Center for Nurturing Future Leaders (CNFL)
Unlocking the Potential of Youth & Women to Build Bharat
The Center for Nurturing Future Leaders (CNFL) is a pioneering initiative by the Piramal School of Leadership committed to identifying the critical learning needs of youth and women and designing learning processes and experiences rooted in adult learning principles.
Rather than offering generic training models, CNFL creates customized leadership development pathways in the form of a Fellowship that unlock untapped potential and prepare fellows to take on impact-driven roles in nation-building. Our approach goes beyond capacity building – it nurtures inner transformation, contextual decision-making, and systems thinking among emerging leaders.
Our mission is to build exceptional leadership and development platforms that equip young changemakers with the skills, mindsets, and values to drive meaningful, scalable change across India.
What We Do
CNFL designs and delivers strategic interventions, contextualized learning experiences, and innovative fellowship models that:
Equipping individuals with professional excellence and a strong personal vision to lead meaningful change.
Nurturing leadership among youth and women to build equitable and representative systems.
Creating sustainable, scalable structures aligned with Bharat’s evolving development needs.
We focus on preparing fellows not just for jobs, but for impact-driven careers that shape systems and uplift communities, and impact millions of lives.
How We Build Leaders
CNFL nurtures leadership through three key approaches:
Equipping individuals with professional excellence and a strong personal vision to lead meaningful change.
Nurturing leadership among youth and women to build equitable and representative systems.
Creating sustainable, scalable structures aligned with Bharat’s evolving development needs.
Our Impact Vision
By cultivating bold, reflective, and capable leaders, CNFL aspires to build a cadre of future-ready professionals who drive Bharat’s transformation from within. Every fellow is seen not just as a participant—but as a potential nation builder.
Centres of Excellence
The Gandhi Fellowship is a 23-month immersive leadership journey that believes in the power of young people to reimagine and rebuild public systems. Fellows work at the grassroots, gaining hands-on experience while developing skills and a mindset to become changemakers in the development ecosystem.
What Do Fellows Experience?
- Community Immersion
- Live Action Projects (LAP)
- Bootcamps & Workshops
- Leadership Curriculum
- Vipassana & Daily Debriefing
- Lakshya (Private Dream Mapping) & Manthan (Inner Reflection)
Core Components
- Exposure to underserved areas and systemic challenges
- Practical problem-solving using empathy, systems thinking, and tech
- Development of critical 21st-century skills like collaboration and creativity
Leadership Development Focus
- Leading Self: Emotional awareness and resilience
- Leading On-Ground Impact: Field experience and data fluency
- Leading People: Teamwork and stakeholder engagement
- Leading Organizational Outcomes: Project and communication skills
- Leading Social Impact at Scale: Policy understanding and system change
Karuna Fellowship is a 23-month leadership development program designed specifically for women, especially those from challenging socio-economic backgrounds. It empowers them to become compassionate leaders who can address local issues in education, health, and livelihoods.
What Do Fellows Experience?
- Immersion in six thematic areas including Gender, Mental Health, and Livelihoods
- Saturday Learning Circles, Bootcamps, and Virtual Learning Spaces
- Live Action and Community Projects
- Daily Debriefings and Personal Growth Workshops
Core Components
- Leadership Curriculum grounded in experience and context
- Real-time project design and implementation
- Field immersion in grassroots realities
- Skill-building with a focus on confidence, communication, and self-agency
Leadership Development Focus
- Self-Awareness: Build emotional resilience, clarity, and empathy-led leadership through continuous reflection.
- Community Leadership: Lead grassroots change with compassion by engaging deeply with local contexts.
- Building Self-Agency: Strengthen confidence, ownership, and decision-making through real-world challenges.
- 21st-Century Skill Building: Gain hands-on experience in collaboration, negotiation, empathy, and systems thinking.
- Professional Readiness: Prepare for impact-driven careers across education, development, and social innovation.
In collaboration with the Capacity Building Commission (CBC), the Karmayogi Saarthi Program places young professionals in government bodies to drive strategic capacity-building reforms under Mission Karmayogi.
What Do Fellows Experience?
- Direct engagement with Ministries and Departments
- Driving multi-stakeholder programs of national importance
- Deep involvement in performance and governance reforms
- Mentorship and reflection through CNFL support frameworks
Core Components
- Placement across 43 Ministries, Departments & Organizations (MDOs)
- Support in setting up Capacity Building Units (CBUs)
- Promotion of the iGOT digital learning platform
- Manthan-led reflection and leadership growth
Leadership Development Focus
- Building institutional capabilities
- Supporting people-centric governance
- Driving sustainable reform through data and innovation
- Developing public administration acumen
In partnership with the Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA), this program embeds young professionals in key state departments to co-lead developmental initiatives, driving compassionate governance in Maharashtra.
What Do Fellows Experience?
- Immersion in policy implementation and program design
- Working closely with senior bureaucrats and decision-makers
- Periodic leadership development and structured assessments
- Strategic guidance and mentorship via CNFL
Core Components
- Deployment across sectors impacting health, education, and livelihoods
- On-ground problem solving aligned with state goals
- Weekly review systems and reporting frameworks
- Skill-building on leadership, impact thinking, and governance tools
Leadership Development Focus
- Fostering state-level public sector leadership
- Enhancing problem-solving and innovation for impact
- Strengthening decision-making in complex systems
- Supporting long-term systemic transformation
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