Billionaire-philanthropist and founder of the Serum Institute of India (SII) Dr Cyrus Poonawalla (pictured) was named as a recipient of the Lokmanya Tilak Award for 2021, stated the Hindustan Times on July 31, 2021. The newspaper quoted Deepak Tilak, who heads the Lokmanya Tilak Trust as stating that Poonawalla "will be honored for his work during the coronavirus pandemic, wherein he helped in saving many lives by manufacturing the Covishield vaccine… Poonawalla has been at the forefront of making different vaccines at affordable prices.” A grandson of freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Deepak stated that "though the award ceremony takes place annually on August 1, the freedom fighter’s death anniversary, this year it will take place on August 13 due to the pandemic situation. The award comprises a cash prize of one lakh rupees as well as a memento for the recipient.”
First awarded in 1983, recipients include former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh, former President Pranab Mukherjee and Infosys founder N. R. Narayana Murthy, among others.
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