IndiaCSR News Network
NEW DELHI: Odisha’s Dharitri Rout in Individual category and Action for Protection of Wild Animals (APOWA) in Organisation category have been conferred with the prestigious Rashtriya Swayamsiddh Samman by the JSPL Foundation among 9 Individuals and 10 Organisations from across sectors by Chief Guest, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy,
Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge) & Parliamentary Affairs.
The winners received a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a certificate of appreciation to support their ongoing work and enhance the impact on ground, at a glittering ceremony held at Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi on Thursday.
The occasion was graced by Savitri Jindal, Chairperson Emeritus, Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), Naveen Jindal, Chairman, JSPL and Shallu Jindal, President, JSPL Foundation.
The first-ever Rashtriya Swayamsiddh Samman, a unique initiative launched by JSPL Foundation last year to identify, reward and recognize grassroot leaders and social innovators in India.
Speaking on the occasion Shallu Jindal, President, JSPL Foundation said that, “People from the grassroot level rarely ever receive recognition for the good work done by them. It is this vacuum that JSPL Foundation strives to fill by initiating a legacy from this year by the name of Rashtriya Swayamsiddh Samman to recognise and nurture talent from the grassroot level from across the country.”
“The objective of the Rashtriya Swayamsiddh Samman is to bring out stories that have yet been untold. It is an effort to salute such people and provide them with a national platform, she added.
Odisha’s Dharitri Rout awarded with the Rashtriya Swayamsiddh Samman for her outstanding work towards Women’s Oragnisation for Socio- Cultural Awareness has a truly inspirational story. Similarly among other winners include Bhapkar Guruji, the Mountain Man from Maharashtra who built a 40 kms path cutting across seven hills; the Glacier Man of Ladakh (Chewang Norphel) who built artificial glaciers and solved the problem of water in the dry mountainous area; the Gujarat farmer (Patel Genabhai Darghabhai) who brought Pomegranate farming to Banaskantha and the Indore couple (Gyanendra Monica Purohit) who successfully convinced the government to open a model deaf and dumb friendly police station, a first in India.
Winners in the Organisation category include Action for Protection of Wild Animals (APOWA’s) whose mangrove conservation project has directly benefitted some 24,000 people from 42 villages in Odisha; Rescue Foundation from Maharashtra that works towards rescue, rehabilitation and repatriation of victims of human trafficking from India, Bangladesh and Nepal; Rural Health Care Foundation that runs 10 healthcare centres in West Bengal; and Sports Coaching Foundation (SCF) that aims to identify young talent (especially among the less privileged children) to groom them into promising sports stars of the future, to name a few.
Maharashtra topped the list with 41 entries out of the 358, closely followed by Jharkhand (40), Odisha (39), Delhi (30) and 12 other states including Assam, Mizoram, Tripura and Ladakh.
The selection process was equipped with four regional jury meetings held in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi respectively to shortlist the entries. The National Jury comprised Dr. Swaroop Raval, Educationist and Social Activist and former actress; Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Ambassador of India to Kazakhstan, Sweden and Latvia; Mr Anurag Aggarwal, Principal Scientist, CSIR Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology; Abhishek Humbad, Co-Founder, NextGen and Shallu Jindal.
The awards are being conferred in 10 categories viz. Women Empowerment, Entrepreneurship (start-ups), Education, Agriculture, Rural Development, Public Service / Social Service, Livelihood/Vocational Skills, Health, Innovation/Technology and Environment.
JSPL Foundation has held such similar Swayamsiddh Samman awards previously in the states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand in March, May and July, 2015 respectively, states where JSPL has a significant presence.
