Prembabu Sharma
EdelGive Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd today shortlisted 13 NGOs for the fourth edition of India’s most respected social sector award – The EdelGive Social Innovation Honours.After a rigorous screening process, these 13 NGOs have been selected from over 250 organizations that applied for the awards. After an initial scrutiny by an internal jury, five organizations, each working in categories like Health & Well Being, Education, Economic Security & Livelihoods, Rights and Representation were shortlisted.
The prestigious Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) then carried out an assessment of the work undertaken by these organizations by conducting field visits across the length and breadth of the country. On the basis of the field assessment, the final 13 have been shortlisted. The entire process is supported by the international audit firm Ernst & Young who are the official tabulators and process advisors for the awards. The winners will be chosen by an external jury consisting of of prominent members from the corporate, media and social sector including names like Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Partner, RaRe Enterprises; Sagarika Ghosh, Deputy Editor, CNN-IBN; Zia Mody, leading corporate lawyer and Founding Partner of AZB Partners; Akhil Gupta, Senior MD & Chairman, Blackstone India; Amit Chandra, MD, Bain Capital; Anu Aga, ex-Chairperson, Thermax Ltd and Vedika Bhandarkar, MD, Credit Suisse India, among others.
The winners of the EdelGive Social Innovation Honours 2012 will be announced on February 17, 2012.
These awards aim to identify and reward organisations that are innovating to empower women in India. Prize money of Rs. 50 Lakhs will be awarded to the four winners and the runner-ups across the four categories. According to Ms. Vidya Shah, Executive Director and Head, EdelGive Foundation, “In just its fourth year, the EdelGive Social Innovation Honours is already recognized as one of the most rigorous and wide-ranging award programmes that recognises and rewards organizations working to empower women across the country. Over the last three years, the organisations that we have supported have helped better the lives of women and children across the country. Given the quality of work we have seen, I believe it is going to be a tough choice for the jury to decide the final winners.”
