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WINNERS OF THE SECOND EVER VINFUTURE PRIZE AWARDS UNVEILED

HANOI, Vietnam, Dec. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the VinFuture Prize Council announced the 2022 VinFuture Prize winners – scientists whose breakthrough research projects are exceptional scientific accomplishments that positively impact the lives of billions of people on Earth now and in the future. They represent major advancements in science and technology that will reshape all aspects of life and promote sustainable development for humanity. 

The Grand Prize Winners being presented by Mr. Vuong Dinh Hue - Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam. From left to right: Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Dr. Vinton Gray Cerf, Dr. Emmanuel Desurvire and Professor Sir David Neil Payne

Attracting 970 nominations from over 70 countries across six continents, the four most outstanding scientific works, aligned with this season’s theme of “Reviving and Reshaping”, were chosen as the winners.

They include: the breakthroughs that have made global network technology a reality; 3D protein structure prediction using AI system AlphaFold 2; isolation of the Sub1A gene that facilitated the development of submergence tolerant rice; and a low-cost filtration system to remove arsenic and other heavy metals from groundwater.

Grand Prize

The Grand Prize, valued at US$3 million, was awarded to Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, Dr. Vinton Gray Cerf, Dr. Emmanuel Desurvire, Dr. Robert Elliot Kahn and Professor Sir David Neil Payne for their breakthroughs in making global network technology a reality, forever changing the way we live, communicate, and work and laying the foundation for modern socio-economic progress and future technological innovations.

Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, wrote the first web browser, and led the design and establishment of three critical internet standards including HTML, HTTP, and URLs. These have enabled the seamless sharing and use of information resources across the global internet.

Dr. Vinton Gray Cerf and Dr. Robert Elliot Kahn led the design and implementation of the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) which are the basis for the functioning of today’s internet.

Current global network technology relies on optical fiber communication, the development of which was enabled by the work, over five decades, of Sir David Neil Payne. His work related to fiber design, optical amplifiers, specialty fibers, and high-power lasers and amplifiers, together with the breakthrough work of Emmanuel Desurvire on Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers, made internet transmission possible on a global scale, thanks to their ability to boost high-speed optical signals repeatedly.

This ground-breaking research on global network technology is the result of numerous layers of invention, allowing all forms of information to be reliably communicated, transferred, and shared at the speed of light. This has enabled real-time interaction, collaboration, and co-creation between individuals and groups across the world. The impacts of these inventions are both transcontinental and transoceanic. From fiber-to-the-home and enterprise communications, they affect all aspects of our world including society, government, economics, security, and defense.

Special Prizes

In addition to the Grand Prize, three Special Prizes, each valued at US$500,000, have been awarded to innovators in emerging fields, female innovators, and innovators from developing countries.

The Special Prize for “Innovators with Outstanding Achievements in Emerging Fields” was awarded to Dr. Demis Hassabis and Dr. John Jumper for their pioneering work on AlphaFold 2, an artificial intelligence program that has revolutionized the modeling of protein structures, accelerating advances in biomedicine, health, and agriculture.

The problem of determining protein structures is central to enabling a fundamental understanding of cellular processes, developing new drugs, proposing new synthetic biology, and numerous other applications.

Dr. Demis Hassabis conceived a solution to this problem through deep learning, assembling the pioneering DeepMind team, on which Dr. John Jumper was the lead scientist. Together, they reduced what previously took years of work to mere hours, accelerating progress on some of the most important problems in biomedicine and health, agriculture, sustainability, and beyond. The team made openly available a database of the structures of over 200 million proteins, enabling the public to benefit from their work and helping thousands of scientists tackle problems across the world.

The Special Prize dedicated to “Female Innovators” was awarded to Professor Pamela Christine Ronald for her breakthroughs in isolating the Sub1A gene which facilitated the development of submergence tolerant rice varieties, helping feed millions of people in South and Southeast Asia. In this region of the world, four million tons of rice enough to feed 30 million people is lost to flooding each year.

Professor Ronald and team showed that expression of the single rice gene Sub1a is sufficient to confer submergence tolerance. This discovery facilitated the development of new varieties of rice by breeders at the International Rice Research Institute The new Sub1 varieties have a 60% yield advantage compared to conventional varieties following floods. The new varieties of submergence tolerant rice are helping farmers in countries affected heavily by flooding, which is occurring with increasing duration and frequency in the changing climate.

The Special Prize dedicated to “Innovators from Developing Countries” was awarded to Professor Thalappil Pradeep for his development of a low-cost filtration system to remove arsenic and other heavy metals from groundwater, helping hundreds of millions of people around the world living with contaminated water get access to clean water.

Safe water is the most important enabler of life and is central for socio-economic development.

To mitigate the health hazards of using water contaminated by arsenic, iron and other metals, a long-standing problem particularly in North India, Professor Pradeep discovered affordable and sustainable nanomaterials which could be used to them to produce clean water. The arsenic and other materials removed by these materials do not cause impact on the surrounding environment. This method, employing simple designs, provides a means to purify groundwater at a very low cost to reach millions of impacted households. In remote areas, this technology is even more advantageous because it does not require electricity.

Far exceeding the Prize Council’s expectations on the quantity, quality, applicability, and practical impacts of nominations, the second season of the VinFuture Prize and the VinFuture Award Ceremony 2022, specifically, have helped affirm Vietnam’s position and scientific reputation in the eyes of the global scientific community. The prize laureates have developed innovative scientific projects and technologies focused on fostering meaningful change and bringing diverse and exceptional advancements to humanity with the goal of building a flourishing, equitable, and sustainable world. 

The third cycle of the VinFuture Prize has now started, immediately following the conclusion of the 2022 VinFuture Prize Award Ceremony. After concluding the mission of revival and reshaping, VinFuture Prize 2023 will aim to honor scientific and technological inventions or initiatives that contribute to building a “resilient and revolutionary” world. The VinFuture Prize will officially call for nominations starting 7:00 am (EST) January 9th and running until 7:00 am (EST) on May 15th, 2023.

https://vinfutureprize.org/

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Harper Collins Publishers India is Delighted to Announce the Recent Publication of ‘People We Love’ by Preeti Shenoy

NEW DELHI, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — HarperCollins Publishers India is delighted to share the recent publication of People We Love by bestselling author Preeti Shenoy. At once tender and sharp, this collection of stories offers intimate, truthful and relatable portraits of the people we cherish, the ones we lose, and the people we become.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The people we love never truly leave our story…

In these tender yet piercing stories, Preeti Shenoy returns to some of her most beloved characters to reveal who they were before they appeared in her bestselling novels It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have.

Aniket, a coder, carries the weight of a longing for Trisha that he cannot bring himself to act on. Nidhi abandons her corporate life to teach pottery, only to discover that clay is far more forgiving than the people she loves. A quiz competition sparks an unlikely romance between Aman and Shruti, one that must withstand parental disapproval and class divides. And Anjali, a journalist, is so busy chasing stories that she almost misses the one unfolding in her own life.

Set against the pulse of contemporary India, People We Love explores the tug-of-war between duty and desire, family and freedom, who we are and who we dare to be. Intimate and deeply felt, these are stories about love that stays, leaves and almost slips away … love that quietly and irrevocably shapes the people we become.

Preeti Shenoy, author, says, “People We Love is a collection of three long stories, prequels to my bestsellers It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have. If you have read those books, you already know how these characters’ stories unfold. But what you don’t know yet is where it all began, the loves they carried, the choices they made, and the people they were before life shaped them into who you met on those pages. Writing these prequels felt like returning to a home I hadn’t realised I missed, and discovering rooms I had never been in before.”

Rashmi Menon, Associate Publisher – HarperCollins India, adds, “Preeti Shenoy has an extraordinary gift for finding the heartbeat of ordinary lives. People We Love is a warm, wise and deeply humane collection of short stories that reunites readers with favourite characters from her bestselling novels It’s All in the Planets and The One You Cannot Have, weaving them into fresh, deeply satisfying narratives. These characters feel like people you know, and their journeys will move, comfort and surprise you. This uplifting, thought–provoking collection reminds us why we turn to stories in the first place. We couldn’t be more excited to share it with our readers.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Preeti Shenoy is among the highest-selling authors in India. She was featured on the Forbes longlist of the most influential celebrities in India. Her books include When Love Came Calling, Wake Up Life, Is Calling, Life Is What You Make It, The Rule Breakers, A Hundred Little Flames, It’s All in the Planets, Why We Love the Way We Do, The Secret Wish List, The One You Cannot Have and many others. Her work has been translated into many Indian languages. Preeti is also a motivational speaker, an avid fitness enthusiast, and an artist specializing in portraiture and illustrated journalling. Preeti lives in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS INDIA

At HarperCollins Publishers India, we believe in telling the best stories and ensuring they reach the widest readership. We publish around 250 new books every year across 10 imprints, adding to a diverse catalogue of more than 3,000 titles in print and digital formats, with an array of genres and voices that ensure there is a book for every reader. Our authors have won some of the most prestigious literary awards, and we are proud to publish many acclaimed writers, alongside new and emerging voices shaping contemporary literature. We are also the publishers of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, winner of the Booker Prize 2008, and Girl in White Cotton by Avni Doshi, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020, and HarperCollins India itself has been awarded “Publisher of the Year” several times. In addition, we represent some of the finest global publishers such as Harvard University Press, Lonely Planet, Oneworld, Nosy Crow, Usborne, and National Geographic Children, bringing Indian readers access to world-class books and ideas. We are also proud to be certified as a Great Place to Work for two consecutive years, a recognition of our culture, people, and values that make HarperCollins India a truly inspiring workplace. 

PRESS CONTACT:

Nandini Tripathi, Manager – Marketing (Commercial)

Email: nandini.tripathi@harpercollins.co.in | Mobile: +91 9718928839

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Fulfilling PM Modi’s Dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat: India’s AI Writing Startup Kreativespace Incubated at IIT Kharagpur

  1. Kreativespace, an Indian AI-powered writing platform founded by Vinet Kakadea, has been incubated at IIT Kharagpur and recognized by SVNIT University, Ministry of Education under Bodhan AI Conclave also through the NVIDIA Inception Program, AWS Startup Program, and DPIIT under Startup India.
  2. The platform unifies 8 AI-powered writing tools, along with AI Humanizer and Message AI feature being the latest addition into a single ecosystem, so you can generate and refine content all in one place.
  3. The company reports more than 50,000+ signed-up users, 75,000+ anonymous users, and roughly 100,000 monthly website visitors, positioning itself as the only Indian company operating at scale in the global AI writing market.

SURAT, India, June 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Kreativespace, an AI-powered writing platform, is building out its position as the only homegrown alternative in a market long dominated by international tools such as Grammarly and QuillBot. Founded by Vinet Kakadea and incubated at IIT Kharagpur, the company has aligned its growth with the broader push behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative, which encourages indigenous technology development capable of competing on a global scale.

Kreativespace Incubated at IIT Kharagpur

As AI adoption accelerates across India’s education, research, and enterprise sectors, Kreativespace is among a small group of Indian startups building writing technology designed to compete directly with established international platforms.

Kreativespace’s progress has been recognized by several institutions central to India’s startup and technology ecosystem. The company has been incubated at IIT Kharagpur, selected under SSIP 2.0 through SVNIT University, and chosen by the Ministry of Education to present its work at the Bodhan AI Conclave. It has also been accepted into the NVIDIA Inception Program and the AWS Startup Program, and holds DPIIT recognition under the Startup India initiative.

Where many writing-tool users rely on separate subscriptions for content generation to refinement for grammar correction, paraphrasing, plagiarism checking, citation generation, and editing, Kreativespace brings these functions into a single platform as a super-app for AI writing tools. The company says its approach centers on affordability and accessibility alongside performance, aiming to make advanced AI writing assistance available to a wider range of users regardless of geography or budget.

The idea for Kreativespace took shape while founder Vinet Kakadea was studying at New York University and Marymount University in the United States, where he experienced firsthand how students, researchers, and professionals often need multiple paid subscriptions to cover writing-related tasks. That fragmented experience led him to build a super-app offering each of these capabilities together, at a more accessible price point.

Kreativespace combines 8 AI-powered writing tools with AI Humanizer and Message AI feature being the latest addition, allowing users to generate, rewrite, refine, and humanize content without moving between separate platforms. The product is available via web platform, mobile apps on the App Store and Google Play, browser extensions for Chrome, Mozilla, and Edge, and a Google Docs add-on.

Vinet Kakadea, Founder of Kreativespace, said, “Kreativespace’s vision is to digitalize the entire Indian education ecosystem to support PM Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme.”

About Kreativespace

Kreativespace with the Motto of Making Writing Accessible for Everyone: Kreativespace is an AI-powered writing platform built to make AI writing tools accessible, affordable, and effective for students, researchers, educators, professionals, content creators, startups, and enterprises. Founded by Vinet Kakadea, the company is incubated at IIT Kharagpur and has been recognized by AWS Startup Program, the NVIDIA Inception Program, and DPIIT under Startup India. For more information, visit kreativespace.com.

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Santokbaa Humanitarian Award 2026 Marks 20 Years of Compassion and Service

SURAT, India, June 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Santokbaa Humanitarian Award 2026, instituted by Shree Ramkrishna Knowledge Foundation (SRKKF), the philanthropic arm of Shree Ramkrishna Exports (SRK), marked 20 years of honouring individuals who have made a lasting difference through compassion, service and leadership. The awards were presented recently in Surat.

This year’s Santokbaa Humanitarian Award was conferred on Padma Shri Dr. Gullapalli N. Rao, renowned Indian ophthalmologist and Founder-Chair of the LV Prasad Eye Institute, and Padma Shri Smt. Reema Nanavaty, development worker and Director of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA). Their work has touched millions of lives through healthcare, empowerment and community development.

In a significant addition this year, SRKKF introduced the Social Entrepreneur Award to recognise leaders who combine business excellence with measurable social impact. The inaugural award was presented to Shri Srikanth Bolla, Founder of Bollant Industries, a sustainable manufacturing company known for disability-inclusive employment and environmentally responsible practices.

The event was graced by Chief Guest Shri Harivansh Narayan Singh, Hon’ble Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and Guests of Honour Shri Harsh Sanghavi, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat; along with several other distinguished personalities.

Established in 2006 by Shri Govind Dholakia, Founder & Chairman Emeritus of Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. and SRKKF, the award reflects the legacy of compassion and selfless values embodied by his mother, Santokbaa. Over the past two decades, it has become a platform to honour individuals whose lives and work continue to inspire society.

The awardees are selected through a rigorous and transparent process led by an independent jury comprising leaders from diverse fields. The 2026 jury included Shri Govindan Rangarajan, Director, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru; Shri A.S. Kiran Kumar, Former Chairman, ISRO; Admiral R. Hari Kumar (Retd.), Former Chief of the Indian Navy; Shri Rishabh Shroff, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas; and Shri Shreyans Dholakia, Entrepreneur and Brand Custodian, SRK.

Addressing the gathering, Chief Guest Shri Harivansh Narayan Singh said that the SRK Foundation is carrying forward Santokbaa’s legacy to the next generation by celebrating service, sacrifice and compassion over wealth or fame. He added that the family’s effort to connect this legacy with social entrepreneurship reflects the values of nation-building.

Shri Harsh Sanghavi said the Santokbaa Award reminds us that true achievement lies not only in personal success, but in bringing light and happiness to others. Shri Govind Dholakia said his mother Santokbaa spent her life guided by truth, love and compassion, and that her values continue to inspire the family’s work. He added that the award’s 20-year journey is a tribute to changemakers whose efforts have strengthened communities across the country.

Speaking on the honour, Dr. Gullapalli N. Rao said it was a privilege to receive the recognition on behalf of all those working to expand access to quality eye care. He said restoring sight restores dignity and opportunity, and praised SRK’s world-class operational systems. Smt. Reema Nanavaty said the award belonged to the millions of women whose resilience and entrepreneurial spirit continue to inspire SEWA’s mission. She noted that when women are empowered, they become agents of change for their families and communities. Shri Srikanth Bolla said his journey has shown that limitations often exist more in perception than reality, and that the award is a reminder that with the right support, every individual can contribute meaningfully to society.

Over the past 20 years, the Santokbaa Humanitarian Award has honoured 20 of India’s most distinguished humanitarian and social leaders, including Shri Ratan Tata, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Dr. Sudha Murty, Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, Shri Shiv Nadar, Dr. Abhay Bang and Dr. Rani Bang, Dr. Verghese Kurien, Shri Kailash Satyarthi and Shri A.S. Kiran Kumar. With the introduction of the Social Entrepreneurship Award in 2026, the milestone celebration reaffirmed the importance of empathy, service and purposeful leadership in building a better future.

About Santokbaa Humanitarian Award:

Over the past 20 years, the Santokbaa Humanitarian Award has honoured 19 of India’s most distinguished humanitarian and social leaders, including Shri Ratan Tata, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Dr. Sudha Murty, Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, Shri Shiv Nadar, Dr. Abhay Bang and Dr. Rani Bang, Dr. Verghese Kurien, Shri Kailash Satyarthi and Shri A.S. Kiran Kumar, among other eminent personalities. In 2026, SRKKF also instituted the Santokbaa Social Entrepreneurship Award, with Shri Srikanth Bolla becoming its inaugural recipient.

As the Santokbaa Humanitarian Award completed a remarkable 20-year journey, the milestone celebration reaffirmed the enduring importance of empathy, service and purposeful leadership in shaping a better future. The journey endures, contributing to nation-building through compassion, innovation and service to humanity.

For more information, visit: https://srk.foundation/honours

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