VC Padmanabhan Awards Conferred on Jagathy, Thimmakka and 3 others
Press release
The tenth V.C. Padmanabhan Memorial Awards for Excellence for 2019 were conferred on the distinguished awardees at a function held at the Lulu International Convention Centre, Thrissur.
Prominent winners for the year include popular Malayalam Cine actor Shri Jagathy Sreekumar and the 107 year old environmentalist and Padma Shri awardee, Smt. Saalumarada Thimmakka.
The other winners include Prof. P.J. Kurien, former Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Mr. T.K.A. Nair (IAS Retd.), former Adviser to the Prime Minister and Mr. Romesh Sobti, MD & CEO, IndusInd Bank.
The awards were given away by Hon. Justice (Retd.) Antony Dominic, Chairman, Kerala State Human Rights Commission and former Chief Justice, High Court of Kerala, will be the Chief Guest.
The winners received a cash prize of Rs.5 lakhs and a trophy. Mr. V.P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO, Manappuram Finance Ltd., welcomed the gathering and delivered the presidential address.
The V.C.
Padmanabhan Memorial Awards were instituted in the year 2010 to commemorate the
illustrious founder of the Manappuram Group. They are presented every year to
eminent personalities who have made significant contributions in the five
categories of Arts and Literature, Civil Servant achieving Excellence in Public
Administration, Public Representative achieving Excellence in Good Governance,
Business Excellence leading to development of Society at large and Ecology and
Environment Conservation.
The following is the list of Awardees for the year 2019:
| Category | Awardees |
| Arts and Literature | Shri Jagathy Sreekumar, Film Actor |
| Ecology and Environment Conservation | Smt. Saalumarada Thimmakka, Environmentalist |
| Business Excellence Leading to Development of Society at Large | Shri Romesh Sobti, MD & CEO, IndusInd Bank |
| Civil Servant Achieving Excellence in Public Administration | Shri. T.K.A. Nair, Former Advisor to the Prime Minister of India |
| Public Representative with Excellence in Good Governance | Prof. P.J. Kurien, Former Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha |
The awards function was followed by the V C Padmanabhan memorial annual lecture delivered by Shri T K A Nair, IAS Retd., former Adviser to the Prime Minister, on the topic “Civil Services in Governance.”
Shri Nair in his address spoke about the civil services and the binding nature of bureaucracy in India. He recalled how, immediately after Independence, Prime Minister Nehru was sceptical about continuing with the colonial legacy of an all India civil service but was convinced by Sardar Patel who stressed its importance in binding the nation together. He spoke about how successive governments in India belonging to different political parties have all worked for the benefit of the country. He pointed out that in a truly democratic set up, difference of opinion arise often and should be seen as sign of democratic strength rather than a weakness.
Shri Nair also mentioned that there is a need to relook at the traditional paradigm associated with Jobs and employment. While the government has to do its bit in job creation, the onus is now on the people, especially students, to identify the areas of interest and to move forward in that direction. Government can facilitate the activity by providing access to capital and opening avenues for business which is being done now.
Shri T.K.A Nair was introduced on stage by Shri B.N. Raveendra Babu, Executive Director, Manappuram Finance Ltd. while the vote of thanks was delivered by Shri. M. Satheesh Kumar, CEO-Personal loan business at Manappuram Finance Limited.
