Devi Awards Delhi 2025
Lakshmi V. Venkatesan
– Devi of Emergence
On 15 December 2025,
Ms. Lakshmi V. Venkatesan,
Founding and Managing Trustee of BYST,
received the Devi Awards 2025,
organized by The New Indian Express,
in New Delhi.
The award was received on her behalf by
Ms. Aruna Vinodh,
Chief Operating Officer (COO), BYST.
The event was graced by
Shri Nitin Gadkari,
Union Minister,
Smt. Rekha Gupta,
Chief Minister of Delhi,
veteran journalist
Mr. Prabhu Chawla,
along with several other eminent media personalities.
This marked the
36th edition
of the
Devi Awards,
recognizing and celebrating women for their exceptional contributions across diverse fields.
JRD Tata Awards 2025
G. Sampath
– Entrepreneur of the Year
Panchamirtham, the visionary behind
Indo Tools and Dies, has been awarded
Woman Entrepreneur of the Year.
From humble beginnings, her enterprise has grown to
export globally, reaching markets across
Europe and North America.
JRD Tata Awards 2025
Panchamirtham E
– Woman Entrepreneur of the Year
Panchamirtham, the visionary behind
Indo Tools and Dies, has been awarded
Woman Entrepreneur of the Year.
From humble beginnings, her enterprise has grown to
export globally, reaching markets across
Europe and North America.
JRD Tata Awards 2025
J. Ravi
– Lifetime Achievement Award
J. Ravi, Founder of
Reliance Diamond Tools, was awarded the
Lifetime Achievement Award for building a
world-class enterprise in precision diamond tools,
now catering to
top OEMs and exporting across
20+ countries.
JRD Tata Awards 2025
Mayur Hiwarkar
– Runner-up, Entrepreneur of the Year
Mayur Hiwarkar, Founder of
Urja Saur Electronics, was awarded
Runner-up Entrepreneur of the Year.
Inspired by rural hardships, he pivoted from
solar water heaters to rooftop PV systems,
now delivering
complete solar solutions across Maharashtra.
TN Governor’s Award
Sridevi T. R.
– Women Achiever- 2025 in the Eco-friendly Business Sector
TN Governor’s Award: Thiru R.N. Ravi,
Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu, felicitated BYST-entrepreneur
Ms. Sridevi, Proprietrix of
M/s Ecomom Natural & Herbal Traders
(Honey extracted from wild bees, dairy ghee, essential oils, and cinnamon),
as an eminent woman achiever – 2025 in the
eco-friendly business sector at the Women’s Day celebration
held at Raj Bhavan, Chennai, on 7th March 2025.
Mahatma Award for 2024
Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust
– Social Good and Impact
Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust has been awarded the
Mahatma Award for Social Good and Impact.
Ms. Aruna Vinodh, COO of BYST, along with mentors and entrepreneurs,
received the award on behalf of the organisation.
The Mahatma Award is founded by Amit Sachdeva,
a Gandhian and Indian lawyer and the founder of Mahatma Foundation,
and supported by philanthropist Rajashree Birla, Aditya Birla Group,
as a tribute to Gandhi’s enduring legacy.
Every year, it recognises global social impact leaders and changemakers,
honouring individuals and organisations committed to creating a
just, sustainable and compassionate future.
Youth Business International Award for 2024
Vangapally Keerthana
– Social Entrepreneurship
BYST entrepreneur Vangapally Keerthana has won the
YBI Social Entrepreneurship Award for her enterprise,
9nutz Millets Private Limited, in
Nairobi, Kenya in 2024.
As a winner, she has secured a $5,000 grant, a trophy,
business coaching, and a place in the
YBI Hall of Fame.
Her enterprise specializes in producing
millet-based food products and employs
25 individuals including 23 women.
FICCI Flo’s Women Achievers Awards for 2024
Lakshmi V. Venkatesan
– Social Entrepreneur (non-governmental organization)
Lakshmi V Venkatesan, Founding and Managing Trustee,
Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust, was honoured with the
FICCI Flo Award in the
‘Social Entrepreneur (non-governmental organization)’ category.
Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust is a not-for-profit organization co-founded by
Ms. Venkatesan with the Late Mr. J R D Tata.
Ms. Aruna Vinodh, COO of BYST, received the award on behalf of
Ms. Lakshmi V Venkatesan.
FICCI Flo’s Women Achievers Awards for 2024
Sridevi T. R.
– Special Recognition
Sridevi T. R., a BYST-supported entrepreneur, was bestowed with the
FICCI Award in the
‘Special Recognition’ category.
Her venture, Ecomom Natural & Herbal Traders, launched in 2017,
bottles and sells pure, natural honey sourced from the Western Ghats hills and forests
in Tamil Nadu state.
BYST’s support and guidance helped Sridevi obtain a bank loan to expand her business
and diversify her product range and customer base.
Sridevi continues to support several indigenous families living in and around the hills
of Coimbatore who source and supply raw honey to Sridevi’s bottling unit.
FICCI Flo’s Women Achievers Awards for 2024
Panchmirtham E.
– Special Recognition
Panchamirtham, the founder of
M/s Indo Tools & Dies, was conferred with the
FICCI Flo Award in the
‘Special Recognition’ category.
Established in 2012 and headquartered in Chennai,
M/s Indo Tools & Dies Pvt. Ltd. is a renowned manufacturer
specialising in tools and dies for the industrial sector, particularly focusing on
electrical and electronic components.
BYST’s support extended beyond financial aid, and encompassed invaluable mentorship
and guidance by Mr. Kunjidhapatham, a former electrical engineer and
the senior mentor of BYST Chennai cluster.
With her commitment and BYST’s support, Panchamirtham’s business revenues in
financial year 2022-23 reached Rs. 3.9 crore.
Vijayalakshmidas Award for 2020
Lalita Debi Shing
– Medium Enterprise
Lalita Debi Shing, Owner,
Jay Hanuman Paper Plates, based in the remote Amlabhata village in
Rayagada district of Odisha state was recognised under the
Medium Enterprise Category at the
Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards for 2020,
instituted by SATYA MicroCapital, a Reserve Bank of India
registered NBFC Micro Finance Institution.
Lalita’s unit is an avenue of employment generation for local youth and
underprivileged women. Lalita employs seven women directly, and has trained around
30 widows, school dropouts, elderly indigenous women, and adolescent girls, by giving
them an opportunity to work at her unit on a part-time basis, helping them learn easy
tasks, such as pasting or arranging finished products.
She is thus helping develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem in this remote rural village
that affords few opportunities for gainful employment.
Vijayalakshmidas Award for 2020
Vaishali Vasant Patil
– Medium Enterprise Category
Vaishali Vasant Patil, Owner,
Vaishali Gruh Udyog, Wardha was recognised under the
Medium Enterprise Category at the
Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards for 2020,
instituted by SATYA MicroCapital, a Reserve Bank of India registered
NBFC Micro Finance Institution.
Under the guidance of her BYST appointed mentors, this Grampreneur® was able to
diversify and expand her product range, cater to a larger clientele, and avoid shutting
shop during the COVID19-induced lockdown.
She currently generates annual revenues of INR 4,000,000, employs
40 women, and herself saves a comfortable INR 90,000 per month
– all in all, a creditable performance that easily justifies her award win.
Vijayalakshmidas Award for 2020
Dr. Neelima Tippavajhala
– Small Enterprise
BYST supported Grampreneur®, Dr. Neelima Tippavajhala, a dentist by
training, was recognised under the Small Enterprise Category at the
Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards for 2020, instituted by
SATYA MicroCapital, a Reserve Bank of India registered NBFC Micro Finance
Institution.
Dr. Neelima runs COCOTANG, that prepares, packages and retails
innovative flavours of coconut-based, dairy-free, and preservative-free shakes and
mocktails out of Hyderabad city that are especially good for vegans and consumers with
lactose intolerance.
Vijayalakshmidas Award for 2020
Sridevi T. R.
– Micro Enterprise
Sridevi T. R., a BYST supported Grampreneur®, was recognised under the
Micro Enterprise Category at the
Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards for 2020.
Her venture, Ecomom Natural & Herbal Traders, launched in 2017,
bottles and sells pure, natural honey sourced from the Western Ghats hills and forests
in Tamil Nadu state.
BYST’s support and guidance helped Sridevi obtain a bank loan to expand her business
and diversify her product range and customer base, and she continues to support a
number of indigenous families living in and around the hills of Coimbatore who source
and supply raw honey to Sridevi’s bottling unit.
Vijayalakshmidas Award for 2021
Padmini Waghmode
– Small Enterprise
BYST supported Grampreneur®, Padmini Waghmode was recognised under
the Small Enterprise Category at the
Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards for 2021,
instituted by SATYA MicroCapital, a Reserve Bank of India registered NBFC Micro Finance Institution.
Padmini runs a successful garments manufacturing business,
Rudra Sportswear out of Aurangabad in Maharashtra state.
Youth Business International Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award for 2015
Arun Awtade
– Small Enterprise
BYST supported Grampreneur®, Arun Awtade was recognised for his social enterprise,
Iris Polymers based out of Pune.
The company manufactures mulching films that help retain soil moisture, provide weed control,
cut down the cost of labour, decrease leaching of fertilisers, and reduce electricity consumption.
These manifold benefits help underprivileged farmers from drought-prone areas avoid a lot of hardship,
improve crop production and overall viability of their small farms.
Winner of the JRD Tata Award for 2016
Ragu C.
Ragu C., a BYST supported Grampreneur® was recognised for his drive and vision in establishing and scaling up his business ‘Everest Cement Pipes’ to manufacture RCC products and signing up prestigious customers like KS Power Infra, Sterling and Wilson, Lotus Wireless Technology, VJN Builders Infra, Marutham Apartments, Amar Prakash Builders, Naveen Construction, Swan Electricals, and more. He also handles international clients based out of Korea.
Ragu was also felicitated by BYST at the 3rd International Mentoring Summit 2017 on the occasion of BYST’s Silver Jubilee Celebrations.
Youth Business International ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ Award for 2020
Amruta Mangale
– Women Entrepreneur
Amruta Mangale, Owner, Hindavi Solution, Pune competed successfully against over 1,000 entrepreneurs from 54 countries to win the prestigious ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2020’ award from Youth Business International (YBI), UK.
Amruta’s firm manufactures specialty chemicals and adhesives for the paints and packaging industries. Under the guidance of her BYST supported Mentor, Mr. Kiran Nawathe, Amruta has expanded and diversified her manufacturing operations and notched up revenues of over INR 75,000,000 in 2021 and is confident to cross the INR 100,000,000 mark in 2022.