New Delhi: HarperCollins Publishers India has announced the release of 'Pencils and Purpose', a landmark book chronicling how twelve extraordinary leaders have reshaped education in India and beyond.

Authored by Rakesh Gupta, Udayan Nath, and Sumit Handa, the book arrives at a defining moment for education systems worldwide, grappling with questions of access, quality, equity, employability, and relevance in an AI-driven future. The Authors are part of LoEstro Advisors, India's top education-focused investment banking and consulting firm.

At its core, 'Pencils and Purpose' is a collection of deeply human stories. These are not passive observers of change; they became the change. The twelve visionaries featured in the book-Kiranbir Sethi (Founder, Riverside School & Design For Change), Grace Pinto (Managing Director, Ryan International Group), Prajodh Rajan (Co-Founder & Group CEO, Lighthouse Learning), Ronnie Screwvala (Chairperson & Co-Founder, UpGrad), Shaheen Mistri (Founder, Akanksha Foundation & Teach For India), Ashwin Damera (Co-Founder & CEO, Eruditus), Rajendra Pawar (Founder & Chairman, NIIT), Dr J.C. Chaudhry (Founder & Chairman, Aakash Educational Services), Ashish Dhawan (Founder, ChrysCapital; Founder, Central Square Foundation; Founding Chairperson, Ashoka University), Anita Karwal (Former Secretary, Dept. of School Education, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India), Pramath Raj Sinha (Founding Dean, ISB; Co-Founder, Ashoka University; Founder, Harappa Education)and Sunny Varkey (Founder, GEMS Education & Varkey Foundation), span K-12 innovation, liberal arts reimagination, executive education, edtech entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and public policy reform. Together, they demonstrate how education, when driven by purpose, can serve as one of the most powerful equalisers in society.

The book covers a wide arc of transformation: scaling inclusive schooling across cultures and curriculam, challenging rank-obsessed higher education systems, making world-class programmes affordable through global university partnerships, and embedding digital capability without sacrificing credibility. Each profile is both a personal journey and a strategic case study, revealing how institutions can grow without losing their moral compass, and how collaboration across sectors can drive lasting reform.

Spanning 272 pages, the book offers more than inspiration. It provides practical frameworks for educators, founders, policymakers, edtech innovators, students, and parents who want to move education beyond transactional outcomes toward purpose-driven, lifelong learning. At a time when technology, AI, and changing workforce dynamics are reshaping the future of education globally, Pencils and Purpose brings together lessons from some of the most influential changemakers who have helped redefine how India learns.