NOMINEES

For making us believe that providing finance services to the poor is profitable. Bandhan Bank has touched the lives of over 6.5 million of India’s poorest borrowers, including women entrepreneurs, self-help groups and small businesses. In August 2015, it turned into a full-fledged bank and today has 605 branches across 27 states with deposits of over 5000 crore rupees.

Chairman of the Poonawalla Group, he drove his company to newer frontiers, emerging as one of the most valuable companies globally. The vaccine king’s privately held Serum Institute of India reported record profits of $295 million. It tied up with US based Visterra to make a drug to treat dengue fever and is also set to invest 150 million rupees to expand its capacity to make a new range of vaccines.

For bringing focus back on manufacturing in India. One year since the high decibel campaign began, the team has improved the perception of India as an attractive investment destination. It has taken steps to make the operating environment in India more favourable with 25 sectors identified for focused interventions. The FDI policy has been liberalised with the opening up of several key sectors like Defence, railways, medical equipment and finance.

For being the only Indian smart phone company to go global and take competition head on! Just six years after entering a highly competitive market dominated by MNCs, Micromax is already India’s number two brand in smart phones and the tenth largest global manufacturer. The company is all set to make in India with a 300 crore investment for plants in Telangana and Rajasthan.

Uday Kotak, the Executive Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Bank, has consistently striven to achieve growth and expand into newer business segments. The billionaire banker lead the acquisition of rival ING Vysya for a 2.4 billion dollar all stock deal, making Kotak the fourth largest bank in the country. The company has also entered the general insurance business and in a separate venture, has teamed up with telecom magnate Sunil Mittal's Airtel M Commerce to start a payments bank that provides basic banking services.

She continued her Bollywood success in 2015 with two major hits - Dil Dhadakne Do and Bajirao Mastani. Known for pushing her own boundaries, she went on to be the first South Asian woman to headline an American network series – Quantico.

He has emerged as the most bankable young star in Bollywood and delivered solid performances in two very different films in the same calendar year - Dil Dhadakne Do and Bajirao Mastani.

A film director, producer, screen writer & music director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has directed and produced the epic historical ‘Bajirao Mastani’, a masterful work of art, described by many as the 21st century’s Mughal-e-Azam.

An incredible genius, he directed ‘Baahubali: The Beginning’, which became a pan-India mega success & third highest global grossing Indian film of all time.

The team reignited and mobilized interest in an important case through an excellent, well-researched and powerful no-frills film.

Indian Golf's search for a worthy successor to the legacy of Jeev Milkha Singh finally ended in 2015 with Anirban Lahiri stamping his class at the world stage. Anirban began 2015 in some style with back to back titles on the European tour. Lahiri's finest moment came at the US PGA Championship, with a tied 5th finish. It was the best performance by an Indian golfer at a Major. He also took home the Asian Order of Merit.

At the FIH World Hockey League Final in Raipur, the Indian Hockey team ended a 32 year wait for a medal at a global competition with a remarkable turnaround in fortunes. Under stand in coach Roelant Oltmans the team also won Test series' away in Spain and New Zealand.

Cueist Pankaj Advani continued to defy the odds by winning 3 World titles in 2015 to take his tally to 15, a figure no sportsperson is likely to ever cross. Advani won the IBSF World 6 Red Snooker title in Karachi, defended his World Billiards crown in Adelaide and then completed the rare double of World Billiards and Snooker titles by winning the World Snooker in Egypt.

The India off-spinner had a remarkable 2015 where he started as the No.15 ranked Test bowler and finished as the best bowler in the ICC rankings. He took 62 wickets in 9 Tests, the highest for any international bowler in 2015 and also played a crucial role in India’s series victory over the Proteas, the No.1 team in the world, with 31 wickets in 4 Tests.

In 2015, Sania Mirza scripted a glorious high for Indian tennis and Indian sport by rising to the top of the World rankings in Women's Doubles. Her partnership with Martina Hingis had no parallel in the women's game as the duo won 9 titles together including Wimbledon and the US Open. They closed out the year with the season ending WTA Tour Final title and were declared World Champions in Women's Doubles by the International Tennis Federation. For Sania personally it was the most successful year on the WTA circuit with 10 titles and she also took home the country's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.

For making Indians believe in the joy of giving. Anshu Gupta has given a new meaning to cloth, as a symbol of giving, survival and dignity. A devastating fire which gutted Goonj’s Delhi centre last November didn’t stop their annual campaign Odha Do Zindagi - spreading warmth in winter

For bringing to the fore, the grave and growing danger of pollution in Delhi! CSE monitored the pollution average citizens are exposed to on a daily basis – in buses, autos, the metro, and while walking and forced the government to act. CSE’s campaign educated citizens to the need for decongestion and laid out an agenda for action for the government.

Over 28,000 children rescued from a life of slavery and abuse. Pioneered by the Home Ministry, Operation Smile and Operation Muskaan have rescued and rehabilitated missing children, pushed into prostitution and bonded labour. From sensitising and motivating the police, to coordinating with states, maintaining and updating the constantly changing database, the Home Ministry is now ensuring states have professional translators, psychiatrists and shelter homes to rehabilitate missing children.

Destiny Foundation’s mission is to end human trafficking and rehabilitate sex workers in Bengal. Founded by Smarita Sen Gupta, the organisation conducts training programs in shelter homes and red light areas, training girls in vocational skills and basic literacy. Scarves, bags, wallets made by sex workers are exported and Destiny Foundation provides legal assistance to bring them out of the flesh trade. It currently supports 75 women and children, 60 have been reintegrated.

A chance boat ride on the Ganges in Varanasi changed Temsutula Imsong’s life. The stench and filth from the open toilet that was Prabhu Ghat impelled her to pick up a broom and lead a team of volunteers to clean up the riverbank. The team cleaned 300 kilos of excrement from the ghat in 5 days. Volunteers slept overnight on the ghat to ensure it wasn’t dirtied. Imsong is now in talks with the district magistrate to build more public toilets and signing up local boatmen for a government benefits program.

He’s a serial entrepreneur, founder of the Deshpande Foundation in India, US and Canada. Dr Gururaj 'Desh' Deshpande is part of the Obama Government’s Technology & Entrepreneurship advisory board. The Deshpande Foundation, with its Sandbox concept covering 5 districts, is spreading social innovation and entrepreneurship at the grass-root level, with plans to set up India’s first Skill Development University in Hubli.

The current Defence Minister of Canada, Harjit Singh Sajjan is the first Indo-Canadian to have held this post. Prior to his stint in politics, Sajjan was a detective in the Vancouver Police Department and a regimental commander in the Canadian Armed Forces, decorated for his service in Afghanistan.

Nikesh Arora was Google President and Pichai’s colleague for a decade. Named Softbank President in May, he replaced Masayoshi Son on Japan’s Yahoo board. Nikesh is one of Asia’s biggest tech Investors, especially active in India and has invested over a billion dollars in Snapdeal, Ola and Oyo Rooms. Named by Masayoshi Son as his successor, he aims to be the Berkshire Hathaway of tech.

The current United States Ambassador to India, Richard Verma is the first Indian- American to have held the post and has played an instrumental role in shaping Indo-US ties over the last year. In a little over a year, the Ambassador has helped bridge differences between India and the US on issues as varied as civil nuclear technology to climate change. Previously he was the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs.

From a middle manager working on the Google tool bar to CEO, second only to founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Sundar Pichai has seen a meteoric rise to the top of one of the most iconic tech companies. Along the way Pichai headed some of Google's best sellers like Chrome and Android. Google has promised free wifi at 100 railway stations in India and is working on Project Loon - net connections through balloons.