Made In Play Summit

India’s first national televised summit on play and early childhood, the Made in Play Summit brings together the people who think about it from very different places, reaching not just a room but homes across the country at the same time.

Brought to you by Bachpan Manao with EkStep Foundation and NDTV, the Summit starts from a single argument: play is not a luxury. It is infrastructure. And it builds that case across a full day of conversations.

Rohini Nilekani opens with why, as a society, we have misclassified play as reward when it should have been treated as a core input to child development. A National Play Manifesto, by children, of children, and for every caring adult, sets the tone for what follows. Panels bring together a Municipal Corporation Commissioner, toy designers, and urban planners to ask how systems can actually make space for play. A developmental paediatrician, an author, and early years educators explore the art, heart, and science of it. Architect Kabir Vajpeyi looks at the invisible playgrounds we have stopped designing. Disability rights activist Nipun Malhotra asks what play looks like for every child. Singer Vidya Shah makes the case for why you must sing to your child. And standup MOMic Amruta Bendre brings honesty and humour to parenting in the early years.

The Summit closes by recognising a Champion of Play, someone who shows up, every day, for children’s right to play.