The CNN-News18 Indian of the Year 2023 took place at the Taj Palace in New Delhi on Wednesday. The biggest awards of news television recognises and honours individuals who have brought pride to the nation and have made extraordinary contributions in their respective fields.
The IOTY awards recognises excellence from seven categories: Entertainment, Business, Sports, Youth Icon, Rising Sports Star, and Climate Warriors.
This year Bollywood’s King Shah Rukh Khan was honoured with the Indian of the Year award. Gracing the ceremony with his presence, he mentioned that this was his first award in a ‘long time’. Intending on keeping the award “just for himself”, he said it should only be devoured by him.
The respected panel of jurors of the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year comprised of former Solicitor General of India Harish Salve – also the Jury Chair — screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar, Supreme Court Judge Indu Malhotra (retd), former Indian athlete and Vice-President of Athletics Federation of India Anju Bobby George, chairperson of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group Sanjiv Goenka, and environmental activist and lawyer Afroz Shah.
Here is the full list of winners:
INDIAN OF THE YEAR 2023
Bollywood’s Badshaah, Shah Rukh Khan, won the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year award. This marked Shah Rukh Khan’s first-ever media appearance since 2019.
The Bollywood superstar has had a spectacular 2023 with three big releases, two of which — Pathaan and Jawan — shattered several records. His third release, Dunki, was also a hit.
Pathaan has turned out to be a landmark film for Yash Raj Films, earning a jaw-dropping lifetime collection of Rs 543.05 crore in India and Rs 1,050.3 crore worldwide. Meanwhile, Jawan spending a little over two months at the box office in India, recorded a lifetime collection of Rs 643.87 crore in the country and a whopping Rs 1,148.32 crore worldwide collection.
INDIAN OF THE YEAR 2023 – ENTERTAINMENT
Esteemed Director Mani Ratnam won the Indian of the Year 2023 – Entertainment award.
The years 2022 and 2023 saw Ratnam’s spectacular take on the revered novel of Ponniyin Selvan, which he adapted for the big screen in two parts ‘PS-I’ and ‘PS-II’, respectively, captivating the audience worldwide.
INDIAN OF THE YEAR 2023 – SPORTS
Olympian Neeraj Chopra won the Indian of the Year 2023 – Sports award.
India’s first gold medalist at the World Athletics Championships, Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra won a silver medal at the Diamond League. His unwavering dedication and hunger for excellence puts him on course to be the ‘greatest of all time’ athletes India has produced.
INDIAN OF THE YEAR 2023 – RISING SPORTS STAR
Chess grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa won the Indian of the Year 2023 – Rising Sports Star award.
He made it to the final of the Chess World Cup for the first time since Viswanathan Anand and became the first Indian to qualify for the candidates since Anand. Praggnanandhaa was also the world’s youngest World Cup finalist.
INDIAN OF THE YEAR – YOUTH ICON
Karnataka’s first trans-woman doctor and one of the first openly transgender content creator, Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju won the Jury award for the Indian of the Year 2023 – Youth Icon.
The award was presented by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra.
Gummaraju has worn many hats from creating a safe platform for the voiceless and queer community. In 2022, she made it to ‘Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia’ List 2022.
Composer-singer Anirudh Ravichander won the Popular choice award for the Indian of the Year 2023 – Youth Icon.
He received the award from renowned filmmaker Mani Ratnam.
The Chennai-based musician kicked off his journey by making his viral composition ‘Why This Kolaveri Di’. This year, the 32-year-old music icon got everyone grooving to Kaavaalaa and Chaleya, besides giving SRK’s fans the anthem of the year with Jawan title track.
INDIAN OF THE YEAR – SOCIAL CHANGE
Dr R Ravi Kannan won the Indian of the Year 2023 – Social Change award.
Dr Kannan received the award from retired Supreme Court judge Justice Indu Malhotra.
Oncologist of the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC) who won the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award, Dr R Ravi Kannan gave up his life of comfort in Chennai and relocated to remote Barak Valley in Assam to treat poor cancer patients. He turned the CCHRC into a comprehensive facility, revolutionising cancer treatment in Assam through people-centric and pro-poor healthcare.
INDIAN OF THE YEAR – CLIMATE WARRIORS
Chennai-based Arun Krishnamurthy won the Indian of the Year 2023 – Climate Warriors award.
He received the award from environmental activist and lawyer Afroze Shah.
Krishnamurthy converted an entire wasteland into green spaces, making an outstanding contribution towards the betterment of the environment amid the ongoing climatic changes.
Saalumarada Thimmakka also won the Indian of the Year 2023 – Climate Warriors award.
Thimmakka could not attend the event, however she sent her foster son Umesh on her behalf.
The 112-year-old climate warrior, has planted 8,000 trees in the last few decades. Belonging to Karnataka’s Tumkur district, she was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2019. Thimmakka is known for her work of planting 385 banyan trees along a 45-kilometre stretch of highway between Hulikal and Kudur in Karnataka. This not only transformed the barren stretch of road into a lush green corridor, but also helped improve the air quality.
INDIAN OF THE YEAR – BUSINESS
Chairperson of the State Bank of India, Dinesh Khara won the award in the Business category at the CNN-News18 Indian of the Year – 2023.
Khara received the award from union minister Dr Jitendra Singh.
Recognised for his astute leadership at the helm of India’s largest bank, Khara has played a crucial role in steering the State Bank of India through dynamic economic arena. In the first quarter (Q1) of the ongoing financial year (FY) 2023-24, SBI’s net profit stood at Rs 18, 736 crores. Recently, the Centre extended his tenure till August 2024.
INDIAN OF THE YEAR – SPECIAL MENTION
The Heroes of Uttarkashi — the workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel, the rescuers, DG NDRF — were honoured with a special mention at the Indian of the Year 2023.
Among the heroes who received the award from MoS Jitendra Singh were National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director General (DG) Atul Karwal, rat miners Munna and Wakil, foreman Gabbar Singh Negi and his colleague Saba Ahmed.
As many as 41 workers were trapped inside the partially constructed Silkyara-Barakot tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi on November 12. The workers were rescued after a 17-day ordeal on November 29, 2023.
The intense rescue mission — clocking more than 400 hours, delayed by a series of snags and overshadowed by equal parts hope and despair — ended in success for everyone involved.
On the last day, rescuers broke through the last stretch of the rubble around 7 pm using the rat-hole mining technique. Less than an hour later, the process of laying the escape pipe into the drilled passage was complete. Then, NDRF and SDRF teams entered the steel chute to reach the trapped workers and started bringing them out on wheeled stretchers, one-by-one.
INDIAN OF THE YEAR – OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was lauded for its outstanding achievement at the Indian of the Year 2023.
The national space agency’s third mission in the lunar exploration series, Chandrayaan-3, made a successful soft-landing on the south pole of the moon’s surface on August 23, 2023. Chandrayaan-3 was launched from Sriharikota’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre on July 14, 2023.
ISRO is also preparing to launch its first manned mission to space, Gaganyaan.
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