Governor's Awards For Excellence 2024 Announced

Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Verma today announced the Governor's Awards for Excellence 2024, recognizing exceptional contributions and voluntary service by individuals and organizations across four key sectors: environment protection, divyangjan welfare, sports and games, and culture.

The Governor will felicitate the awardees during a special ceremony on January 26, coinciding with the Republic Day celebrations.

The awards, aimed at honouring exemplary work and dedication, were announced at Raj Bhavan on Monday. Retired IAS officer and Padma Bhushan K Padmanabhaiah, who headed the jury, highlighted the overwhelming response to the awards, saying that 594 applications had been received. The submissions reflected diversity in geography, age and gender, as follows:

- Geographical distribution: 331 urban entries and 263 rural entries
- Age range: Youngest applicant, 16 years; oldest, 89 years
- Gender representation: 356 male applicants, 96 female applicants and 1 transgender applicant

The recipients of the awards in the individual category are:

- Environment protection: Dusharla Satyanarayana
- Divyangjan welfare: Arikapudi Raghu
- Sports and games: Jeevanji Deepthi
- Culture: P B Krishna Bharti and M Panduranga Rao

In the organization category, the awards will go to:

- Environment protection: Druvansh Organisation
- Divyangjan welfare: L V Prasad Institute
- Sports and games: Aditya Mehta Foundation
- Culture: Samskruti Foundation

Each award includes a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a citation acknowledging the recipient's exceptional achievements.

The selection jury comprised esteemed experts, including:

- Anil Kumar: Environmental activist
- Dr P Hanumantha Rao: Padma Shri awardee and advocate for Divyangjan welfare
- Dr Pullela Gopichand: Padma Bhushan awardee, badminton player and coach
- Dr Padmaja Reddy: Padma Shri awardee and Kuchipudi dance expert

The Governor's Awards for Excellence aim to inspire and recognize individuals and organizations making a meaningful impact in their respective fields, fostering a spirit of service and innovation across Telangana.