Date Announcement: Fourth Edition of The CSR Journal Excellence Awards presented by The CSR Journal on 20 March 2022 in Mumbai

As we commemorate those we have lost during these tough times, our society’s devotion and goodwill towards one another has moulded and saved countless lives in the last 24 months. Humanitarian and relief efforts around the world, as well as in India, have helped stakeholders realise the necessity of individual social responsibility in numerous forms. The fourth edition of The CSR Journal Excellence Awards will be held on March 20, 2022, at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre in Mumbai. The Excellence Awards 2021 will honour innovative and best practices in the sphere of Corporate Social Responsibility across seven award categories, recognising responsible leadership from individuals and groups in humanitarian initiatives.

The Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra, Shri. Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Govt. of India, Shri Nitin Gadkari are the chief dignitaries for the event. Shri. Subhash Desai, Minister of Industries & Mining, Government of Maharashtra & Shri. Amit Deshmukh, Minister of Medical Education & Cultural Affairs, Govt. of Maharashtra, are the Guest of Honour. Shri Sudhir Mungantiwar, former Minister of Finance, Planning and Forests, Government of Maharashtra & current Member of the Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra is the Social Transformation Leader and Special Guest for the event.

The CSR Journal Excellence Awards 2021 will recognise the best practices in seven award categories. They are Agriculture & Rural Development, COVID-19 Relief, Education & Skill Training, Environment, Health & Sanitation, Sports and Women Empowerment & Child Welfare. The finalists (Organisation; Project Name) for this year are:

Agriculture & Rural Development

– Aditya Birla Capital; Business Unit: Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Limited; Revitalizing Agriculture and Infrastructure through SHG Empowerment (RAISE)

– Bharat Aluminium Company Limited; Mor Jal Mor Maati (Land and Water Management)

– Bharat Forge Limited; Village development under Rural Development

COVID-19 Relief

– Akhil Bhartiya Gramin Uthan Samiti, Covid-19 Response to Public Health

– Dabur India Ltd., Dabur CARES

– Jindal Steel and Power Ltd., Combatting the Covid-19 pandemic

Education & Skill Training

– Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd (LTI); Digital Sakshar

– Marico Limited; Nihar Shanti Pathshala Funwala’s English Literacy Program

– Maruti Suzuki; Japan-India Institute for Manufacturing

Environment

– L&T Technology Services, Neelachala – Building 150 cyclone resilient homes for underprivileged families affected by Cyclone Fani in Puri, Odisha

– Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Watershed development fund project Hatta Block, District, Damoh, Madhya Pradesh

– Dabur India Ltd, Project Herbal Kingdom

Health & Sanitation

– Sanofi India Ltd., Kids and Diabetes in School (KiDS)

– Aarvi Encon Ltd., Health Care and Medical Facilities

– ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd., Caring Hands

Sports

– Aditya Birla Capital (Business Unit: Aditya Birla Finance Limited), Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme

– Hindustan Zinc Ltd., Zinc Football

Women Empowerment & Child Welfare

– Hindustan Zinc, Women Empowerment Programme – Sakhi & Microenterprises

– Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, Prerna – Empowering women to be changemakers in the field of Agriculture

– Sterlite Technologies Ltd., Jeewan Jyoti Women Empowerment Program

The CSR Journal received a large number of applications in each of these categories, out of which the above top nominations were shortlisted by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, the Knowledge Partner for The CSR Journal Excellence Awards 2021. For the final round, the esteemed Jury Members responsible to examine and declare the winner, first runner-up and second runner-up are –

– Ajoy Mehta, IAS (Retd.), Chair, Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority

– Anuradha Nair, Social Policy Specialist, United Nations Children’s Fund

– Atul Deulgaonkar, Joint Secretary Trustee, Forum of Environmental Journalists in India, Independent Journalist & Author

– Deepak Mhaisekar, IAS (Retd.), Advisor to Chief Minister of Maharashtra

– Dilip Vengsarkar, former Indian Cricketer & Cricket Administrator

– Dr Bhaskar Chatterjee, Director General & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs

– Pradip Awate, State Surveillance Officer, Maharashtra, Epidemic-Prone Diseases, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India

– Sudhir Kumar Goel, IAS (Retd.), former-Commissioner Agriculture, former-Principal Secretary & former-Additional Chief Secretary, Dept. of Agriculture, Govt. of Maharashtra

– S. Saharia, IAS (Retd.), Chairman, ISHAD, former-Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra & former-State Election Commissioner, Maharashtra

– P. Bakshi, IAS (Retd.), Ex-Chairman, Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority, Maharashtra

– Kaviraj Nair, Chief Executive Officer, Office of Institutional Advancement, Indian Institute of Technology Madras

– Nidhi Chaudhary, Collector, Mumbai Suburban

– Radheshyam Mopalwar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Ltd.

– Rajesh Patil, IAS, Commissioner, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation

– Rajiv Khandekar, Editor, ABP Majha, ABP Network.

– Ranjit Disale, Global Teacher Prize 2020 Winner & Pedagogy Expert

– Reena Jha Tripathi, IRS, Chief Commission of Income Tax-3, Mumbai Region

– Sanjay Pandey, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Mumbai

– Stalin Dayanand, Director, Vanashakti

– Vishwanath Giriraj, IAS (Retd.), former-Chairman, 5th State Finance Commission, Maharashtra & Chief Executive Officer, Maharashtra Bamboo Promotion Foundation

The CSR Journal Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 will be awarded to Dr. Prakash Baba Amte & Dr. Mandakini Amte, Shri. Dilip Vengsarkar and Smt. Jyoti Mhapsekar during the awards ceremony at the hands of the Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra, Shri. Bhagat Singh Koshyari & Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Govt. of India, Shri Nitin Gadkari.

This year, seven Special Commendation Award in Corporate Social Responsibility will be awarded to:

– Adani Foundation

– DCB Bank

– Mahindra Rural Housing Finance

– Muthoot Finance Ltd.

– ReNew Power Pvt. Ltd.

– Vistara – TATA SIA Airlines Ltd.

– Swades Foundation

As a Responsible Corporate Leader ‘Vivo India Pvt. Ltd.’ has tirelessly worked through their Vivo Cares and Vivo for Education programmes for COVID-19 Relief efforts. On the occasion of the Excellence Awards 2021, Vivo India Pvt. Ltd. will be awarded for their contributions to serve the at-risk and vulnerable communities, focusing on frontline workers and COVID-19 aid as well as digital education and scholarship programme in Maharashtra and Telangana.

Friends Union for Energising Lives or FUEL is felicitating several initiatives in the area of skill development for youth and has been a change-maker for its continued work in the space. On the occasion of the Excellence Awards 2021 FUEL will be awarded as the Changemakers in Skill Development & Education.

The event will be hosted by Singer/Actor/Social Activist Sushant Divgikar aka Rani Ko-He-Nur.

“These are difficult times and has made us reflect on our past practices and experiences to engage and confront our future challenges. The role of India Inc., civil society and individual efforts is paramount to address injustices and inequalities in the priority areas and amongst vulnerable groups. The CSR Journal takes great pride in being able to successfully complete the application and evaluation process for this year’s Excellence Awards, considering the overwhelming response and the large number of nominations we received.

“I applaud and appreciate the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (Knowledge Partners),  as well as our excellent 20 jury members. Over the years, the Excellence Awards has gained importance and trust amongst participants for its credibility and reputation — I take this opportunity to thank our readers, participating organisations, and individuals for their continued support, as we continue to build the platform,” said Amit Upadhyay, Editor-in-Chief of The CSR Journal.

“As the area expands beyond the huge number of tasks and responsibilities Government plays in ensuring and felicitating public good to handle difficulties and promote justice, equality, and rights for all, numerous stakeholders are focusing more on the social sector. It is crucial to recognise and assess critical gaps, as well as to fill them as soon as possible and at the same time create a rational and systematic method for planning, implementing, managing, and evaluating social sector actions. Through its rigorous two-stage evaluation system, The CSR Journal Excellence Awards have been a first-of-its-kind platform in this regard, establishing a reliable and reputable technique of analysing social impact. I congratulate The CSR Journal on successfully completing the application and evaluation process for this year’s awards,” Sudhir Mungantiwar, former Minister of Finance, Planning and Forests, Government of Maharashtra & current Member of the Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra said.

“I am very excited and honoured to be the host for this year’s The CSR Journal Excellence Awards. The theme for this year is – India First, which I’ve always believed in. Whenever I’ve personally represented India, internationally, this is always the thought I go with. I do what I do for my country first and everything and everyone else later. I hope it is a successful event and the youth of today leave the event with some amazing life hacks,” expressed Sushant Divgikar.

Register for the event here: http://bit.ly/3uwFcpG