Dear Reader,

We’re delighted to present the third edition of DH Changemakers, our annual tribute to remarkable — and often little-known — individuals who are transforming our state, one step at a time.

We’re recognising 20 individuals and one Trust who have lit up a difficult, pandemic-ridden year, and who we think will shine even brighter in the years to come. Our choices in the past two editions focused on younger achievers, usually below the age of 35; this year, we have relaxed the age criterion to accommodate some outstanding work related to Covid relief: Check out, for instance, the inspiring account of an 81-year-old counsellor of the mentally ill and cancer-stricken who turned his skills this year to victims of the coronavirus.

You will also find the stories of a civil servant who handled a Covid outbreak on his patch with aplomb; a good samaritan who helps shift dead bodies, including those of Covid victims, that no one else wants to touch; and a former lecturer whose 700-strong group of mostly women entrepreneurs took their home-made jams, jellies and chocolates online during the pandemic.

Despite all the headlines, the year was not all about Covid -- catch the story of the 16-year-old table tennis player set for big things, the IITian whose mission in life is safe drinking water, the Bengalurean whose tiny satellites detect space junk, and the network of cardiologists that leverages WhatsApp to treat those in remote areas.

We’re sure these tales, and other, equally inspiring ones, will spread a message of hope in 2021. The pandemic is not yet beaten, but just reading about these efforts -- Covid-related or otherwise -- reminds us of the resilience of the human spirit. We hope our winners this year, like those who went before them, go on to great things.  

- Editor