businessline’s 8th Changemaker Awards ready for kick-off

The stage is set for the eighth edition of the businessline Changemaker Awards in New Delhi on Tuesday (September 22, 2026). The awards, which honour the country’s quiet architects of societal transformation, have locked in headline leadership.Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman brings the administrative gravitas as chief guest, marking her third time anchoring the marquee event in seven years.The milestone edition is presented by Sastra Deemed University and powered by City Union Bank.The associate partners are State Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, Citizen watches, Government of Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, NTPC Ltd., Indian Bank, Steel Authority of India Ltd, GAIL (India) Ltd, Essar Group, ICFAI Group, NMDC Ltd. and UCO Bank. The mobility partner is Kia Sorento.NominationsOver 1,600 nominations across five categories were received for the awards, starting with a public call on May 12. Simultaneously, businessline journalists and knowledge partners — Ashoka Foundation and Deloitte — nominated potential candidates.The submission window closed at midnight on July 7, and all entries underwent multiple screening rounds based on the selection criteria. The awards feature five categories — Social, Digital, and Financial Transformation, alongside Young Changemaker and Iconic Changemaker. The flagship ‘Changemaker of the Year’ award honours far-reaching impact.The businessline editorial team and knowledge partners select the Iconic Changemaker nominees.The award selection jury met in Chennai on August 10. Chaired by Justice (retired) Prabha Sridevan, the 2026 jury includes Suresh Narayanan, Safeena Hussain, B. Santhanam, N.S. Nappinai, A. Balasubramanian and Mukund Rajan.Seven editions of the awards have been held since 2018, the year The Hindu businessline stepped into its 25th year of publishing. The 2021 edition could not be held due to the pandemic.The awards are given across six categories: Changemaker: Financial Transformation; Changemaker: Digital Transformation; Changemaker: Social Transformation, Young Changemaker, Changemaker of the Year and Iconic Changemaker. Scan the qr code for the YouTube link to the award ceremony. The processAfter the nomination window closes, businessline and knowledge partners Deloitte and Ashoka screen and evaluate the applications. Niiti Consulting, the validation partner, then validates the shortlisted nominees before an independent jury selects the winners.2025 winnersIn 2025, DRDO won Changemaker of the Year, while the Azim Premji Foundation was named Iconic Changemaker. Araku Valley Coffee received the Financial Transformation award, and Bhashini won for Digital Transformation. Impulse NGO Network took home the Social Transformation honour. The Young Changemaker award was shared by Kalyani Shinde and the Young Tinker Foundation.The awards for 2025 were given away by Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Published - September 21, 2026 09:06 pm IST