This year’s Changemaker Awards, hosted by The Hindu businessline, shone a spotlight on critical themes such as education, social welfare, and the empowerment of marginalized communities. A standout moment was the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) receiving the coveted Changemaker of the Year Award, a recognition that powerfully underscored India’s commitment to indigenous production and strategic technological advancement.
The seventh edition of the awards ceremony commenced with a captivating fluteboxing performance by R. Sudhir, setting a harmonious tone for the evening. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, graced the event as the chief guest, sharing anecdotes from his distinguished diplomatic career as the evening drew to a close.
The Social Transformation Award was proudly presented to Hasina Karbhih’s Impulse NGO Network. This remarkable organization is dedicated to combating human trafficking and providing vital rehabilitation for vulnerable women and children, particularly those impacted by rat-hole mining activities in Meghalaya.
Bhashini, a pioneering government initiative, secured the Digital Transformation Award. This project is at the forefront of achieving highly accurate language translation through its platform, leveraging advanced artificial intelligence to meet an astonishing 20 million translation requests daily, as reported by CEO Amitabh Nag.
The Financial Transformation Award recognized Kalpana Kumari, the managing director of Girijan Cooperative Corporation. Her leadership was instrumental in the success of Araku Valley coffee, an exquisite Arabica variant cultivated in the Eastern Ghats. Ms. Kumari humbly dedicated the award to the dedicated hundreds of cooperative workers and thousands of farmers. She emphasized the corporation’s ongoing efforts to empower tribal communities and integrate AI for their continued progress.
Kalyani Shinde, the visionary founder of Godaam Innovations, was celebrated with the Young Changemaker Award. Her achievement lies in establishing India’s first Internet of Things (IoT)-based solution for onion storage, meticulously monitoring microclimates within warehouses to track temperature, humidity, and gases that signal early spoilage.
Promoting Literacy and Broader Impact
The Chairperson’s Award was bestowed upon Bengaluru-based eVidyaloka. This organization is making significant strides in bridging the educational gap across the nation, utilizing digital classrooms and a vast global network of 70,000 volunteers to tailor learning experiences to children’s specific needs.
The Azim Premji Foundation received the prestigious Iconic Changemaker Award for its extensive and transformative work in both education and healthcare. Comprising over 2,500 members, the foundation collaborates with 1,320 partner organizations throughout India.
The DRDO’s recognition with the Changemaker of the Year Award acknowledges its pivotal role during ‘Operation Sindoor,’ where it successfully neutralized enemy assets and significantly enhanced India’s border security.
Ummalaneni Raja Babu, Distinguished Scientist and Director General – Missiles and Strategic Systems at DRDO, affirmed the organization’s mission: “Today our organization works on all critical defense technologies starting from underwater, sea, land, air, space, and cyber technologies. Our endeavor is to make the country self-reliant in this very critical domain of defense technologies.”
The event was presented by SASTRA Deemed University, co-powered by the State Bank of India (SBI), and supported by associate partners including LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India), Bank of Baroda, the Jammu & Kashmir Bank Limited, NTPC Ltd, GAIL (India) Ltd, ICFAI Business School (IBS), Oil India Ltd, and Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). The Government of Sikkim served as the State partner, Citizen as the luxury watch partner, SSVM Institutions as the education partner, and Ultra, the kitchen appliances brand of Elgi Ultra, as the home appliance partner.