Ashok Leyland Foundation is expanding its education-focused corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives with an ambition to reach a million learners across India, betting that community-led implementation and teacher capacity building can help bridge persistent learning gaps in government schools.

The foundation, which has impacted more than 626,000 students in FY2025-26 and over 910,000 lives overall, is scaling its flagship Road-to-School and Road-to-Livelihood programmes across multiple states.

The initiatives focus on foundational literacy and numeracy, digital literacy, career guidance, sports, wellness and life skills primarily for students from underserved communities.

While India has made significant investments in school education, the biggest challenge lies not in curriculum design but in execution, according to T Sasikumar, Chief Operating Officer, Ashok Leyland Foundation.

“The government curriculum and the programme content are top class. Most governments have excellent curriculum. It is only the implementation part where the failure actually happens,” Sasikumar told Motoring Trends.

According to him, two structural issues continue to affect learning outcomes in many parts of the country viz-a-viz teacher availability and teacher commitment.

“The two gaps that we see today are the availability of qualified, competent teachers and the commitment levels in schools. Otherwise, the curriculum in the country for school children is excellent,” he said.

The challenge becomes more acute in remote districts, where sanctioned teaching positions often remain vacant in practice.

“When you move to Jharkhand or interior Uttar Pradesh, you'll find teachers are on the rolls but never come to the school," Sasikumar said.

The foundation has adopted a community-based model, recruiting resource persons from villages where the programmes operate instead of relying on external educators to address the problem.

The organisation hires local graduates, teacher-training candidates and in some cases Class XII pass-outs providing them with training before deploying them in government schools.

“After we exit the programme, these young people continue to live in the community and continue to serve it. That has been one of the major successes of our model,” Sasikumar said.

The strategy complements the foundation's Road-to-School programme, which has benefited nearly 492,339 students across 4,234 schools in nine states since 2015. The programme reports a 25-30 percent improvement in literacy and numeracy, a 98 percent transition rate from middle to high school and Grade 10 completion rates of 95 percent exceeding the national average of 85 percent.

Its Road-to-Livelihood initiative is operating across five states and has reached more than 133,700 students by providing career guidance, digital literacy, financial literacy and soft-skills training.

The programme reports that 85 percent of participating students enrolled in higher education of their choice, while more than half of female participants opted for STEM courses.

Beyond deploying community educators, the foundation is also exploring teacher capacity-building partnerships with state governments.

Sasikumar said discussions are underway with the Uttar Pradesh government to train government school teachers using the foundation's pedagogical model.

“The Principal Secretary asked us why we don't train government teachers using our model so that the sustainability part can be taken care of. We are working on teacher capacity-building programmes in states where regulations permit,” he said.

Apart from education, the foundation has expanded its CSR interventions into healthcare and environmental sustainability, supporting children with Type-I diabetes, operating 13 mobile medical units, planting more than one lakh trees and implementing water conservation projects in water-scarce regions.

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Automotive tier 1 suppliers FORVIA and Anand Group have established a new joint venture to manufacture seat frames and complete seats for the Indian automotive market.

The new entity, named Faurecia Anand Seating India, will be controlled by FORVIA with a 50 percent plus one share stake, while Gabriel India, Anand Group’s flagship listed firm, will hold 50 percent less one share.

The partnership aims to combine FORVIA’s seating technologies and engineering portfolio with Anand Group’s operational network and customer relationships with domestic automotive manufacturers.

The JV aims for a 10 percent market share in India over the next five years as part of its regional expansion strategy. The collaboration expands on an existing relationship between the two companies that began in 1991 in the clean mobility segment.

The joint venture will utilise localised manufacturing footprints to support supply chain, industrial and talent capabilities for supply contracts across Indian vehicle manufacturers.

Jaisal Singh, Vice-Chairman, Anand Group, said, "This partnership is a natural extension of Gabriel India’s transformation into a broader mobility solutions enterprise. As vehicle systems become more integrated and technology-intensive, the ability to participate across a wider spectrum of the automotive value chain assumes strategic importance. The venture strengthens our portfolio with a globally proven capability, while reinforcing our commitment to building scalable, technology-led businesses that create enduring value."

Anjali Singh, Executive Chairperson, Anand Group and Gabriel India, said, "At Anand, we have always believed that long-term relevance is built through thoughtful partnerships, technological excellence, and a deep understanding of customer needs. This venture strengthens our longstanding partnership with FORVIA, building on complementary strengths and a shared commitment to innovation. By bringing together FORVIA’s global expertise and Gabriel India’s strong market presence, it creates a platform that is both strategically significant and future-ready."

Martin Fischer, CEO, FORVIA, said, "When we unveiled our IGNITE strategy earlier this year, we highlighted India as a key growth driver for FORVIA. Following the award of our first complete-seat program a few months ago, today’s agreement marks another important milestone in our development in the country. Building on our long-standing relationship with Anand Group, the joint venture will help accelerate FORVIA Seating’s growth in India."

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Hinduja Tech, the mobility-focused engineering and R&D technology subsidiary of Ashok Leyland, has announced the appointment of Faiz Ahmad as Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 November 2026.

The appointment follows the retirement of current Chief Executive Officer Kumar Prabhas, who concludes nine years in the role on 31 October 2026.

Ahmad has been part of the Hinduja Group ecosystem for nearly two decades and currently serves as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Vehicle Engineering & Development. During his tenure with the company, he has overseen operational functions, capability building and vehicle development units. Prabhas and Ahmad will execute a transition process throughout October.

During his nine years leading Hinduja Tech, Prabhas managed the company's international expansion, service portfolio diversification and the acquisitions of engineering firms DSD and Tecosim.

Dheeraj G. Hinduja said, “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Kumar Prabhas for his dedicated leadership and valuable contribution to Hinduja Tech over the past nine years. His vision, commitment, and leadership have been instrumental in shaping the company's growth journey and building a strong foundation for the future. We thank him for his invaluable service and wish him a joyful, healthy, and fulfilling retirement."

"Faiz has been an integral part of our journey and embodies the values, customer focus, and innovative spirit that define Hinduja Tech. His deep industry knowledge, strategic perspective, and proven leadership capabilities make him exceptionally well-positioned to lead the organization into its next phase of growth. We are confident that under his leadership, Hinduja Tech will continue to strengthen its market position, deepen customer relationships, and accelerate innovation across its global operations," added Hinduja.

Faiz Ahmad said, “I am honoured to be entrusted with the responsibility of leading Hinduja Tech at this exciting stage of its growth journey. We have a strong foundation, talented teams, trusted customer relationships, and significant opportunities ahead. I look forward to working closely with our employees, customers, and partners to build on our successes, drive innovation, and deliver sustainable value for all stakeholders.”

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ALTEN India, a global engineering and technology consulting group, has appointed Prabhakar Atla as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 5 October 2026. He previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer at Cyient, succeeds Balaji Viswanathan as head of the company's Indian operations.

Atla brings three decades of industry experience to the role, having led global operations and business units across sectors including aerospace, communications, rail, energy and semiconductors. His previous assignments include roles in Europe, India, the United States, Japan, and Australia, as well as serving as President and Chief Financial Officer at Cyient prior to his appointment as Chief Operating Officer.

Pascal Amore, Group EVP, Head of APAC, ALTEN, said, "Prabhakar's depth of experience in engineering, IT and technology services, and his track record of leading large global organisations through transformation, make him the right leader for ALTEN next chapter in India. India is core to the ambitions of our 2030 strategic plan, and I am confident Prabhakar will strengthen our organisation, develop new capabilities and accelerate our growth across the country."

Prabhakar Atla said, "I am honoured to join ALTEN and lead its talented teams in India. ALTEN India has grown into a strategic capability hub for the Group, with deep engineering expertise and trusted client relationships. My ambition is clear: enable and empower India as the engine of ALTEN Group's transformation, powered by deep sector expertise, AI-led engineering and faster innovation for our clients."

The company currently employs more than 8,500 personnel across 13 centres in eight Indian cities. The unit provides engineering, digital transformation, semiconductor and artificial intelligence solutions to clients in the automotive, aerospace, defence, telecommunications, consumer technology, manufacturing, and life sciences sectors.

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AIC Pinnacle Entrepreneurship Forum and the National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) have signed a memorandum of understanding to support startups in the automotive, electric vehicle and connected mobility sectors.

The agreement was executed at EKA's vehicle manufacturing facility in Chakan by Dr Avinash Thakur, CEO, AIC Pinnacle and Dr Manish Jaiswal, Director, NATRAX.

The collaboration combines AIC Pinnacle’s business incubation and mentoring programs with the testing and certification infrastructure at NATRAX. The partnership aims to assist startups in progressing from prototypes to validated commercial products. Immediate initiatives include organising a startup hackathon and granting select cohort members access to the NATRAX testing tracks near Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh.

The signing event included representatives from EKA Mobility, AIC Pinnacle and NATRAX, such as EKA Mobility Chief Product Officer Zoeb Altafhussain Karampurwala, Chief Engineers Kaustubh Vasant Joshi and Pankaj Shivrudrappa Munoli, and R&D Team Lead Swapnil Anil Tambe, alongside AIC Pinnacle Senior Manager Shadab Hussain and NATRAX Group Lead Tulika Mazumdar.

"The partnership with NATRAX opens an important bridge between startups and the automotive testing and validation ecosystem. Our objective is to help promising innovations move beyond the incubation stage and gain access to the technical, industry and testing support required to develop market-ready solutions," said Dr. Thakur.

Dr Manish Jaiswal said the partnership would create opportunities for startups and innovators to access relevant testing, validation and ecosystem capabilities. "Such partnerships can contribute to accelerating the development and adoption of emerging mobility technologies," he said.

Dr Sudhir Mehta, Founder and Chairman, Pinnacle Industries and Group Companies, said, "Electric mobility will remain a key focus area for AIC Pinnacle in the coming period. This MoU strengthens that vision by giving startups direct access to the industry, strategic partners, academic institutions and government agencies they need to scale."

The initiative will establish networks between early-stage companies, industrial firms, academic institutions, and government agencies across Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. AIC Pinnacle operates as a non-profit incubator supported by NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission, while NATRAX operates testing and certification facilities in Central India.

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