Asha Parekh is an Indian actress, film director, and producer who worked in Hindi films. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's finest actresses, Parekh has worked in more than 85 films, in a career spanning over four decades. She has received several accolades including two Filmfare Awards. In 1992, she was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contribution to the field of cinema and was honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2020.
Prabha Atre was an Indian classical vocalist from the Kirana gharana. She was awarded all three of the Padma Awards by the Government of India. She died after experiencing breathing difficulty in the early hours and was taken to Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital. She died from cardiac arrest before reaching the hospital. Atre died on 13 January 2024, at the age of 91.
Vijay Pandurang Bhatkar is an Indian computer scientist, IT leader and educationalist. He is best known as the architect of India's national initiative in supercomputing where he led the development of Param supercomputers. He is a Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Maharashtra Bhushan awardee. Indian computer magazine Dataquest placed him among the pioneers of India's IT industry. He was the founder and executive director of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and is currently working on developing exascale supercomputing for India.
Isher Judge Ahluwalia was an Indian economist, public policy researcher, and professor. She was Chairperson Emeritus, Board of Governors, at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). She had also served as the chairperson of the board of the International Food Policy Research Institute, and the chairperson of the Government of India's High-Powered Committee on Urban Infrastructure Services. She was awarded India's 3rd highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan, in 2009.
Sai Paranjpye is an Indian movie director and screenwriter. She is the director of the award-winning movies Sparsh, Katha, Chasme Buddoor and Disha. She has written and directed many Marathi plays such as Jaswandi, Sakkhe Shejari, and Albel.
Anu Aga is an Indian billionaire businesswoman and social worker who led Thermax, an energy and environment engineering business, as its chairperson from 1996 to 2004. She was among the eight richest Indian women, and in 2007 was part of 40 richest Indians by net worth according to Forbes magazine. She was awarded with the Mumbai Women of the Decade Achievers Award by ALL Ladies League, the all ladies wing of ASSOCHAM.
Sujatha Ramdorai is an algebraic number theorist known for her work on Iwasawa theory. She is a professor of mathematics and Canada Research Chair at University of British Columbia, Canada. She was previously a professor at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
Cyrus S. Poonawalla is an Indian billionaire businessman, and the chairman and managing director of the Cyrus Poonawalla Group, which includes the Serum Institute of India, an Indian biotech company which is the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world and Poonawalla Fincorp a leading NBFC in India. In 2022, he is ranked as the 4th richest person in India on Forbes India rich list with a net worth of $24.3 billion. He is ranked number 1 on the Hurun Global Healthcare Rich List 2022.
Archana Sharma was a renowned Indian botanist, cytogeneticist, cell biologist, and cytotoxicologist. Her widely recognized contributions include the study of speciation in vegetatively reproducing plants, induction of cell division in adult nuclei, the cause of polyteny in differentiated tissues in plants, cytotaxonomy of flowering plants, and the effect of arsenic in water.
Rajashree Birla is an Indian philanthropist. She is married to the late Aditya Birla. After her husband's death in 1995, Rajashree began working in CSR and charity sectors, developing a large philanthropic organization funded by her family. In 2011, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, for her services to society.
Shobhana Ranade was an Indian social worker and Gandhian, known for her services towards her cause of destitute women and children. The Government of India honoured her in 2011, with the Padma Bhushan—the third highest civilian award—for her services to the society.
Dr Kiran Martin is an Indian pediatrician, social worker and the founder of Asha, a non governmental organization, working towards the health and community development of around 95 slum colonies in and around Delhi, reaching a reported number around to 700,000 slum dwellers. She was honored by the Government of India, in 2002, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Achamma Mathai was an Indian social worker, women's rights activist, a co-founder of Dr. John Mathai Centre, an institute of Information Technology, Economics, Management, Theatre Arts and Music under the University of Calicut and the wife of John Mathai, the first Railway Minister of India and a former Finance minister. During her stay in Delhi, when her husband was serving in the Union Ministry, she was reported to have been involved in activities related to children's education. During the riots that followed Indian independence, she worked alongside Sucheta Kripalani for the rehabilitation of the riot victims. She served as a member of the Advisory Committee for Libraries in 1955 and as the chairperson of the Central Social Welfare Board in the early Sixties. The Government of India honoured her in 1954, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for her contributions to the society, placing her among the first recipients of the award.
Atmaram Bhairav Joshi was an Indian agricultural scientist and academic, known for his contributions to the field of wheat and other crop breeding. He was the vice-chancellor of Mahatma Phule Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Rahuri and the chairman of the Research Advisory Committee of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri in 1975.
Chitra Jayant Naik (1918–2010) was an Indian educationist, writer, social worker, the chairperson of the Indian Institute of Education and the expert member of the Planning Commission of India. She was the chairperson of the Non-formal Education Committee set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and was a member of the National Literacy Mission. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1986.
Gowri Ishwaran is an Indian educationist, education consultant and advisor to the Shiv Nadar Foundation. She served as the chief executive officer of the Global Education & Leadership Foundation (tGELF) and is currently the vice-chairperson of the foundation. She is the founder principal of the Sanskriti School, a New Delhi–based co-educational institution.
Meenakshi Gopinath is an Indian educationist, political scientist, writer and a former principal of Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi. She is the founder and incumbent director of the Women in Security Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP), a non governmental organization promoting peace and socio-political leadership among the women of South Asia and a former member of the National Security Advisory Board, the first woman to serve the Government of India agency. She has served as a member of the selection panel of the Lokpal, a legal body which has jurisdiction over the legislators and government officials of India. The Government of India awarded her the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2007, for her contributions to Indian educational sector. She is a co-editor of the International Feminist Journal of Politics, the leading journal of feminist international relations and global politics.
Surrendar Saini is an Indian social worker and the chairperson of the Bhavan Institute of Indian Art and Culture. She is the Pradesh chairperson of the Bharat Sevak Samaj, Delhi and the chairperson of the Delhi Social Welfare Advisory Board, a State Government sponsored organization for women and child welfare. She was a member of the committee set up by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 1999 for proposing amendments to the Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995. The Government of India awarded her the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1970, for her contributions to society.
Rahibai Soma Popere, born in 1964, is an Indian farmer and conservationist. She helps other farmers return to native varieties of crops, preparing hyacinth beans for self-help groups. She is among three Indians on the BBC list of "100 Women 2018". Scientist Raghunath Mashelkar gave her the epithet "Seed Mother".
