CHENNAI: The Pride of Tamil Nadu Awards, honouring successful people in various fields who have made the state proud, was launched in Chennai on Tuesday. The awards, presented by Round Table India, seek to identify, recognise and celebrate talents who have not only achieved but also inspired others. Round Table India is an organization comprising businessmen and other professionals engaged in community service.
Speaking at the launch programme, Ankit Gupta, chairman, Madras South Round Table 39, said Round Table has contributed much to the society, particularly in the field of education. “We have built more than 5,000 classrooms across the country at a cost of `180 crore, benefitting 6 million underprivileged children,” he said. The award will honour persons in 14 categories, with two being awarded in each category. While one will be those who have achieved, the other award will be given to the emerging personalities.
Some of the fields that are to be recognised are entertainment, government administration, journalism, art and culture, sports and literature. While the achiever award will be selected by a jury of eight eminent persons, the emerging award will be selected through a process comprising of public nomination, voting and jury decision. K N Basha, retired Madras High Court judge, and Vishal, actor and secretary general for Nadigar Sangam launched the awards.
Significantly, the launch also saw the announcement of a special prize to be awarded to deserving farmers in the agriculture category. L Hemachandran, strategic advisor, Pride of TN awards, said the initiative was taken to recognise people who may be living outside TN, but have made the state proud through their efforts. “There are great leaders hidden from public, who may have excelled in their own fields. This award seeks to identify and recognise them,” he said. Nominations can be done online through the website, www. prideoftamilnadu.com. The award ceremony is slated to be held on March 19.