New Delhi: The CSR arm of Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) Thursday conferred its annual social development award on 17 individuals and 10 organisations at an event in the national capital.
As part of its initiative called Rashtriya Swayamsiddh Samman, the JSPL Foundation honoured winners across 10 categories — including art and culture, education and entrepreneurship — with an award and a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.
Gangadhar Rout, a retired veterinary technician from Odisha’s Keonjhar district, won the individual award in the rural development category for spending his entire retirement benefits and savings of over Rs 12 lakh to build a 270-foot bridge in his village. Anand Shankar, a photojournalist, and Madhav Sahasrabudhe, a retired mechanical engineer, were among the other winners.
Union Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad presented the winners with the Rashtriya Swayamsiddh Samman.
“The dedication and social innovation of the winners are truly exemplary and commendable. They contributed to social development and nation building in their unique way,” JSPL chairman and former MP Naveen Jindal said in a statement.
JSPL Foundation chairperson Shallu Jindal, cited as the architect of the award, said, “Today, we award the people who have gone against the tide, fought the odds to stand up for the values and principles that every Indian nurtures, that Mahatma Gandhi upheld.”
The JSPL Foundation instituted the Rashtriya Swayamsiddh Samman in 2015 to reward and nurture grass-root change makers and encourage the unsung heroes.