President Presents Jamnalal Bajaj Awards

The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the Jamnalal Bajaj Awards at a function in Mumbai today (November 15, 2013).

Speaking on the occasion the President said that if one goes through the life of Jamnalal Bajaj one would recognize the tremendous influence that Gandhiji had on him and also that which he had on Gandhiji. . Shri Jamanlal inspired his whole family to imbibe the Gandhian way of life. Gandhiji adopted Jamnalal Bajaj as his "fifth son” and it was Jamnalal Bajaj who persuaded Gandhiji to come and settle in Wardha.

The President said that if one looks at the galaxy of past recipients of the Jamnalal Bajaj Awards one can see that the Awardees have been meticulously selected for recognizing the selfless contributions made by them towards society building. He stated that we have recognized four such distinguished and selfless personalities today who have dedicated themselves to the well-being of the society. He said that he would like to express his deep appreciation to the Awardees for their selfless service.

The President said that we should not forget our core civilizational values and the values advocated by Gandhiji such as love for motherland, respect for women, compassion, discipline, tolerance etc.

The Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation gives four Awards annually of which the fourth Award is an international Award. This year the recipient of the Award for Outstanding Contribution in the field of Constructive Work is Shri G.V. Subba Rao, the Award for Application of Science and Technology for Rural Development was given to Smt. SnehlataNath, Award for Development and Welfare of Women and Children to Smt. Vidhya Das and the recipient of the International Award for Promoting Gandhian Values Outside India is Mr. Jean –Marie Muller.

This release issued at 2245 hrs