ph.D. program in the next 10 years, advises youngsters to not be limited by their circumstances and to break bigger goals into small steps. "At the end of the day, it’s not who you know, how much you know, or what you have that determines whether you achieve your goals – it's how much you are willing to go through. If you aren’t losing your drive to excel, you’re winning the game."

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Pranay Kumar: Empowering tomorrow’s leaders through Nine Foundation

(May 10, 2024) After graduating from the Ramaiah Institute of Technology in Bengaluru, Pranay Kumar embarked on a new chapter in Sikkim. Passionate about entrepreneurship, he founded Chakrasfarm Pvt Ltd, which found a home at the AIC-SMUTBI at the Manipal Institute of Technology at Sikkim. The breathtaking beauty of the state served as a catalyst for his thoughts on climate change, as he noticed a lack of awareness on the subject in the region. Pranay founded the non-profit Nine Foundation which has impacted 500 students. “It’s a non-proﬁt organisation I established to tackle climate change through education. The best part is that we offer our program completely free of cost to students. We don’t charge anything from schools we collaborate with,” Pranay tells Global Indian. Although agritech had sparked his journey, the Sikkim floods ignited in him a passion that he couldn't ignore. “As an engineer, I felt compelled to contribute to nature. Witnessing the exploitation of our planet became too much to ignore,” he shares. [caption id="attachment_37722" align="aligncenter" width="655"] Pranay Kumar[/caption] Compelled to take action “Witnessing our planet's vulnerability, I knew action was crucial. Inspired by UCDF, I co-founded Nine Foundation, not just to educate, but to empower. Seeing

an engineer, I felt compelled to contribute to nature. Witnessing the exploitation of our planet became too much to ignore,” he shares.

[caption id="attachment_37722" align="aligncenter" width="655"] Pranay Kumar[/caption]

Compelled to take action

“Witnessing our planet's vulnerability, I knew action was crucial. Inspired by UCDF, I co-founded Nine Foundation, not just to educate, but to empower. Seeing the potential in young minds fuelled my mission to equip them as the leaders of tomorrow's climate fight,” he remarks.

The Chakrasfarm project got on hold due to unforeseen reasons but the engineer with an entrepreneurial bent of mind started a travel company. Moreover, the foundation has injected a new lease of life into his journey.

So profound is Pranay’s commitment to the cause that he incurs all expenses of the foundation from his own pocket. However, the rewards he gains from this investment are priceless. "There's something truly special about being present, engaging directly with the students, and witnessing their enthusiasm firsthand," he shares.

He looks at education as a tool to change the mindset of an entire generation, creating a ripple effect that lasts for decades.

The Nine Foundation

“The name ‘Nine’ wasn't chosen at random. It symbolises completion and new beginnings, which perfectly reﬂects our commitment to a sustainable future, and I believe education is the key to real change,” Pranay says, about the significance behind the foundation’s name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdY-3QFGGa4

Pranay and his team partners with schools to integrate climate education into their curriculum, making environmental awareness and action an essential part of the students’ learning experience. The aim is to empower students to become informed advocates for planet Earth, equip them with knowledge and critical thinking skills they need to create a more sustainable future.

“While I have a fantastic and reliable team who helps initiate partnerships with schools, I also make it a priority to visit these schools myself whenever possible,” Pranay remarks.

Nine Foundation team engages senior and junior classes, sparking interest and action through interactive workshops and presentations. These sessions explore the science behind climate change, present real-world solutions, and empower students to take ownership of their environmental impact.

Empowering the youth

Those students who show extraordinary interest in Nine Foundation's work are given the option to become volunteers and form ‘School of Climate Change’ clubs in their respective schools. “These student-led groups serve as a platform to deepen their knowledge, brainstorm creative solutions, and organise school-wide initiatives promoting a sustainable lifestyle.”

[caption id="attachment_37732" align="aligncenter" width="594"] Nine EnviroEd volunteers[/caption]

Nine Foundation’s ‘hands-on activities’ immerse students in environmental challenges. Interactive experiences, like planting trees, cleaning up local parks, or conducting water quality tests, connect students with the environment and its problems directly and provide them with a deeper understanding of the issues at hand. The school volunteers and their teams are made to showcase their ongoing climate efforts at the end of a three-month period. “This encourages reflection, peer learning, and collaboration, showcasing the power of individual and collective action,” Pranay tells.

The most dedicated student, chosen on the parameters of leadership, initiative, and commitment, earns the title of ‘The One Human.’ “The title empowers the student to become an ambassador for climate action within their community, inspiring others to save, conserve, and protect our planet,” tells Pranay.

Challenges and triumphs

It's not always easy to fit climate change education into packed school schedules. “Funding is another hurdle (educating one child costs around Rs. 65). But seeing the curiosity and engagement in students' eyes during our sessions makes it all worthwhile,” remarks Pranay.

The outdoor learning experiences are something that he particularly cherishes. “Connecting students with nature ﬁrsthand is incredibly powerful. It's amazing to see how connected they become when surrounded by the environment we're ﬁghting to protect,” he tells.

[caption id="attachment_37724" align="aligncenter" width="866"] Pranay Kumar at one of the sessions in Sikkim[/caption]

Future plan

So far, Pranay has impacted students in five schools of Sikkim. Very recently he has started expansion programmes in colleges of Jharkhand as he belongs to that belt being a native of Muzaffarpur. “My vision goes far beyond the schools we've already impacted in Sikkim and Jharkhand. We have a bold dream of expanding our climate change education program throughout the entire Northeast, the Himalayan belt, and eventually, the plains of India. We are on a mission to educate the whole northeast India in the next 2 years,” he shares.

Pranay even dreams of going global with Nine Foundation someday. “Charity begins at home. We're laser-focused on impacting our home country ﬁrst,” he remarks adding, “It's a long road ahead, but with education as our weapon, we can build a more sustainable future, one generation at a time.”

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Chhavi Kohli: Journey from fencing rings to mind’s wellspring

(April 2, 2024) At 15, Chhavi Kohli was honoured with the National Child Award by the President of India. Now, at 23, this fencing athlete wears multiple hats. The sportsperson has represented India at many international tournaments. She has been a part of the Indian national fencing team and was the youngest fencer to participate at the age of 14 at the National Games in 2015. She is also a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist. Apart from being a sportsperson, Chhavi is a professional painter, and mental health practitioner. She completed her MSc in Performance Psychology at The University of Edinburgh in 2023, and is working on her goal to become a licensed psychologist in the UK. [caption id="attachment_36978" align="aligncenter" width="453"] Chhavi Kohli[/caption] “Currently, I work as a psychologist for Indian nationals in the UK offering services through my initiative Spark Matters. I deal with clinical and non-clinical cases of couples, students, families, athletes, and young professionals,” Chhavi tells Global Indian. “My journey in sports has taught me to keep growing and never lose hope,” added the athlete who has also given motivational talks on well-being as a TEDx Speaker. Pressures of sports, mental health and emerging a winner Born and raised

my initiative Spark Matters. I deal with clinical and non-clinical cases of couples, students, families, athletes, and young professionals,” Chhavi tells Global Indian. “My journey in sports has taught me to keep growing and never lose hope,” added the athlete who has also given motivational talks on well-being as a TEDx Speaker.

Pressures of sports, mental health and emerging a winner

Born and raised in Patiala, Chhavi had always been inclined towards sports as a child. She tried her hand at multiple sports before taking up fencing at the age of nine. Reminiscing about her school days, she mentions, “Lalit Gandhi was my coach at school and he had a major impact on my performances while I played for India.”

When she took up fencing, her parents enrolled her under coach Mohit Ashwini. For nearly a year, the fencing coach did not allow her inside the training hall meant for professional players as he wanted to test Chhavi’s consistency, and interest levels. After the young fencer had proved her seriousness for the game by attending the coaching sessions regularly, he started making her train at the training hall.

Under his guidance, Chhavi made India proud by winning the Commonwealth Championship medal twice. She also went on to win the Thailand Minime series Under-16 series twice in a row in 2016, and 2017. The young fencer was honoured with the President's Excellency Award in 2016 by former President of India, late Pranab Mukherjee for her good performances at the international games.

[caption id="attachment_36968" align="aligncenter" width="535"] Chhavi Kohli[/caption]

Despite achieving a lot at a young age, in 2018, Chhavi had to give up fencing briefly due to burnout and anxiety induced by performance pressure. “I experienced burnout due to the overwhelming pressure of academics. Since I was in 12th grade and had no breaks for rejuvenation or recovery from my sport over a decade as my coach did not believe in the idea of taking a break,” she remarks.

It was a time when her passion for fencing had turned into pressure for her. “I constantly indulged in thoughts of what others would think about me and my performances,” she shares.

Chhavi had to take a sabbatical of a-year-and-a-half. By the end of it, she bounced back with the support of her parents and after undergoing therapy to look at her passion for sports with a different lens. The athlete went on to win multiple competitions after her return to fencing, and since then has become an advocate of mental health.

Journey of rising above self-doubt

The experience of getting counselled was therapeutic and helpful for the athlete, making her look at her passion with a different lens. “The attitude of running after medals and the pressure that accompanied that mindset got altered in playing the game for the love of it,” she remarks. Not only this, Chhavi passed her 12th board exams with flying colours earning 96.75 percent marks.

Owing to her personal positive experiences of taking therapy Chhavi developed an interest in counselling, and started using social media to spread awareness on this vital issue and has eventually turned a counsellor.

Despite being a sportsperson she never neglected academics and pursued bachelors of arts in psychology, certificate course, diploma and advanced diploma in guidance and counselling from Panjab University, Chandigarh, and pursued MSc in performance psychology at the University of Edinburgh.

The sportsperson has won the BUCS championship and won the Scottish student sport champion award for 2022-23 in the UK.

Inner spark matters

As a mental health and well-being enthusiast, Chhavi has started her counselling service - Spark Matters - dedicated to supporting individuals and communities in their journeys towards improved well-being.

The mental health advocate has curated a wealth of resources, including articles, self-care tips, and evidence-based practices for people to achieve greater balance and resilience in life. “As someone who has experienced the benefits of therapy firsthand, I believe that seeking help for our mental health should be just as normalised as seeking help for our physical health,” Chhavi remarks.

[caption id="attachment_36967" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Chhavi Kohli[/caption]

As a mental health and wellbeing practitioner, Chhavi believes that therapy is not just for people who wish to solve problems; it is also for improving as a person and working on one’s state of mind. “Well-being is extremely important. We are running after things without realising that it's costing our health,” she remarks adding. “Just like we take care of our physical health by exercising and eating well, we should be taking good care of our minds by seeking assistance from a professional if needed.”

Giving back and gaining recognition in the UK

Last year Chhavi was conferred the UK Achievers Award by British Council (India) and the Department for Trade (UK). “The award was for my pro bono work in mental health for underprivileged athletes,” says Chhavi, who keeps on counselling such athletes in an attempt to give back to the society.

The athlete, artist and mental health practitioner expresses gratitude towards the National Indian Students and Alumni (UK) for helping her gain recognition for promoting mental health and well-being as an athlete. “It was an honour to share the stage with other phenomenal achievers Parineeti Chopra, Raghav Chadha, Purva Aggarwal and Adrija Biswas,” she shares. “Representing my University, The University of Edinburgh at the award event was also a big matter of pride.”

[caption id="attachment_36973" align="aligncenter" width="865"] Chhavi Kohli while receiving the Achievers Award in the UK[/caption]

Life in Scotland and future goals

Chhavi currently lives in Scotland. With specialisation in performance enhancement, mental health, and wellbeing, she is dedicated towards promoting holistic wellness and performance psychology through her consultancy service - Spark Matters.

For the moment, fencing has taken a backseat for Chhavi. “I do not have the finances to support my fencing in the UK. Indian Fencing is not particularly flexible in accommodating the needs of fencers who are also pursuing other careers,” tells the athlete. “I am working to become a licensed psychologist in the UK and hopefully resume fencing,” she signs off.

[caption id="attachment_36977" align="aligncenter" width="555"] Chhavi Kohli with one of her paintings[/caption]

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To know more about her work visit Spark Matter's website

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Sandy Khanda: Bridging gaps, building futures with Green Pencil Foundation

(March 6, 2024) After passing out of engineering college in 2018, Sandy Khanda could have either followed the conventional path of securing a job or pursue a startup venture, a common choice among many young enthusiasts, but he chose to start an NGO. Headquartered in Delhi NCR, his NGO, Green Pencil Foundation has quickly gained momentum, extending its reach in eleven states of India with a strong volunteer base of over 2,000 young volunteers. Together, Sandy and his team have touched the lives of over 20,000 individuals through initiatives that emphasise women's empowerment, menstrual hygiene management, education for underprivileged children, and action for climate change. Recognizing the global nature of many societal challenges, Sandy has also expanded Green Pencil's operations to Indonesia and Iran. “In Indonesia, our outreach extends to various areas in Jakarta and the Papua province, which has the lowest literacy rates in the country,” he tells Global Indian. “With a presence in over 50 schools and underprivileged communities, we are committed to making a difference in remote locations, employing an inclusive approach that transcends borders and religions. Our initiatives also extend to certain regions in Iran” the social entrepreneur adds. [caption id="attachment_36371" align="aligncenter" width="437"] Sandy Khanda[/caption] Life’s

ns, employing an inclusive approach that transcends borders and religions. Our initiatives also extend to certain regions in Iran” the social entrepreneur adds.

[caption id="attachment_36371" align="aligncenter" width="437"] Sandy Khanda[/caption]

Life’s transformative turns

Sandy was born and raised in a small village in Haryana, and witnessed firsthand the disparities and challenges faced by rural communities. When he moved to Delhi for education, his transition to urban life only heightened his awareness of societal issues such as gender inequality, poor climatic conditions, air pollution, struggles of marginalised populations and plight of kids growing up in slums of Delhi NCR.

Fuelled by a desire to instigate change, Sandy began his journey through grassroots activism, utilizing platforms like writing, teaching slum children, and organising protests to address pressing social issues, while pursuing engineering.

However, his commitment to societal betterment became even stronger following a life-altering experience - a near-fatal accident that left him in a six-month coma. Emerging from this ordeal with renewed purpose and gratitude, Sandy resolved to dedicate his life to serving others. Thus, the Green Pencil Foundation was born, with a mission to empower communities, break down barriers, and drive positive change across India and beyond.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v3d7TG8SI0

Green for environmental advocacy, Pencil for education

The name of the foundation, Green Pencil, reflects its dual focus on environmental advocacy and education. ‘Green’ stands for addressing the pressing climate change crisis. The foundation advocates improved public policies for reducing carbon footprints, with an emphasis on a human-centric approach.

‘Pencil’ centres around education, particularly the foundation's efforts to uplift underprivileged children and women. Through educational workshops covering topics such as menstrual hygiene management, mental health, and academic classes, the Green Pencil Foundation empowers individuals for a brighter future. "The primary sources of funding for our initiatives come from individual supporters and corporate social responsibility, enabling us to sustain and grow our efforts in making a meaningful difference," Sandy says.

ALSO READ | Vivek Gurav's global impact with Pune Ploggers

Developing a global perspective

Apart from being engaged in his NGO, Sandy has remotely served as the national coordinator and community outreach manager at Atlas, a Brussels based political movement uniting people worldwide to create a freer, better and more equitable planet.

Sandy’s responsibilities encompassed coordinating community engagement to promote Atlas' endeavours across India. “I was actively engaged in designing and executing comprehensive campaigns to advance Atlas' principles within the Indian context. This entailed strategic planning, seamless coordination, and effective communication to amplify the organisation’s movements.” His involvement with Atlas provided him with a global perspective on societal issues, a perspective that has influenced the expansion of Green Foundation initiatives beyond India.

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Green Pencil’s meaningful projects

The youth-led NGO’s impact spans across major metropolitan cities of India including Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Manipur, Chandigarh, Panchkula, Amritsar, Jaipur, Kolkata, and Bangalore.

The foundation is spearheading several meaningful projects. Through the 'Periods of Pride' initiative, it has conducted a thorough survey in government schools across India, uncovering critical challenges in menstrual hygiene management. The findings reveal prevalent issues including menstrual taboos, inadequate educational awareness, and limited knowledge about menstrual hygiene products, garnering wide attention.

Another project like ‘Slum to School’ aims to educate and enable soft skills development in slum kids to make them independent. “This project is running in more than 25 Indian cities in 11 Indian states to benefit over 3,000 slum kids,” shares Sandy.

The Foundation is working in coordination with Greenpeace India, the Indian branch of the global environmental group Greenpeace, a non-profit NGO, with a presence in 55 countries in a project called ‘Power the Pedal’. “This groundbreaking project focuses on providing bicycle training to hundreds of women, aiming to promote sustainable mobility and empower themselves in the process,” tells Sandy.

[caption id="attachment_36372" align="aligncenter" width="701"] Green Pencil Foundation and Greenpeace India's 'Power to Pedal' project provides bicycle training to women[/caption]

Green Pencil’s Initiative, ‘One Home One Tree’ is aimed to influence people and encourage plantation drives to fight air pollution in metro cities.

The project, ‘Festivals vibes with needy tribes’ encourages people to celebrate festivals with needy people around them so that they feel special. “It gives the message of equality in the society,” the social entrepreneur remarks.

The project, ‘Pollution Se Azaadi’ advocates for a shift towards public transport and active mobility as effective means to reduce carbon footprints.

ALSO READ | Empowering change: Activist Sanya Sharma's pursuit of a better world

Working to expand reach beyond India

Having tasted reasonable success in his efforts to make a difference in India, Sandy Khanda now aspires to extend his impact beyond borders by expanding Green Pencil Foundation's programmes to various regions of South Asia. "We are working towards expanding Green Pencil Foundation’s footprint in South Asian and African regions with an aim to impact more lives," he signs off.

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Aryan Sharma and Ayush Pathak: The AI whizkids being funded by Sam Altman

(December 14, 2023) Around eight months ago, two teenagers, Aryan Sharma and Ayush Pathak were both contemplating college plans. Aryan had even received a scholarship from a foundation in the US and anyway, both the teenagers were adept coders and earning a fair bit of money. Enough money, actually to fly to San Francisco and attend conferences, where they were soon crossing paths with some of the Bay Area's tech and VC titans. In comparison, college seemed a lacklustre option. They actually wondered if the experience might hold them back. Why not take a deep dive into entrepreneurship instead? That's how they got to building Induced AI, which, very simply put, presents a solution for businesses to streamline their backend workflow processes using bots. Less than a year in, they have raised $2.3 million in seed funding, and count OpenAI's Sam Altman as an investor, along with Daniel Gross and Nat Friedman. [caption id="attachment_34641" align="aligncenter" width="601"] Aryan Sharma and Ayush Pathak, the co-founders of Induced AI[/caption] The journey of a lifetime How did the Global Indians come so far, so quickly? For starters, both Sharma and Pathak were learning coding by the time they were 13 years old. They didn't

ong>The journey of a lifetime

How did the Global Indians come so far, so quickly? For starters, both Sharma and Pathak were learning coding by the time they were 13 years old. They didn't grow up in the Bay Area or in Bangalore, although they were both based in India. "I would listen to podcasts and read about the AI and tech startup ecosystem. I started writing code very early and was doing remote work when I was still in school," Sharma says. When he could afford it, he made another, very bold move - he bought a flight ticket to San Francisco. "I was going to a lot of events and meeting people and investors, who would eventually become part of the company."

The Bay Area, he found, was very welcoming, even to someone as young as him - it might even have worked in his favour. "Everyone is open to taking meetings," Sharma smiles. He discovered that ambition and hard work do pay, and age doesn't always have to be a factor. Sharma and Pathak also decided that college was off the cards, at least for the moment, even if they could have taken their pick of institutions. Sharma, who seems more given to media appearances and interviews, says his parents were both doctors, who were concerned with his decision but decided to support him.

When they weren't in Silicon Valley, they were writing cold-emails and sending DMs on Twitter. "I have embarrassing emails I sent out at 14," he laughs, during an interview with Varun Mayya and Tanmay Bhat in Overpowered. "I woud say 'I'm a big fan, I watch all your videos, do you have any advice for me'?" He recalls one response, which read, "Don't send emails to people, that's my advice. Go read up and start building things." He had als interacted with Sam Altman during this three year networking period and expressed an interest in working with him, "even as his secretary." OpenAI, he says, "had been releasing papers way before ChatGPT but Sam was too busy then with OpenAI and Helium."

Even in 2022, though, Sharma didn't really know how things would pan out. He was interested in a range of subjects, from AI to Space and Biotech. It was Altman who gave him advice then, saying, "This is all useful but the most high-leverage thing is AI and you will come back to this at some point." It did in fact turn out that way. In early 2023, Sharma and Pathak teamed up to form InducedAI. Now, they are also part of AI Grant, the AI startup accelerator created by Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross. Induced AI made it into Batch 1, along with companies like Perplexity, Animato and Replicate.

How does it work?

Induced AI helps businesses automate repetitive tasks typically handled by admin back offices. Users input workflows in English (known as a text workflow), which the AI then converts into pseudo-code for automation. The platform uses bots, each equipped with its own email and phone number for handling tasks like verification processes, including OTPs and other forms of authorization. These bots run on the cloud, ensuring full access without affecting the user's computer. "Say, a company has a 15-member team spending a lot of time on tasks like form filling or data entry, which could typically be outsourced to a backoffice," Sharma explained.

All this works on Chromium-based browsers (like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, etc.). And none of the work being done is actually visible to the user - for instance, if the bot is running a search operation, the user will not see a search bar with keywords being typed in. Induced AI has modified the browser's rendering engine, which usually turns website code into what you see on your screen, to work better for background tasks. They've tweaked how the browser responds to changes on websites and improved the way it communicates internally and with other systems.

"We control the browser layers remotely, which leads to more reliability compared to running as an extension," Sharma explains. "By controlling the browser, we also control everything that Chrome has access to." This enhanced control allows for more consistent and dependable automation processes.

For example, consider a task like searching for shoes on Google. Induced AI breaks this task into "chunks," then performs 'inference' to determine the necessary steps at each stage. The user just needs to provide the overall task description. Once the steps are outlined, the system autonomously executes the process, from opening the browser to carrying out the search. To the end user, it's akin to giving a command to Alexa to "play my favorite playlist," where Alexa autonomously locates and plays the playlist.

[caption id="attachment_34642" align="aligncenter" width="602"] Aryan Sharma[/caption]

RPA tech

However, Induced AI is tailored for back-office tasks, enhancing business workflows' cost-effectiveness and efficiency. It uses a 'headless' browser operation, meaning the browser works in the background without displaying web pages on a screen. It navigates and interacts with websites, but invisibly. "It's not meant to book a flight ticket or write an email," Sharma says. "It's designed for specific processes and tasks, like generating leads at 9 am every day, or collating insurance claims.

This is done through RPA (Robotic Process Automation), which usses 'bots' to automate repetitive and rule-based tasks within business processes. They emulate human actions and interactions within digital systems, applications and data and can carry out certain tasks as a human user would, following a set of predefined rules and logic. An added advantage is that it is non invasive and easily deployable along with being scalable and flexible.

The path ahead

Aryan now spends much more time in the Bay Area and Induced AI has signed up a handful of small to mid-sized customers, he told Tech Crunch.

"Induced is the definition of RPA 3.0," said investor SignalFire in a statement. "Not only are they taking a huge leap forward in providing true human-like interaction and efficiency, they democratize access by allowing users to describe their workflows in natural language and execute parallel agents any back-office workflow.

Follow Aryan Sharma and Ayush Pathak on LinkedIn.