I would like you to know more about one of my favourite Global Indian, Gitanjali Rao whose life and work is an example to follow.
Gitanjali’s Rao’s journey begins in the US where her parents imbibe in her an early interest in problem-solving.
As a 9-year-old her attention is drawn to a TV news of lead contamination in Flint, Michigan. Concerns of how kids like her around the world have problems with lead in their drinking water sets her on a path of not only discovering her own ikigai but also inventing an affordable device that detects lead in water.
She goes on to win several awards including being featured on Time Magazine cover as the Kid of the Year in 2020 when she was only 15.
Her innovative thinking helps solve cyberbullying and opioid addiction.
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 is an inspiration for kids to use science and technology to create social change and encourages girls to take up STEM.
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, especially those that never existed before and can be solved by you and me.