A teacher training session in Rajsamand, Rajasthan, highlighted how a child’s surroundings can shape their ambitions. When students were asked what they wanted to become, many spoke about working in mines because that was the work they saw around them. The experience stayed with Yatish Bedi, Co-founder and Director, and Gaurav Khandelwal, Co-founder and Director at the Foundation for Innovation and Action (FIA), an organisation established in 2024 to help government-school students explore wider possibilities through future-ready skills, career exposure and practical learning.
FIA works with public education systems to develop solutions that can be tested in classrooms and sustained by teachers and institutions. Its approach rests on a simple belief: government systems must lead educational change, while organisations like FIA should strengthen them rather than replace them.
Building Innovation Within Public Education
FIA’s foundation was shaped by a decade of experience working with government systems, corporates and civil society organisations. Government institutions offered the reach to serve children across villages, but resources often remained underused without adequate support. Corporate experience highlighted the importance of clear goals, execution and measurable outcomes, while civil society work revealed how promising innovations could struggle to scale beyond pilot projects.
Bringing these perspectives together, the founders sought to bridge the gap between innovative ideas and lasting change in public education.
As FIA explained in its response to The Logical Indian, “Bringing these experiences together, we got convinced that the government must lead, and that organisations like ours should strengthen the system rather than replace it. What the system needed was a partner that could design innovative, practical solutions, test them in real classrooms, and hand them over so teachers and institutions could own them.”
PRAGATI: Preparing Students for the Future
FIA’s flagship programme, PRAGATI, focuses on students in Grades 6 to 8 in Rajasthan’s government schools. Its name stands for Promoting Resilience, Adaptability and Growth through Analytical Thinking and Innovation.
The programme combines three pillars: Computational Thinking and Artificial Intelligence (AI), Social-Emotional Learning, and Entrepreneurial Mindset. Through a structured 42-hour curriculum, learning materials, teacher capacity building and Mobile PRAGATI Labs, it aims to equip students with skills beyond academic knowledge.
Computational Thinking and AI encourage logical reasoning, problem-solving and critical engagement with technology. Social-Emotional Learning helps students manage emotions, build relationships and collaborate, while an Entrepreneurial Mindset encourages creativity, initiative and action.
Aligned with the National Education Policy 2020 and National Curriculum Framework 2023, PRAGATI is being implemented in Churu and Rajsamand in partnership with the respective district administrations and education departments, formalised through MoUs.
Introducing AI and Expanding Career Aspirations
Through Hour of AI, an initiative of CodeAI, FIA provides students with hands-on opportunities to understand artificial intelligence. Activities such as AI for Oceans and Mix and Move encourage students to explore how AI works and think critically about its possibilities.
FIA has also partnered with Amazon’s Career Tours initiative to introduce students to career pathways beyond those familiar in their immediate surroundings. Students encounter workplaces such as Robotics Fulfilment Centres and AWS Data Centres, helping them understand the range of professional opportunities available.
A 2019 Times of India survey cited by FIA found that 93% of more than 10,000 Indian students could name only seven career options, despite over 250 career paths existing across 40 domains.
The experience in Rajsamand reinforced this concern. Students often imagine their futures based on what they see and know. FIA wants them to understand more possibilities so they can make informed choices about their careers.
Measuring Impact Beyond Reach
FIA evaluates change at three levels: students, schools and the wider education system. It looks for improvements in curiosity, independent thinking, problem-solving, expression and collaboration through student assessments, classroom observations, student work and digital projects.
At the school level, it examines teaching practices, student participation and teacher ownership. At the system level, it assesses whether programmes are becoming part of government structures rather than depending on FIA’s continued involvement.
The organisation acknowledges that systemic change takes time. Teacher capacity, infrastructure, administrative demands and learning resources are interconnected, making it essential to test solutions in real classrooms and adapt them to local needs.
FIA remains at the proof-of-concept stage and aims to establish what works before scaling its programmes.
A Long-Term Vision for Education
Over the next five to ten years, FIA hopes to make future-readiness an integral part of government-school education, supported by institutions capable of sustaining these practices. It plans to continue testing solutions, building evidence and working with government partners to expand effective approaches.
Ultimately, its vision is to create an education system that gives every student the confidence, competencies and agency to shape their future, regardless of where they begin.
The Logical Indian Perspective
At The Logical Indian, we believe every child deserves the opportunity to imagine a future beyond the circumstances they grow up in. FIA’s approach highlights the importance of strengthening public education, introducing practical learning and broadening students’ exposure to career possibilities.
Lasting change requires more than introducing new programmes; it requires building systems that can sustain them. When education equips children to think critically, explore possibilities and make informed choices, it can become a meaningful pathway towards greater opportunity and social mobility.
What can we do to ensure every government-school student has the opportunity to shape their own future?
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