Two Indians Win Magsaysay Award

(July 28, 2011) Two Indians, Nileema Mishra and Harish Hande, are among the five individuals and one organisation cited for the Magsaysay Award, it was announced on Wednesday. Forty four year old Bangalore born Harish Hande was recognised for "his passionate and pragmatic efforts to put solar power technology in the hands of the poor, through a social enterprise that brings customized, affordable, and sustainable electricity to India's vast rural populace, encouraging the poor to become asset creators". He is the managing director and co-founder of the SELCO Solar Light Private Ltd. in Bangalore, and has a Ph D in energy engineering from the University of Massachusetts. Thirty nine year old Nileema Mishra is recognized for "her purpose-driven zeal to work tirelessly with villagers in Maharashtra, organizing them to successfully address both their aspirations and their adversities through collective action and heightened confidence in their potential to improve their own lives". Mishra who has a Masters in Clinical Psychology from the University of Pune is the founder of the Bhagini Nivedita Gramin Vigyan Niketan in the village of Bahadarpur in Maharashtra. The awards, considered the Asian version of the Nobel Prize, were announced by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. Two from Indonesia and one from Cambodia along with the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. from the Philippines are the other awardees. Established in 1957, the Magsaysay Award celebrates the memory and leadership of the third Philippine president, and is given every year to individuals or organisations in Asia who manifest the same sense of selfless service of the late Filipino leader. The six awardees will each receive a certificate, a medallion bearing the likeness of the late president, and a cash prize. They will be formally conferred the award during a ceremony to be held August 31 in Manila.