Panaji, April 17: Prominent political, film personality, and business philanthropist were honoured at Champions of Change 2020 Awards at an event held here on Friday.
Goa Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was the Chief Guest of the third edition of the Champions of Change Award. The award ceremony was graced by several other luminaries including former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice K G Balakrishnan, former CJI Justice Dipak Misra, and former Supreme Court judge Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra.
The Jury for Champions of Change Award was headed by Justice K G Balakrishnan. It also included Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, former judge, Supreme Court of India, veteran journalist Ved Pratap Vaidik and Shankar Aggarwal, former Secretary, Women, and Child Welfare Ministry, Government of India.
Some of the awardees who attended the ceremony virtually included actress Hema Malini, DMK President M K Stalin, actress Sushmita Sen and Former Chairman Censor Board & Veteran Film Producer Pahlaj Nihalani.
Goa Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari encouraged the awardees and said, ”It is these champions of change that help build a stronger nation, and in the current crisis the world is facing, we need more and more such people who serve the society with selfless dedication.”
On receiving the award, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, “I would like to say the power behind their action for making things better lies in their passion for doing the extraordinary along with their compassion not following their own personal glory. And yes, the honour called Champions of Change is the energizing support for the agents of change in the society.”
Union Minister Shripad Naik said, “Today we are here to celebrate the goodness which is going to become an inspiration for the people of India. The goodness in the work of our heroes presents here today have been an epitome of excellence which is going to be seen today in the form of the awards of this event – Champions of Change.”
DMK President M K Stalin said, “I would like to thank once again for this award, as means to encourage the efforts undertaken by me, in my capacity as the President of the DMK.I hereby pledge that Tamil Nadu will be a frontline state in implementing the socio-economic protection schemes assured by the Constitution of India.”
Organiser of the Champions of Change award and Chairman of the Interactive Forum on Indian Economy (IFIE) Nandan Jha said, “Because of Covid, we faced a lot of challenges in organizing the award ceremony this year. It is because of the august presence of Honourable Governor, CM, union minister, this occasion has become a memorable one. The mission of our organization is to encourage those who work to bring positive change, to felicitate their achievements so that future generations are also motivated to serve the society.”
Playback singer Sonu Nigam said, “This award would always be very special to me. I have received several awards for my singing, but this award, along with singing is also an encouragement to my efforts to serve the people.”
Champions of Change award is organized by the monthly news and current affairs magazine ‘Power Corridors’ and the Hindi news portal ‘Panchayati Times’, under the aegis of ‘Interactive Forum on Indian Economy’ (IFIE).
The awardees for ‘Champions of Change 2020’ were Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Union Minister Shripad Naik, DMK President M K Stalin, MP and Veteran Indian Film Actress Hema Malini, Former Chairman Censor Board & Veteran Film Producer Pahlaj Nihalani, Iqbal Singh Chahal, BMC Commissioner, Dr Gautam Bhansali, Corona Warrior, Playback singer Sonu Nigam, Film Director Anees Bazmee, Playback Singer Hema Sardesai, film actress Sushmita Sen, among others.(UNI)