Times Now honours unsung heroes at Amazing Indians Awards 2012

Media News

New Delhi, February 16, 2012

Ordinary Indians took center stage at the prestigious Amazing Indian Awards hosted by Times Now at the Taj Palace, New Delhi. In association with Mahindra Rise, Times Now honoured the nation's most amazing people who have achieved great laurels through great courage, unrelenting spirit and sheer passion. The awards ceremony was greeted with tremendous applause and adulation by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who graced the occasion as the Guest of Honour.

The magnificence of the evening was enhanced by the presence of a mix of the most acclaimed and high profile political personalities such as Senior BJP leader L. K. Advani, leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, Minister for non-conventional energy Farooq Abdullah, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni, Union Urban Development Minister Kamalnath, Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy, Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla and Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju.

Appreciating the efforts of the channel, Mukherjee said, "With the concept of Amazing Indians, Times Now has created a breath of fresh air. It would indeed be a great achievement and a positive step towards our bright future if the 55 Amazing Indians discovered, could multiply into thousands and build the foundations of our great country."

The top brass from the government and the opposition honoured the winners across 11 categories like Stree Shakti, Urban Crusaders, Unstoppable Indians, Grassroots Achievers and Ordinary Indians Extraordinary Stories amongst others.

Speaking on the occasion, Sunil Lulla, managing director and chief executive officer of Times Television Network, said "With great pride I congratulate all the winners of the Amazing Indian Awards. Their unmatched excellence and awe-inspiring dedication has definitely contributed high echelons in our nation's success. The series that aired on Times Now, brought to light some of the most notable work of our fellow Indians."

The life story of Ashish Goel, India's first blind trader and Shirin Juwaley, the founder of Palash Foundation which works for individuals with disfigurement, were two very poignant moments which could not have been missed by anyone. Both stories were very inspiring for everyone present at the ceremony.

Ustad Rasheed Khan captivated the audience with an extremely soothing performance of soul stirring raga followed by classical Indian music.

In line of the above Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-chief, Times Now said, "Every once in a while the paradigm of success gets challenged, the realm of its scope gets pushed beyond boundaries and the power of its impact creates history. It gives us immense pleasure to honour such ordinary citizens with extraordinary spirit. The overwhelming response received for the Amazing Indian series will only encourage us to further raise the bar and create something even more spectacular the next time around."

The iconic winners were chosen from across 11 different categories that were judged by an eminent panel of jury comprising of - Smt. Sharmila Tagore, Dr. Devi Shetty, Ms. Sunita Narain, Air Chief Marshall (Retd.) Fali H Major and Soli Sorabjee.

Through an 18-part series of profiling these 55 Amazing Indians that recently culminated on Times Now - Amazing Indians – India on the Rise encapsulated the struggle and perseverance of ordinary Indians in multiple categories, working towards a better India.

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