In a glittering ceremony marked by a pulsating percussion performance by Sumesh Narayanan and a stirring account of an adventurous feat by sailor Abhilash Tomy, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented The Hindu businessline’s Changemaker of the Year award to the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), the manufacturer of the Vande Bharat train for redefining travel for Indians.

Teacher, inventor, entrepreneur and mentor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, under whose stewardship the IIT Madras Research Park developed dozens of cutting-edge technologies and spawned several start-ups, was crowned Iconic Changemaker of the year.

Although torrential rain lashed Delhi and created chaos on the roads, it did not dampen the spirits of the CEOs, bureaucrats and businessfolk attending the event to applaud the work of changemakers.

Receiving the award on behalf of ICF, U. Subba Rao, its General Manager, said: “The PM asked us to put out more such trains in the fastest time, and we are proud to say that 12 more trains will be rolled out across India.”

The sixth edition of the event saw awards being given in seven categories – Digital Transformation, Social Transformation, Financial Transformation, Young Changemaker, Iconic Changemaker, Changemaker of the Year and a special new award – the Chairperson’s Award. The Digital Transformation winner was the Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics, which is helping in early detection of infectious diseases by bringing critical diagnostics services right to people’s doorsteps. In Social Transformation, there were two winners – the Wildlife Trust of India, a name synonymous with the right to passage for elephants and an organisation that has rescued and rehabilitated bears, rhinos, elephants, vultures, whale sharks and more; and Design for Change, a movement started by the Ahmedabad-based Kiran Bir Sethi, which works to make children the future changemakers of the world.

The Financial Transformation award was given to Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank, which has transformed the financial landscape for rural women. India’s youngest chess world championship challenger, D. Gukesh, got the Young Changemaker award.

In her address, the Finance Minister said, “India has seen a lot of quiet work happening on the ground. But, of late, there is an increasing tendency to bring them to light.” She singled out businessline for bringing to the fore the work of people carrying out transformational change. She said that post-COVID, the drive in people to improve their own lives and their neighbourhood had become even stronger. That is why the post-COVID recovery in the country has been so strong.

Earlier, inaugurating the event, Nirmala Lakshman, Chairperson of THG Publishing Private Limited, said, “Impactful change begins with vision.” She added, “Changemakers are those who strive to change the present paradigm.”

The 2024 awards function was presented by Sastra as presenting partner and powered by SBI. The event was also supported by associate partners LIC, J&K Bank, NTPC, Union Bank of India, NMDC, Essar, Punjab & Sind Bank, Swelect Energy and Indian Bank. Casagrand was the realty partner, while Fortinet was the cybersecurity partner. NDTV 24x7 was the television partner. The knowledge partners were Ashoka and Deloitte, while the validation partner was NIITI Consulting. The online streaming partner was DailyHunt.