The Grand Jury for the 13th edition of the Manthan Award South Asia 2016 was successfully held at at Sanskriti Kendra, New Delhi, India, on 22 October 2016. This year we received 296 nominations across 09 categories. The virtual Jury members managed to filter 245 valid entries to 89 for the final evaluation by the Grand Jury. A panel of 18 Jury members looked into the filtered nominations.

The list of Winners will be revealed on stage at the 13th Manthan Grand Gala, Surajkund Mela Ground Haryana, India, on December 02, 2016.

Osama Manzar (Jury Moderator)
Founder & Director
Digital Empowerment Foundation

Chairman of the eNGO Challenge, mBillionth Awards, Manthan Awards and Social Media for Empowerment Awards, Osama Manzar is a convert social entrepreneur, inspiring speaker, mentor and believer. Osama founded Digital Empowerment Foundation with the objective that there should be universal digital literacy and digital access to all to overcome information gap and parity and help build equitable society. He is a Member, Working Group, Internet Proliferation & Governance for Ministry of Communication & IT and was a Member, Task Force on Growth of IT, ITES & Electronics HW Manufacturing Industry, Ministry of Communication & IT, India. He is also a member of the Advisory Board for National Optic Fibre Network (NOFN) of the Universal Service Obligation Fund under the Indian Department of Telecom. At the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Manzar is a member of the Screening Committee for the Community Radio Licensing. Manzar sits on the Boards of the World Summit Award, the Society for Labour & Development, Ibtada, the Association of Progressive Communication, ProtoVillage, and the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI). A British Chevening Fellow of 2002, Manzar has authored NetCh@kra: 15 Years of Internet in India. Other titles by him include e-Content: Voices from the Ground; Internet Economy of India; India’s Best e-Contents, and Development & Digital Inclusion. He writes a weekly column in the Mint and Hindustan, and has previously written columns for Gaon Connection. A physics graduate, Manzar has a post-graduate diploma in Journalism and is credited for covering at least 200 ICTD case studies in India and South Asia. Fluent in English, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic and Persian, Manzar tweets @osamamanzar.

Rajen Varada
Co-Founder & Director
Technology for the People (TFTP)

Rajen Varada has been an ICT practitioner since 1995 and continues to be actively engaged in designing and implementing proof of concept solutions for rural development using technology and, in particular, ICT. He has developed solutions for health and early childhood care: (Sisu Samrakshak UNICEF), Disaster: (SMS4help – Solution Exchange), District e-Governance: (Parishkaram & Samadhan – Govt of AP & West Bengal) and most recently ‘Labnet’ a migrant labour tracking and services portal. He is actively involved for the past nine years in study, evaluation, and mentoring ICT innovations which impact the social sector. Mr. Varada has been one of the thinkers behind movements like public sector software in India and actively supports community ownership of technology – from community radio, community TV to open source applications.

Mahesh Venkateswaran
Lead – Industry Partnerships & SIMO Project
National Skill Development Corporation

Mahesh Venkateswaran works with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), part of the Government’s Skill India mission. He leads industry partnerships to strengthen the ecosystem through greenfield/brownfield projects across various sectors and mobilize CSR contributions for skill development projects. He also setup and led the Innovation fund focused on early stage funding for entities addressing skill development challenges until recently. Prior to joining NSDC, Mahesh led a 400+ strong team working on integrated rural development projects and social enterprises focused on employment, agriculture and dairy sector based in Jharkhand. An engineer from the 2001 batch of Vellore Institute of Technology, he has a master’s degree from the US and worked in research and consulting till 2009.

Soumya Sarkar
Writer & Editor
India Climate Dialogue

Soumya Sarkar is Managing Editor, India Climate Dialogue. He was the News Editor of Mint, a sister publication of the Hindustan Times published in partnership with the Wall Street Journal. He has been working in Media and Communications for over two decades and was previously with The Times of India, The Indian Express Group, the Telegraph and the Down to Earth magazine. He has also worked as development and communications consultant with organisations like the World Bank and the Aga Khan Development Network. Besides working in the areas of environment, rural livelihoods, energy and water resources, Soumya is keenly interested in science and technology issues.

Manoj Dawane
VP & Head Technology-Government & Industry Relations
Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility
Ericsson India

Manoj Dawane took charge as Head of the Unit Technology, GIR (Government & Industry Relations) and Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility for India region with effect from November 11, 2013. In his current role, Manoj is expected to establish a stronger industry position for Ericsson and to sharpen technology leadership area. He is a part of the region’s core leadership team. Prior to this role, Manoj was Head of Engagement Practices within Region India whereby he was responsible for solutions for all customer requirements for Region India. Solution areas involved were Mobile Broadband, Fixed Broadband and IP, Operating Support Systems (OSS) & Business Support Systems (BSS), Mobile Commerce, Managed Services (Network and IT), TV & Media Applications. Before joining Ericsson, Manoj was the Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of Mauj Mobile – wireless division of People Group. As CEO, Manoj led the Mauj Mobile team on their strategic growth path, both in domestic and international markets, addressing telecom operators, media companies, agencies and brands as primary customers. Manoj is recognised expert on the subjects of Technology, MVAS and Marketing in Telecom and has been a member of various industry bodies in India.

Madanmohan Rao
Research Advisor
Asian Media Information & Communication Centre

Dr. Madanmohan Rao, a consultant and writer from Bangalore, is research projects director at MobileMonday, research director at YourStory.in, and research advisor at the Asian Media Information and Communication centre (AMIC). He is the editor of five book series: The Asia Pacific Internet Handbook, The Knowledge Management Chronicles, AfricaDotEdu, Global Citizen and World of Proverbs. He is also editor-at-large of DestinationKM and contributor to the Poynter Institute blog on new media trends. Madan was on the international editorial board of the book, Transforming e-Knowledge. He was formerly the communications director at the United Nations Inter Press Service bureau in New York, and vice president at IndiaWorld Communications in Bombay. He graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology at Bombay and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, with an M.S. in computer science and a Ph.D. in communications.

Ashis Sanyal
Independent eGov and ICT4D Consultant

Ashis Sanyal has been an Independent eGov and ICT4D Consultant since he retired as a Senior Director

Department of Electronics & IT, Govt of India more than 5 years ago. He manages the Management Consulting Services in the areas of Electronic Governance, Communication Network and ICT for Community Development. As a success government employee Mr. Sanyal formulated Citizen-centric

e-Governance Strategy & Policy Formulation with a specific emphasis on Rural Service Delivery, Strategy and Program Implementation at the National Level under the ambit of National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) of Government of India with an aim to enhancing equitable and inclusive growth addressing the national development objectives of poverty reduction and building a knowledge-driven society and other tasks. He knows English, Hindi & Bengali.

Saloni Malhotra
Associate Vice President
Paytm

Saloni Malhotra co-founded Safecity, a citizen’s initiative and online platform to share information on sexual abuse in India. Prior to Safecity, she founded and ran DesiCrew, a for-profit organization focused on creating knowledge-based livelihood opportunities in small towns and rural areas. She stepped down as a the CEO in March 2012, after bringing on board a venture fund and handing over to a professional management team. I continue to participate on the board. She also mentors Traveller Kids, a young start-up that creates edu-taiment toys for 7-12 years olds and am a Advisor to Start Up!, a social business incubator in Delhi and Sevamob, a healthcare start-up in North India. Besides, she is also a Trustee of the Local Community Exchange Empowerment Trust (LOKALEX). An engineer from Pune University, she began her career with WebChutney, the number one interactive media agency in India. In her free time she enjoys writing, playing with her four year old daschund and travelling. Music and problems her friends love to crib about, inspire her to find the next challenge.

Geeta Goel
Director-Mission Investing
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF)

Geeta Goel is Director, Mission Investing at Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) at New Delhi, India. She has been in this job almost for 4 years now. At Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Geeta is responsible for the leading the foundation’s global Mission Investing function. Prior to this role, Geeta led the foundation’s Family Economic Stability initiative representing the foundation on several investee boards, including that of Janalakshmi, Ujjivan, Micro Housing Finance Corporation and Swadhaar. Before MSDF Geeta spent more than 12 years with the corporate finance group of PricewaterhouseCoopers in India, advising large Indian and multinational clients on joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, business plans, and valuations. She is an alumni of the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) and Lady Shri Ram College (Delhi).

Vivek Prakash
AVP CSR
Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd.

Vivek Prakash is the AVP CSR at Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd. A post graduate in Labour and Social Welfare from Patna University, he acquired knowledge in community development and social initiatives and commands over some 20 years of experience in the manufacturing sector. He is very deep into things CSR. VIVEK really cares about the cause of Social Services. He knows about Sustainable Development, Strategy, Proposal Writing, Nonprofits, Community Development, and Social Entrepreneurship. He has also helped publish a Handbook for Health workers who are working at Grassroot level to take care of Mother and Child. He knows English, Hindi and Gujarati.

Gayatri Subramaniam
Cheif Programme Executive & Convener, NFCSR
Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs

Gayatri Subramaniam is Cheif Programme Executive & Convener, NFCSR, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, New Delhi. She has academic and industrial experience of more than 29 years. She is associated with Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs since its inception. She has worked as a Visiting Faculty for Business Communication and Personality Development in various Management and Technology Institutes in Delhi and Outside Delhi. Also she has been a part of National Institute of Open Schooling, Delhi in various capacities. In addition she has been a part of Delhi University plus a part of IGNOU and CBSE as an expert in vocational subjects.

Sujith Jayasuriya
Programme Manager
ICTA, Sri Lanka

Sujith Jayasuriya has more than 13 years of industry experience with expertise in Programme, Project and Technology Management with passion to deliver enterprise and national level high quality solutions. Sujith has experiences in both private and public sectors and has involved in complete life cycle of enterprise and national level solution implementations. Sujith holds a B.Sc. in Applied Sciences and a MBA in Management of Technology. He is also a Member of the British Computer Society (MBCS).

Sujith joined ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) as a Project Officer and now serving as a Programme Manager mainly in the area of digital infrastructure development. Apart from this, he is heading the internal technical team which provides technical consultancy and assistance across all ICT initiatives. Maintenance of middle-ware applications including the citizen portal is also under his purview.

Professional Summary

Knowledge and experience in Project and Programme Management in enterprise and national level initiatives.

Experience in driving and managing the complete software project life cycle.

Experience in Business Analysis and Technology Management with experience in engaging in consultative capacity.

Customer facing, vendor management, procurement management and contract management experience.

Team Player and a Team Leader with very high standards of Personal Integrity.

Excellent Written, Verbal and Communication Skills.

Amita Joseph
Director
Business & Community Foundation

Amita Joseph is currently associated with the Business & Community Foundation, a leading civil society organisation in India working on promoting responsible business practice through education, advocacy and open public discourse as Director. She has a background in management, a degree in law from Delhi University & postgraduation in Human Rights from the Law Institute. She has worked both in the corporate, legal & development sectors over three decades. Amita is on a number of non profit organisation boards such as MESH, CRB, SRUTI, AAM Foundation and is also associated with BCF (Business & Community Foundation) a leading Civil society organisation in India working on promoting responsible business practise through education, advocacy, open public discourses, work with management institutes, training, lectures, publications, etc.

PK Joseph
Director
DLF Foundation, Gurgaon.

He is an MBA as well as MSW (Master of Social Work). Mr. Joseph has 20 years of work experience in Corporate Social Responsibility, (CSR), social sector project management, PR & communication and Administration. He has specialized expertise in CSR arena including government regulations & CSR rules, setting CSR objectives, developing CSR policy, formulating CSR strategies etc. His specific expertise also include CSR Communications. He brings immense international experience in managing social sector projects and programs, attained during repeated project visits to over 19 countries of Asia, Africa, America and Europe.

Rajib Debnath
Independent Management Expert

With a background in Civil Engineering and Environmental Management PG qualification, Rajib Kumar Debnath is a Member of Leaders Excellence, Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a management service offering professional, in his individual capacity. He has over 20 years of experience in providing advisory/audit services on Sustainability; CSR/Development; Environmental, Social & Governance; Supply Chain; Renewable Energy & Green Climate Fund, apart from others. Since the last few years, he has been in leadership roles and has over 15 years of experience in leading and growing the “Sustainability and Development/CSR” service streams of Indian/Regional chapters of consulting majors Deloitte, EY and Grant Thornton.

He had written a book on “Societal Governance and Reporting in India” which had been published by ICFAI, Hyderabad. While his views on his areas of expertise quite often finds a mention in various leading Indian/international business newspapers, he is also quite often invited as an expert in various national/international conferences to present his views and facilitate in national level policy making matters. He has been associated with a lot of organizations, in the past that have been conferring CSR and Sustainability awards as a knowledge expert, the most prominent amongst them being – Assocham’s and FICCI’s national level CSR awards that is conferred to the best performing corporate.

While by profession, Rajib is in for profit organizations, the passion of doing something constructive for the needy & under-privileged has always been in his DNA and always therefore extends his support to the ones who are less privileged.

Niki Das
Associate CSR
Capgemini

Niki Das is a development professional with a rich and vivid experience in conceptualizing and implementing skill development programmes.

Her journey started with Smile Foundation and she was instrumental in successfully implementing a sustainable model, bringing more than 60 training centres under the umbrella of Smile Foundation, and partnering with various ministries and corporate CSR projects. I was part of Livelihood Training program for youths and for Mission Education program for underprivileged children.

Since 2014, she has been actively working on catalysing various livelihood models in Capgemini CSR, wherein she is providing critical impetus to Capgemini CSR in scaling-up, partnering and implementing various skills program and innovative livelihood models. Currently she is leading the CSR Employability and managing skill development programs with the India team and also part of employee engagement initiatives at Pan India for employees.

Pallavi Mohan
Senior Consultant
NetImpact Solutions and IOT Infotainment

Pallavi Mohan is a Senior Executive, Marketing Leader & Strategist having more than 18 years of rich marketing experience across diverse industries including Electronics, Consulting and Food & Beverage. She has extensive exposure across a gamut of areas including Sales, Business Operations, Strategic Retail/Trade Marketing, Corporate Communication & Public Relations and Corporate Social Responsibility. She is adept in identifying internal as well as external customer needs, addressing gaps and subsequently defining strategies within stipulated budgets. She has demonstrated excellence in leveraging market. She drives teams, collaborating with cross-functional resources and engages with external agencies while ensuring alignment of business goals. Her strength lies in out of the box thinking. She builds strong liaison & relationship with stakeholders and key decision makers. She has excellent interpersonal communication, relationship management and analytical skills.

K. K. Upadhyay
Advisor
National Skills Foundation of India (NSFI)

Dr. K. K.Upadhyay is a seasoned professional with over 3 decades of experience in the development sector across Corporate, Not For-Profits and Government. Presently associated with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Delhi as Head – Corporate Social Responsibility. He has also served as Guest Faculty at Institute of Chartered Accountant India (Certificate Course on CSR), Sharda University, Amity University, Tara Livelihood Academy and MIT-Gurgaon. He has successfully executed major initiatives like Mother Dairy Fruits and Vegetable – “Safal”, “Aapni Yojana” – Rajasthan, Bastar Integrated Development Project for Royal Danish Embassy and Health of the Urban Poor Program for USAID. Dr. Upadhyay currently heads the FICCI Aditya Birla CSR Centre for Excellence.

Sunil Sayal
CFO – Nokia India

Sunil Sayal, CFO, Region-India, Nokia Solutions & Networks, has had an interesting mix of experience in manufacturing and telecom industries. He believes that a focus on the basics is imperative in today’s world of enhanced accountability.

With 30 years of experience across the manufacturing and telecom space, Sayal is clearly in a unique place to know about that feel for numbers. Sayal’s journey began from opting for commerce in school itself. “My school principal was so shocked with my choice that he called up my father. Those days, the academically bright students were expected to opt for science. Well, Sayal does not seem to have done badly at all.

Having completed his CA in January 1984, Sayal was well- ensconced professionally when the Indian economy opened up. In early 1991, he joined the Ranbaxy group where business was being trifurcated. He chose to go along with Bhai Manjit Singh and had a short stint working on the agrochemical business which later morphed into Montari Industries. He was also involved with the setting up of the Bausch & Lomb business in India.