Marico Foundation Awards Seven Innovators At Their Flagship Awards The Marico foundation on March 1st held their flagship 'Innovation for India Awards' where they awarded seven innovators.
By Kavya Pillai
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The Marico foundation on March 1st held their flagship 'Innovation for India Awards' where they awarded seven innovators. These innovations were recognized across two broad categories which are business and social. The business category entailed India-based "for-profit" organizations, including start-ups and corporate innovators, and the social category included India-based not-for-profit individuals or organizations.
The individuals recognised in the business category solved critical societal and health challenges while introducing future technologies that can have a lasting impact. As for the social category winners, they focussed on empowering the communities around them in a meaningful manner.
CoWin (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network) was awarded as the Global Game Changer this year. CoWin is the Indian government web portal for COVID-19 vaccination registration, and supply chain management that is owned and operated by India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The platform not only rolled out the COVID-19 Vaccination but also provided the world's first solution in the arena of vaccination against diseases. Harsh Mariwala, Founder of Marico Innovation Foundation and Chairman of Marico Limited, said, "It is a moment of pride to witness such exemplary solutions from the next-gen Indian innovators who are tirelessly working toward the growth and development of our nation. The world is changing faster than ever, and businesses need to be constantly innovating to stay ahead of the curve. MIF proudly honours such disruptive innovations and believes that with the right support and nurturing, every business has the potential to create a scalable impact for a future-ready India.''
The business category saw applications from 20+ sectors, including Healthcare/Med-Tech, Agritech, Waste Management, Robotics, Manufacturing, and more. On the other hand, applications in the social category saw women innovators apply in significant numbers this year, with considerable organizations featuring women founders. Amit Chandra, Honorary Chairperson of the Governing Council at Marico Innovation Foundation and Chairperson at Bain Capital India Office shared, "One path-breaking innovation has a domino effect in changing the entire ecosystem and our Global Game Changer CoWin truly exemplifies this. India is at the precipice of providing world-first solutions and some of the innovations identified this year are a true testimony to this readiness.''
The 9th edition winners were shortlisted and selected from applications across the country. Praxis Global Alliance played the role of the advisor for 2023 and shortlisted, evaluated and conducted a due diligence process for all the applications received. The shortlisted applications were then further evaluated through two rounds of deliberations by two sets of eclectic juries composed of industry leaders from the corporate, investment, and social worlds. The final winners were selected based on uniqueness, impact, scalability, and sustainability. The winners list in the business category included Dhruva Space, Ishitva Robotic Systems and Dozee, Qure.AI. In the social category the winners were India Development Review, Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS) and Khushi Baby.
Marico Innovation Foundation was founded in 2003 by Harsh Mariwala at a time when innovation was not a focus of the government or corporates. The Foundation aims to nurture innovation across business and social sectors. Innovation for India Awards started in the year 2006, it's a platform that has become the benchmark for recognition in the country with leaders and thinkers coming together to handpick and recognize undiscovered innovations in our country.
