For nearly 30 years, Aruna Lohia Goenka has worked quietly, away from the spotlight. In a rare and candid conversation with Sanjiv Kaura, CEO-CSR, The Times of India, she opens up about her five-part framework for nation-building and its potential to help shape Viksit Bharat 2047.Sanjiv Kaura: My team researched your interventions, ranging from food to toilets to technology to skilling to critical thinking to transgender persons to old-age homes. Is there a method to your madness?Aruna was Goenka: There is. I call it YASHA. The name draws from Yash, meaning honour, but it is not about personal honour. It represents five pillars that I believe can bring honour to Bharat by 2047 in the AI era.Sanjiv Kaura: Let us explore YASHA letter by letter, beginning with Y – Yuva. In November 2001, you witnessed the Lok Sabha pass the constitutional amendment for RTE. 25 years later, again in November this year, you will be the emblematic institution in the PMO ecosystem, Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya, for “Samavet Bharat: Youth Parliament 2026”.Aruna Goenka: I remember November 2001 vividly. We had a dream: to make education a fundamental right for every child. That day, I was with fellow advocates of that dream. Later in the day, I was blessed to sit in the Visitors’ Gallery of the Lok Sabha, watching history unfold. Now, 25 years later, I return to another landmark institution within the PMO ecosystem with another dream. Back then, we asked: “How do we ensure education for every child aged 6–14?”. Today, our mission is to empower Tarun Bharat to walk the talk – taking responsibility, solving problems and shaping its own future.Sanjiv Kaura: Let’s move to “A” in YASHA – Anna. For 27 years, you have run a daily langar from your home. Anybody who needs food can simply walk in and eat. Why has Anna remained so central to you?Aruna Goenka: If somebody is hungry and you have food, what is there to discuss? People come. They eat. Nobody needs to explain who they are or where they come from. I don’t think of it as charity. Food and dignity are inseparable for me. I believe urban Bharat must take responsibility for feeding its hungry. If our cities ensure that nobody goes hungry, we can ease the burden on rural families and communities, helping bridge the urban-rural divide. Even during COVID, armed with a special government-issued pass, I ventured out to ensure that food reached transgender community homes and old-age homes. The pandemic could not be allowed to interrupt compassion.Sanjiv Kaura: Wow! That’s quite a daredevil thing to do, isn’t it?Aruna Goenka: Fear has never been my friend. I have a stubborn streak. Some call it madness. But that’s just me!Sanjiv Kaura: And that stubborn streak extends well beyond feeding people. Your initiatives have included water coolers in projects connected with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and toilets in MCD schools. Hardly glamorous philanthropic interventions.Aruna Goenka: Impact doesn’t have to be glamorous. It has to be useful. Food. Drinking water. A toilet in a school. These seem ordinary until you are the person who doesn’t have them. I have always been interested in the gap between what exists and what someone actually needs. The intervention changes. The dignity of the person doesn’t.Sanjiv Kaura: That brings us to S – Shiksha. You serve on the Critical Thinking Championship’s Advisory Board alongside distinguished minds such as Nripendra Misra, Gurcharan Das, Deepak Kapoor and Professor Dinesh Singh. What draws you to critical thinking?Aruna Goenka: From Socrates’ examination of life, as recorded by Plato, to Chanakya, Thoreau, Einstein and Ayn Rand, human progress has been driven by the courage to question. Education must teach children how to think, not merely what to think. That is why I support NEP 2020, with its emphasis on critical thinking, experiential learning and Bharat’s civilizational wisdom. In the AI era, information is abundant. But information is not wisdom. Our children must learn to question, reason and apply knowledge, while remaining rooted in Bharat’s values and heritage.Sanjiv Kaura: The H in YASHA is Hunar. There is a story from Chamba, Himachal Pradesh. When the district authorities asked for five skill centres, you established fifty. And although second-hand computers could have served the purpose, you insisted on brand-new ones. Why fifty? And why new?Aruna Goenka: My thought was to universalise computer education when computers were still a novelty in backwards districts like Chamba. I asked the then Collector (District Magistrate), Pushpendra Rajput, IAS, to create hubs to cover every government school in the district. New computers make children feel valued and inspire self-worth and confidence. Sharing rooted in love and dignity enriches everyone. Even today, the sparkle in their eyes gives me immense joy!Sanjiv Kaura: That brings us to the final A – Abundance. Elon Musk envisages an AI-driven future of abundance, where money may become less relevant. You have held a similar belief for years. Are you both arriving at the same destination from different directions?Aruna Goenka: Indeed. Elon sees technology creating abundance. I see abundance in what money can do for humanity. Money is the highest form of energy. But energy must circulate. What purpose does wealth serve if it remains locked away in vaults and bank accounts? When money circulates, it creates possibilities, transforming into food, education, skills, livelihoods and human dignity. I live in abundance, and I believe in sharing that abundance. I believe in sharing what the Universe has entrusted to me.Sanjiv Kaura: You come from a globally acclaimed wealthy family, yet live simply, with little interest in luxury or jewellery, and apparently not even locks on your doors. Is that detachment?Aruna Goenka: The moment we are born, we enter the departure lounge. There is nothing wrong with possessing beautiful things. Enjoy them. Use them. But the real question is whether you possess them or they possess you. Abundance should bring freedom, not the fear of losing what you have.Sanjiv Kaura: You call yourself “God’s postman”. Why?Aruna Goenka: I believe I am the chosen one. It may sound arrogant, but I believe the universe has entrusted me with a responsibility: to deliver what comes into my hands. A postman receives parcels but doesn’t own them. His duty is to deliver them. I see wealth, knowledge, opportunities and influence the same way. They come to us, but are they meant to stay with us? I am God’s postman. My responsibility is simple: Never leave a parcel undelivered. And I know the universe has my back.Disclaimer: The article has been produced on behalf of Times Foundation by Times Internet’s Spotlight team.