By Janaki Krishnan

Copyright thehindubusinessline

The seventh edition of bl’s Changemaker Awards started on a melodious note with Sudhir the Fluteboxer, who created magical acoustics and ended with Chief Guest Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri’s reminiscences as a diplomat.

Education, social welfare, empowerment of marginalised sections were major themes that the awards recognised this year while true to the ethos of Viksit Bharat, was also the theme of indigenous production that was underlined by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, which won the Changemaker of the Year award.

The award for social transformation went to Hasina Karibh’s Impulse NGO Network, which is engaged in anti-trafficking efforts and rehabilitating vulnerable women as well as children from rat-hole mining in Meghalaya.

The digital transformation award went to Bhashini which is aiming for accuracy in translation of languages on its platform while harnessing artificial intelligence to deliver it. CEO Amitabh Nag said the company received 20 million translation requests every day.

The aroma of coffee pervaded the room as the young managing director Kalpana Kumari rose to receive the financial transformation award for Araku Valley Coffee a unique variant of Arabica coffee from the Eastern Ghats. She dedicated the award to the hundreds of workers of the Girijan Cooperative Corporation and the thousands of farmers in the ghats. She said the corporation has been working to strengthen tribal communities and use AI to bring further progress for such farmers.

Onon, which Puri described as a “volatile agricultural product,” and has the potential to make or break governments, is where Young Changemaker recipient Kalyani Shinde’s Godaam Innovations is making a difference. She won the award for setting up India’s first Internet of Devices-based onion storage solution device that monitors the microclimate of onion warehouses and tracks temperature, humidity and gases emitted during the early stages of spoilage.

The Chairperson’s award went to Bengaluru-based non-profit eVidyaloka, that is bridging the education divide across the country by spreading literacy across the using digital classrooms and matching children’s needs with a 70,000-strong volunteer base that I spread across the world.

Wipro founder Azim Premji is known for his philanthropy, and his Azim Premji Foundation win the Iconic Changemaker of the Year award, for its pioneering and extensive work in education and healthcare. The Azim Premji Foundation has over 2,500 members and works with 1,320 partner organisations across India.

DRDO, the change maker

The awards were rounded off by DRDO which won the Changemaker of the Year award for its role during Operation Sindoor in neutralising enemy assets and securing India’s borders.

“Today our organisation works on all critical defence technologies starting from underwater, sea, land, air, space and cyber technologies. Our endeavour is to make the country self-reliant in this very critical domain of defence technologies,” said Ummalaneni Raja Babu, Distinguished Scientist and Director General – Missiles and Strategic Systems (MSS).

The evening was rounded off by Puri’s reminiscences of his time as a diplomat and his association with former President APJ Abdul Kalam.

The Presenting Partner for the event is SASTRA Deemed University and the event is Co-powered by State Bank of India (SBI). Associate Partners are LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India), Bank of Baroda, The Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd, NTPC Ltd, GAIL (India) Ltd, ICFAI Business School (IBS), Oil India Ltd, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). State Partner is Government of Sikkim. Luxury Watch Partner is Citizen. Education Partner SSVM Institutions and Home Appliance Partner is Ultra, the kitchen appliances brand of ELGI ULTRA PVT LTD.

Published on September 26, 2025