Lokmat group awards experts from different fields

Experts from different fields, including medicine, agriculture, politics and business, were felicitated with the Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year award 2020 on Tuesday.

The recipients included Sidheshwar Birajdar (medical practitioner), Rajaram Chaudhary (innovator in agriculture), Nilesh Lanke (politician), Sajjan Jindal (businessman), Vijay Shekhar Sharma (digital entrepreneur), Iqbal Singh (IAS), Eknath Shinde (politician), Rohidas Borse (meedical professional), Jafarbaba Sayyad (social service), Amol Kisan Hankare (teacher) and Vandana Sunil Avasarmal (social service).

The awards were given by Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Hardeep Singh Puri and Prakash Javadekar.

''This is one of the most prestigious awards of Maharashtra, which is given to the people of various fields who have contributed to the service of the society. Lokmat has been following this rich tradition in a great way year after year,'' Gadkari said.

Sitharaman said the annual award has become such an occasion over the years that people wait for it the whole year.

''Lokmat has been doing the work of giving recognition to the hidden talents of Maharashtra and those who have contributed in advancing the society,'' she said.

The Union finance minister added that despite being a commercial establishment, Lokmat Media Group has been carrying out its social responsibility.

The annual award given by the Lokmat group, recognises and honours the exemplary work done in the fields of politics, administration, social work, medical, education, arts, sports and entertainment. The recipients of the accolade are chosen every year following a rigorous process that involves editorial meetings, public voting and then put through scrutiny by an eminent jury. This year the jury comprised politicians Sushil Kumar Shinde and Praful Patel, Mumbai Police commissioner D Sivanandan, ophthalmologist S Natrajan, actor Jackie Shroff and singer Sunali Rathod. Previous winners of the award include Nitin Gadkari, Nita Ambani, Babasaheb Kalyani, Piyush Goyal, Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Amir Khan, RR Patil, Asha Bhosale, Ravi Shastri, Smiriti Mandana and Deepika Padukone.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)