Governor of Maharashtra & Union Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari grace The CSR Journal Excellence Awards 2021 (4th Edition): Top CSR Projects Recognised

“Stating that the social responsibility of the citizens is more important than the corporate social responsibility for the development of the society, the Governor suggested that God-like persons who have selflessly dedicated their entire lives to social work should also be honoured,” said Shri. Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Hon’ble Governor of Maharashtra, addressing the audience at The CSR Journal Excellence Awards 2021 – Fourth Edition on March 20, 2022, at Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, Nariman Point, Mumbai.

The Governor addressed the audience of over 250 individuals consisting of senior bureaucrats, public representatives, social activists, youth leaders, artists, members of India Inc. and a group of students representing the future of India, during the fourth edition of The CSR Journal Excellence Awards. The theme of this year’s awards was ‘India First’ with a focus on Youth Empowerment.

Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Union Cabinet Minister of Road, Transport and Highways, graced the event, enlightening and inspiring the youth through his wit and intelligence in the lightening round organised on the topic ‘Changing Role of Youth in Nation Building’. Responding to the questions posed by the young audience, the Minister said that there is a need to use technology in the social sector to enable people to stand up on their own feet. Shri Nitin Gadkari has underlined the important role of Corporate Social Responsibility and social entrepreneurship in bringing about socio-economic transformation in the disadvantaged sections of society. He cited the need for social entrepreneurship with social consciousness, social responsibility and social awareness, employing technology in a productive manner.

The prestigious event was hosted by the internationally renowned performer, actor and entertainer Sushant Divgikar Aka Rani KoHenoor, who added to the glamour of the evening by giving a stunning performance on the stage giving a tribute to Late Shri Lata Mangeshkar, Chief of Defence Staff Late General Bipin Rawat and Shri Sindhutai Sapkal. She was then felicitated by the Hon’ble Governor on stage.

We Are One, a group of differently-abled performers, had a special performance on the occasion. Their inspiring performance was a real highlight with an important message for inclusivity in arts.

India mandated CSR in 2014, and since then the area has seen enormous growth potential for human development. With an aim to recognise the efforts of India Inc. in CSR, The CSR Journal Excellence Awards were organised. Hon’ble Governor Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Hon’ble Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari felicitated winners of the Excellence Awards – Edition 4, across 7 categories including Education and Skill Training, Health and Sanitation, Sports, Environment, Women Empowerment and Child Welfare, COVID-19 Relief, and Agriculture and Rural Development. The top seven winners were Marico Limited, Sanofi India Limited, Hindustan Zinc, Dabur India Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Limited, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd., and Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC Limited from the respective categories.

The CSR Journal Excellence Awards 2021 – List of Winners

IIT Madras (Indian Institute of Technology, Madras) was the knowledge partners for the shortlisting process. The winners were chosen basis personal assessment of the jurors, following a live Q&A round which was conducted virtually before the event with the representatives of the project/ programme in the respective categories.

List of Jurors at The CSR Journal Excellence Awards 2021

Education and Skill Training

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

– Ranjitsinh Disale, Global Teacher Prize 2020

– Kaviraj Nair, Chief Executive Officer at Office of Institutional Advancement, IIT Madras

Agriculture and Rural Development

– Dr Sudhir Kumar Goel, IAS Officer (Retd.), various senior positions in the state of Maharashtra, mostly linked to the field of Agriculture & Cooperation

– Vishwanath Giriraj, IAS Officer (Retd.) of 1985 Batch, former-Additional Chief Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra & former-Chairman of the 5th State Finance Commission, Maharashtra

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

Environment

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

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

– Stalin Dayanand, Director, Vanashakti

COVID-19 Relief

– KP Bakshi, IAS (Retd.), former Chairman, Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority

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

– Rajiv Khandekar, Editor, ABP Majha, ABP Network

Health and Sanitation

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

– Dr Bhaskar Chatterjee, IAS (Retd.), Director General & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs

– Nidhi Chaudhary, IAS, Collector, Mumbai Suburban District

Women Empowerment and Child Welfare

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

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

– Sanjay Pandey, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Mumbai

Sports

– Dilip Vengsarkar; former Indian Cricketer & Cricket Administrator

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

On the prestigious occasion, Shri. Sudhir Mungantiwar, Member of Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra & former Minister of Finance, Planning and Forests, Government of Maharashtra was accorded with the “Social Transformation Leader Award” for his exceptional contribution to Nation Building.

The CSR Journal Excellence Awards honoured iconic youths across various fields, who are influencing and inspiring the youth of today. With an aim to recognising their role in nation-building, the awards were given away under the following categories: Best Practices in PR and Communications Award Mr. Madan Bahal, MD, Co-Founder, Adfactors PR, Responsible Film Entertainer and Conservationist Award Mr Sayaji Shinde, Actor, Conservationist, Youth Icon Award to Ms Rajvi Mariwala, Director, Mariwala Health Initiative, Influencing Youth Icon Award to Tanmay Bhat, Comedian, Writer, Content Creator, and Inspiring Young Changemaker Award to Ms Malvika Iyer, Disability Rights Activist and Nari Shakti Puraskar winner. In addition to this, Life Time Achievement awards were given to Mr Prakash Amte & Mrs Mandakini Amte, Mr Dilip Vengsarkar and Ms Jyoti Mhapsekar.

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. was 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 was awarded as the Changemakers in Skill Development & Education.

The CSR Journal Excellence Awards 2021 also had Reliance Industries receive the award for Corporate Leadership in ESG.

Mr Amit Upadhyay, Editor-in-Chief, The CSR Journal, said at The CSR Journal Excellence Awards, “CSR to us is not limited to Corporate Social Responsibility. We have always been proponents of the Citizen Social Responsibility side of CSR. Without the support and participation of citizens, it is impossible to achieve the level of development we aim to achieve in India. To facilitate this coordination more efficiently, The CSR Journal plans to launch an app in the near future which would provide the citizens and all the other stakeholders of social development a platform to collaborate, share information and knowledge which would enable them to develop and implement the best practices of social services.”

Meanwhile, this year, seven Special Commendation Awards in Corporate Social Responsibility were awarded at the hands of Hon’ble Governor & Union Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari to:

– Adani Foundation

– DCB Bank

– Mahindra Rural Housing Finance

– Muthoot Finance Ltd.

– ReNew Power Pvt. Ltd.

– Vistara – TATA SIA Airlines Ltd.

– Swades Foundation

The Social Welfare & Growth Awards, this year recognised for their contributions in different areas including –

– Annamrit Foundation – Social Welfare & Growth Award for Food Security & Nutrition

– Dilip Donekar – Social Welfare & Growth Award for COVID-19 Management & Relief

– Jignesh Hirani – Social Welfare & Growth Award for COVID-19 Management & Relief

– Milind Shinde – Social Welfare & Growth Award for COVID-19 Management & Relief

– Jeetendra V. Pardeshi – Social Welfare & Growth Award for Sustainable Urban Innovation for Green Initiatives

– Akshay Kumar – Social Welfare and Growth Award for Responsible Citizenry

The CSR Journal print magazine launched its exciting March 2022  ‘Women’s Special’ edition which features insightful columns and articles at the prestigious awards show.