Indian Achievers’ Forum Honors Ms. Sugandha Sahay At The 64th National Summit And Awards 2023

The 64th National Summit and Awards unfolded on August 21st at Le Meridien Hotel, in collaboration with CSR Times. This grand event brought together a distinguished gathering of dignitaries, award recipients, and over 300 delegates.

The summit commenced with an inaugural ceremony, followed by enlightening addresses from eminent personalities. Chief Guest Shri SPS Baghel, Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, extended his congratulations to all participants and winners, underscoring CSR's potential to project India onto the global stage. The morning session boasted Guests of Honor including H.E. Mr. Dilshod Akhatov, Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the Republic of India, Lt. Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd), Member of the National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India, and Maj. Gen. Ravindra Singh of the Indian Army.

The inaugural session featured the commendation of CSR Times award recipients followed by a thought-provoking panel discussion exploring the theme "Achieving SDGs Through CSR in Developing Economies: Role of G20 Nations." The second session turned the spotlight on the Indian Army's CSR initiatives, emphasized through a presentation by Brigadier Vikas Bhardwaj, Brig DAV. Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi, Hon’ble Member of Parliament (RS) and Spokesperson - BJP, addressed the gathering as the Guest of Honor, underscoring the collective responsibility of CSR engagement, extending beyond corporates to every individual.

Furthermore, several remarkable accomplishments of PSUs, Corporates, Corporate Foundations, MSMEs, and individuals received recognition through the Indian Achievers’ Award, honoring their commendable contributions. These individuals and organizations demonstrated unwavering dedication to the cause of nation-building.

One of the achievers was Ms. Sugandha Sahay, Technical Program Manager, Amazon Web Services, Inc., who was conferred with the Indian Achievers' Award for her remarkable achievements. Sugandha Sahay is a highly accomplished hyperautomation expert at AWS who has been recognized for her exceptional technical abilities and her commitment to innovation. Sugandha's approach to innovation places a strong emphasis on the well-being of users, while still maintaining the highest level of technical expertise.

At AWS, Sugandha has been instrumental in leading tooling and automation initiatives to create a single source of truth for concept to launch management for 300+ AWS services . She has been actively collaborating with over 20+ orgs to deep dive into pain points and find creative solutions for her customers. Sugandha's technical skills and contribution to the tech industry are not limited to her time at AWS. While working at DataCore Software Corporation, she led conceptualizing and incrementally implementing business process hyperautomation for monitoring technical product launches for over 30+ releases. Her skills in technical expertise have led to significant improvements in automated and centralized reporting, such as modernization of concept to launch management tooling to cloud-based platforms for teams across 5 geo-locations across the world.

In a heartening gesture, the summit presented the CSR Times Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023 to Ms. Shallu Jindal for her sustained and exceptional contributions to the socio-economic upliftment of marginalized communities through sustainable community development initiatives.

Among the distinguished attendees were Mr. Ratnesh, Executive Director - United Nations Global Compact Network India (UN GCNI), Air Marshal VPS Rana PVSM, VSM (Retd), Mr. S. Ravi Shankar, Executive Committee Member - CSR Times Awards, H.E. Mrs. Daniela Mariana Sezonov-Tane, Ambassador of Romania to India, H.E. Ms. Jacqueline Mukangira, High Commissioner - High Commission of the Republic of Rwanda to India, Dr. László Makk, Deputy Head of Mission, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, Embassy of Hungary, and Shri Shaurya Doval, Founding Member - India Foundation, Dr. Sudipta Narayan Roy, Director, IAF. The gathering witnessed these esteemed guests addressing the summit, inspiring participants with renewed fervor and compassion for social endeavors.

Mr. Harish Chandra, Editor of CSR Times & President, Indian Achievers' Forum, extended his congratulations to all winners and participants, expressing gratitude to the event's partners for their pivotal role in ensuring the event's resounding success. The summit concluded with a resounding vote of thanks, leaving attendees galvanized and determined to sustain their collective efforts in pursuit of national betterment.