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Who we are

Our Story Inspiring Hope and Transforming Futures

Development Initiative: Igniting Young Mind is a registered not-for-profit organization under the Society Registration Act, 1973. Since 2019, we have worked across Madhya Pradesh to champion inclusive and quality education, especially for children and adolescents from marginalized and under-resourced communities.

About

Who we are

Our Story Inspiring Hope and Transforming Futures

Development Initiative: Igniting Young Mind is a registered not-for-profit organization under the Society Registration Act, 1973. Since 2019, we have worked across Madhya Pradesh to champion inclusive and quality education, especially for children and adolescents from marginalized and under-resourced communities.

Development Initiative: Igniting Young Mind is a registered not-for-profit organization under the Society Registration Act, 1973. Since 2019, we have worked across Madhya Pradesh to champion inclusive and quality education, especially for children and adolescents from marginalized and under-resourced communities.

Our Mission

To ignite young minds by ensuring access to quality education, holistic development, and life preparedness for all children, regardless of their background.

Our Vision

To build a society where every child receives equitable access to education, develops essential life and career skills, and becomes a confident, responsible citizen.

Our Focus Areas

We work across a wide spectrum of education and child development themes:

Mr. L.S. Baghel

President

Mr. L.S. Baghel is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer with over four decades of distinguished service in education administration, policy planning, and institutional development. He served as the Commissioner of Public Instruction, Madhya Pradesh, where he led several critical reforms in the school education sector, including teacher recruitment, decentralization, and quality enhancement initiatives.

Post-retirement, Mr. Baghel continued his contribution to the education sector as a Senior Education Consultant with UNICEF Madhya Pradesh for over 10 years. During this time, he played a pivotal role in shaping early grade reading programs, career guidance frameworks, and system-level capacity building efforts in collaboration with the state government.

A prolific writer and academic thinker, Mr. Baghel is the author of nine published books on governance, education, and public policy. His writings reflect his deep commitment to equity, inclusion, and lifelong learning for all. He is widely recognized as a visionary leader in education reform in central India.

As the President of Development Initiative: Igniting Young Mind, he brings unparalleled experience, institutional insight, and thought leadership to the organization’s mission of creating a child-friendly and inclusive learning ecosystem.

Ms. Karishma Bajpai

Secretary

Karishma Bajpai is an education and training expert with over 15 years of experience in the field of school education, life skills, and adolescent development. She has extensively supported multiple large-scale education initiatives with national and international organizations, including UNICEF, British Council, Room to Read and Tata Trust foundation.

She played a key role in managing and implementing the Career Guidance Program in Madhya Pradesh (2024–25), in partnership with UNICEF, where she led module development, stakeholder coordination, and field-level implementation across districts. Karishma has also served as a core group member for the development of life skills education modules under the school education system, contributing her technical expertise in designing contextual, learner-centered content.

As a state-level trainer and resource person, she has facilitated numerous capacity-building programs for teachers, officials, and master trainers, promoting the integration of life skills and career education in classrooms. Her areas of expertise include learner-centered pedagogy, curriculum design, teacher training, and systemic educational reform. Deeply committed to empowering adolescents and educators, Karishma works towards building scalable, sustainable solutions that foster informed decision-making and holistic development in schools.

Ms. Shweta Bhandral

Member and Career Counselor

Shweta Khanna Bhandral is a certified Career Counselor and Communication Skills Coach with over 25 years of diverse professional experience. Her career spans top media houses as a journalist and visual storytelling expert, followed by 16 years in the education sector, where she designed curricula and taught at several mass media institutions. She has conducted over 200 workshops on communication skills, media literacy, critical thinking, and career awareness.

As a coach, she supports students and professionals in building essential 21st-century skills such as growth mindset, empathy, time management, teamwork, and decision-making. Having mentored over 2,000 individuals one-on-one and many more through group sessions, Shweta brings deep insight, empathy, and expertise to every interaction. Her work reflects a commitment to empowering learners through meaningful guidance and transformative learning experiences.

Advisory committee

Development Initiative: Igniting Young Mind is a registered not-for-profit organization under the Society Registration Act, 1973. Since 2019, we have worked across Madhya Pradesh to champion inclusive and quality education, especially for children and adolescents from marginalized and under-resourced communities.

Ratna Pant

Expert and Career counselor

background, she brings over two decades of impactful service in the fields of education and counselling. She specializes in helping students, graduates, and professionals navigate important career decisions with clarity and confidence.

She has guided individuals at various stages of their journey—from selecting academic streams to making career transitions or entering competitive job markets. Through a range of workshops, one-on-one sessions, and tailored interventions, she has positively impacted a diverse group of learners across backgrounds.

Her passion lies in enabling every learner to discover their strengths, make informed career choices, and grow with confidence—academically, emotionally, and professionally. Her approach is both personalized and strategic, integrating career assessments, current market trends, skill-building frameworks, and clear goal-setting processes.

Whether someone is unsure about their future or ready to take a significant leap, she offers structured and empathetic guidance every step of the way.

Pramod Pathak

Life Skill Education Expert

Pramod Pathak is an educationist with over 27 years of experience spanning training, curriculum and textbook development, academic research, and translation. His work has impacted education systems across several Indian states and in Nepal.

Since 2016, he has served as the Director of Antar Education Research and Development Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to educational consultancy. He was also the editor of Shiksha Vimarsh (2016–2019), a noted educational journal published by Digantar.

Pramod has led teacher and leadership training programs under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in collaboration with organizations such as UNICEF, CARE India, Room to Read, and Aga Khan Foundation. He has contributed to the development of life skills and leadership modules for teachers and school leaders, including a life skills curriculum for classes 6–8 in Madhya Pradesh.

Beyond education, he is a published author of seven books in Hindi for both children and adults, and an avid documentary and street photographer. One of his photographs recently reached the semi-final round of an international competition.

Key Achievements

Supported Rajya Shiksha Kendra (RSK) in state-level teacher training coordination of Life Skills.
Contributed to NISHTHA training modules and case study documentation.
Supported community and school libraries with over 400 book donations.
Trained teachers in library management and reading culture promotion.
Implemented a large-scale Career Guidance Program in government schools supported by UNICEF.
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About Us

We are a Bhopal-based non-profit working to build an inclusive, child-friendly society through education, empowerment, and informed career pathways. Established in 2019, we partner with government bodies, communities, and development agencies to strengthen foundational learning, support adolescent transitions, and build capacities across the education ecosystem.

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