Building opportunity across generations

By 2047 – the centenary of its independence – India has set itself a defining goal: to become Viksit Bharat, a fully developed nation, with a stronger economy, greater global standing and a better quality of life for all its citizens.

For the Ismaili Imamat and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), whose engagement with India dates back to 1905, these priorities are familiar. Over more than a century, AKDN has worked in close collaboration with governments and communities in India to address a broad spectrum of development challenges – including education and youth skilling, rural development and livelihoods, health care, drinking water and sanitation, urban development and access to finance for underserved communities, as well as cultural revitalisation.

Educating future generations

Beginning with a single classroom in Mundra in 1905 – and which coincided with a wave of schools built by Sir Sultan Mohamed Shah Aga Khan III around the world at the turn of the century – education, and a focus on young people, became the foundation of this enduring partnership.

Working from the premise that access to education is the cornerstone of social and economic development for individuals, communities and countries alike, the Ismaili Imamat and AKDN took a long-term, generational approach.

Today, more than 120 years after the first classroom was opened, the Aga Khan Schools (AKS) educates more than 8,500 children per year through a network of 19 preschools, eight day schools and one residential school – the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad – as well as a hostel across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana, offering students quality and pluralistic schooling from nursery until matriculation in both rural and urban communities. Graduates have gone on to leading universities in India and abroad, and AKS’s partnership with FLAME University is creating new pathways to higher education.

Educational initiatives are also implemented by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) in India, where a holistic approach has seen more than 2.2 million children reached through Early Childhood Development programmes in Telangana, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, with almost 500 teachers engaged and over 45,000 students benefitted through Schools2030, AKF’s flagship education initiative in Bihar.

Creating opportunities for youth

With India being home to one of the world's largest youth populations, ensuring that young men and women have the skills needed to participate in a rapidly developing economy is central to the efforts and success of Viksit Bharat.

Recognising this need, in 2007 the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) India launched Yuva Junction to support rural youth in gaining the skills, confidence and opportunities required to secure meaningful employment and build sustainable livelihoods.

Operating through training centres in remote and underserved communities, Yuva Junction combines vocational training with digital literacy, basic English, life skills and career preparation. Courses span sectors including retail, business process outsourcing (BPO), computer hardware, nursing, beauty and wellness, and tailoring, while partnerships with industry help connect graduates to employment opportunities.

“Yuva Junction played a vital role in my life,” says Bhavana Bharda, a young woman from Juthal village in the Junagadh District of Gujarat. “It is my mentor and guide... I am more confident today and can talk to people with ease.”

Since implementation, the initiative has trained more than 53,000 young people, like Bhavana, to access pathways that were previously beyond reach. More than 25,000 have secured employment, significantly improving their incomes.

Strengthening rural prosperity

Since 1983, when Prince Karim Aga Khan IV envisioned an expert professional agency in India which could facilitate rural communities in improving their lives and livelihoods, AKRSP India has grown to be active in more than 3,255 villages across Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. Its programmes have reached over 3.5 million people, many from some of India's most underserved communities, with women accounting for more than 60 percent of participants.

In 2015, in recognition of his impact on social development in India, former President His Excellency Pranab Mukherjee awarded the Aga Khan IV the Padma Vibhushan – one of the country’s highest civilian decorations.

Through initiatives supported by AKF, now under the stewardship of His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan V, this work has continued and expanded. Communities have worked to strengthen agricultural productivity, improve water security and build sustainable livelihoods – efforts that speak directly to another cornerstone of Viksit Bharat: ensuring that economic growth is both inclusive and environmentally sustainable.

One of the clearest examples can be seen in natural farming, an approach that has increasingly gained prominence within India's agricultural policy. By helping farmers move away from costly chemical inputs and towards regenerative methods suited to smallholder agriculture, AKF and AKRSP (India) have supported more than 200,000 farmers to adopt natural farming techniques. Their experience demonstrates, at scale, the potential of practices that improve soil health, strengthen resilience and reduce costs for farming households.

Preserving the past, building the future

Yet development is not only about education, agriculture and livelihoods. In 2024, IndiGo – India’s largest passenger airline – pledged to support the conservation of Gwalior Fort, parts of which date back to the eighth century. The commitment was formalised through a 2025 agreement between the Government of Madhya Pradesh, IndiGo and Aga Khan Cultural Services, setting in motion the conservation of 45 structures and the restoration of 60 acres of historic gardens over the next decade.

The Gwalior initiative builds on a model of cultural regeneration that AKDN and its partners in India have developed over decades – demonstrating how investment in heritage can have benefits far beyond preservation, driving economic growth and improving quality of life.

In Delhi, the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) – alongside the Archaeological Survey of India, the Central Public Works Department, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and other public and private partners – has spent the past quarter century restoring the Humayun's Tomb-Sunder Nursery-Nizamuddin Basti precinct. The initiative has helped transform the area into one of the capital's most significant cultural destinations, attracting nearly three million visitors annually.

A similar effort has unfolded in Hyderabad, where AKTC has spent more than a decade conserving the 106-acre Qutb Shahi necropolis. Today, it is recognised as India's largest conservation programme focused on a single heritage site, further demonstrating how investment in cultural preservation can also support urban renewal, tourism and public engagement.

“Change is possible”

Perhaps one of the clearest measures of a country’s development, however, is the opportunities available to its next generation of women. Across India, programmes supported by AKF are helping young women overcome barriers to education, employment and participation in public life, enabling them to become agents of change in their own communities.

Among them are Arti and Naina, participants in Project Lehar, an initiative that supports adolescent girls and young women to learn, earn and thrive. In 2024, Arti was recognised with the Amal Clooney Women's Empowerment Award at the King's Trust Awards for her determination to overcome social and economic barriers and forge an independent future. Two years later, Naina, a life-skills facilitator from Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh, received the same honour in recognition of her work helping girls remain in school, build confidence and pursue their aspirations.

Reflecting on her award earlier in 2026, Naina said: "This recognition reminds me that change is possible. This award is not just mine. It belongs to every girl who is creating positive change in her life and community."

Through their achievements, Arti and Naina embody a vision that has shaped the Ismaili Imamat and AKDN’s engagement in India for more than a century – and one that now resonates with the country’s aspirations to achieve Viksit Bharat by 2047: that lasting development is ultimately about expanding opportunity, unlocking potential and enabling people to shape their own futures.