Murlidhar Devidas Amte, commonly known as Baba Amte, was an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of people suffering from leprosy. He has received numerous awards and prizes including the Padma Vibhushan, the Dr. Ambedkar International Award, the Gandhi Peace Prize, the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Templeton Prize and the Jamnalal Bajaj Award. He is also known as the modern Gandhi of India.
Sevagram is the name of a town in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was the place of Mahatma Gandhi's ashram and his residence from 1936 to his death in 1948.
Matru Sewa Sangh is an Indian non-profit organisation founded in 1921, by Kamalatai Hospet and Venutai Nene in Nagpur, Maharashtra. It runs a network of sites dedicated to providing health services to the poor, including a maternity hospital, school for mentally retarded, home for the aged, child adoption services, working women's hostel and family counseling center. It also runs the Institute of Social Work, affiliated with Nagpur University, which provides adult education and development programmes. Matru Sewa Sangh was founded by Kamalatai Hospet (1896–1981) and Venutai Nene (1896–1973).
Jamnalal Bajaj was an Indian industrialist. He founded the Bajaj Group of companies in the 1920s, and the group now has 24 companies, including six that are listed on the bourses. He was also a close and beloved associate of Mahatma Gandhi, who is known to have often declared that Jamnalal was his fifth son.
Rahul Bajaj is an Indian billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of the Indian conglomerate Bajaj Group and a member of parliament. Bajaj comes from the business house started by Jamnalal Bajaj. He was awarded the third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2001. In a recent interview for the Creating Emerging Markets project at the Harvard Business School, Bajaj provides a devastating critique of Indian industrial policies before the liberalisation in the 1990s. In 2008, he split Bajaj Auto into three units - Bajaj Auto, finance company Bajaj Finserv and a holding company. His sons are now managing the day to day affairs of the company.
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 Bhushan, Padma Shri and Maharashtra Bhushan awardee. Indian computer magazine Dataquest placed him among the pioneers of India's IT industry. He was the founder executive director of C-DAC and is currently working on developing Exascale supercomputing mission for India.
Eknathrao alias Balasaheb Vikhe Patil was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Kopargaon and Ahmednagar (South) constituency of Maharashtra and was a member of the Indian National Congress (INC) political party. He later joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was a minister in the NDA. He was a prominent leader of Maharashtra and eldest son of Vithalrao Vikhe Patil, who started Asia's first Co-operative sugar factory at Loni in Maharashtra. He was awarded the prestigious civilian award Padma Bhushan on 31 March 2010 for his outstanding work in the field of Social Work. He was seven time MP, former Union Minister of State (Finance) and Union Cabinet Minister, Government of India.
Anil K. Rajvanshi is an academic from India, and is the current Director of the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI).
Kamalabai Hospet also known as (1896–1981) was a co-founder of Matru Sewa Sangh, a non-profit social organisation based in Nagpur, Maharashtra, India.
Chandrashekhar Shankar Dharmadhikari (Dr.C.S.Dharmadhikari) was an Indian judge, independence activist, lawyer, author. He was acting chief justice of Bombay High Court. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 2003. He authored many books in the Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati languages. He died on 3 January 2019 in Nagpur at the age of 91 years.
Sarojini Varadappan was an Indian social worker from the state of Tamil Nadu. She was the daughter of former Chief Minister of Madras, M. Bhaktavatsalam.
Abhay Bang and Rani Bang are Indian social activists and researchers working in the field of community health in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, India. They have revolutionized healthcare for the poorest people in India and have overseen a programme that has substantially reduced infant mortality rates in one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have endorsed their approach to treating newborn babies and the programme is currently being rolled out across India and in parts of Africa. The Bangs founded the 'Society For Education, Action and Research in Community Health' (SEARCH) – a non-profit organisation, which is involved in rural health service and research. The couple is the winner of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award. Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow has conferred honorary doctorates on Abhay and Rani Bang. SNDT Women's University, Mumbai has also awarded Honoris Causa to Rani Bang. The Lancet has honoured the couple as 'the pioneers of health care in rural India'. Abhay and Rani Bang are the first recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They were also inducted into the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. The Bangs are honoured for their leadership in community-based health care that is now helping to save the lives of millions of the most vulnerable newborns and children. During their careers, the Bangs have helped foster a renaissance in community-based primary health care. In 2016, Johns Hopkins University conferred the Distinguished Alumni Award upon them.
The Maharashtra Bhushan is a highest and prestigious award presented annually by the government of Maharashtra state in India.
The Nagpur Pact was concluded between Indian political leaders on 28 September 1953. It led to the creation of the state of Maharashtra from contiguous Marathi-speaking areas of the then Bombay State, Madhya Pradesh State and Hyderabad state.
FIE Foundation is a charity trust established in 1970, belongs to 'Fie Group of Industries' Ichalkaranji, in Maharashtra State of India.
Bajaj Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company founded by Jamnalal Bajaj in Mumbai in 1926. Bajaj Group is one of the oldest and largest conglomerates based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The group comprises 34 companies and its flagship company Bajaj Auto is ranked as the world's fourth largest two- and three-wheeler manufacturer. Some of the notable companies are Bajaj Auto Ltd, Bajaj Finserv Ltd, Hercules Hoists Ltd, Bajaj Electricals, Mukand Ltd, Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd and Bajaj Holding & Investment Ltd. The group has involvement in various industries that include automobiles, home appliances, lighting, iron and steel, insurance, travel and finance.
Thakurdas Bang was an Indian Gandhian philosopher and Gandhian economist. He was involved in the Indian independence movement. He practised Gandhism, Gandhian philosophy, Gandhian study even at the age of 95. He was also involved in Khadi and Sarvodaya movements. As an economic professor in G S College of Commerce he motivated many students like Madhukarrao Chaudhari, Justice Chandrashekhar Shankar Dharmadhikari and Ramakrushna Bajaj to participate in the freedom struggle. He is succeeded by Abhay Bang and Ashok Bang. Ashok Bang decided to work for issues related to farming and Abhay decided to work for health of villagers. Abhay and Rani Bang founded SEARCH - a non-profit organization in Gadchiroli, which is involved in rural health service and research
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.
Anil Prakash Joshi is an Indian green activist, social worker, botanist and the founder of Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization (HESCO), a Dehradun-based non governmental organization involved in the development of environmentally sustainable technologies for the agricultural sector. He is a recipient of the Jamnalal Bajaj Award and is an Ashoka Fellow. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2006, for his contributions to Indian society. He was also awarded by Padma Bhushan 2020 for social work in Uttarakhand.
