New Delhi, Jan 01: Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Executive Trustee of Smile Foundation was awarded at BW Disrupt Social Impact 2025. He was honoured for Smile Foundation’s initiatives, which are anchored in the idea that as artificial intelligence, digital ecosystems, and data-driven public infrastructure will reshape development models. Hence, the future of social impact must remain firmly people-centred.
The forum underscored a critical shift underway across the social sector: while technology today enables scale, precision, and real-time insight, meaningful change continues to depend on human intent, ethical leadership, and deep community engagement. BW Disrupt Social Impact 2025 brought together social entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders, CSR professionals, policymakers, technologists, and impact investors to examine how emerging tools can strengthen transparency, improve decision-making, and extend services to underserved communities—without losing sight of dignity, inclusion, and participation. The conversations reinforced that technology is most powerful when it acts as an enabler of empathy-led action rather than a substitute for it.
The recognition process followed a rigorous, multi-stage evaluation, with nominations assessed on measurable outcomes, authenticity of impact, quality of governance, scalability of models, and the responsible use of technology as a force multiplier. Shortlisted initiatives underwent detailed qualitative review, examining how programmes support inclusion, build resilient local ecosystems, and deliver sustainable, long-term transformation. Final selections were made after comprehensive jury deliberations, bringing together perspectives from policy, development, technology, corporate citizenship, and social innovation.
Reflecting on the recognition, Santanu Mishra said, “This acknowledgement feels meaningful because it highlights collective purpose rather than individual achievement, which resonates well with the theme of “Tech with Soul”. At Smile Foundation, our work is grounded in partnerships, and in the belief that progress must be inclusive, ethical, and people-first. The discussions at BW Disrupt Social Impact 2025 reaffirmed that technology finds its true value only when guided by empathy and social responsibility.”
He added that the platform provided a valuable space to reflect on how tools such as AI can strengthen education, healthcare, livelihoods, and community welfare, while keeping human dignity at the centre of development efforts. “This recognition belongs to our teams across geographies whose quiet, consistent work translates intent into impact every day,” he said.
BW Disrupt Social Impact 2025, convened in partnership with BW Businessworld, highlighted the growing consensus that the next phase of social progress in India will be shaped not by technology alone, but by how thoughtfully it is integrated into human systems, values, and institutions.
