New Delhi, September 24 (Odisha.in) Journalist Jatindra Dash was here awarded Manthan Award 2007 the best of E-content for development under e-news category for world’s first and only 24x7 Oriya news portal Odisha.com.
Dash is also the founder of www.36garh.in the only 24x7 Hindi portal exclusively on Chhatisgarh and odisha.in the english version of Odisha.com.
The award was handed over to him by Prof. K. Kannan, Vice Chancellor, Nagaland University on September 22, 2007, at India Islamic Cultural Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi in the facilitation ceremony of fellow of Manthan Award e-Content Pathbreakers.
The Manthan Award is an Indian initiative by Digital Empowerment Foundation, India as the national initiative of World Summit Award, to select and promote the best practices in e-Content and Creativity in India.
The other winner of the award under e-news category is online edition of Kerala’s Malayala Manorama and www.infochangeindia.org.
“ Odisha.com is not just a news portal but also an initiative to involve non resident Oriyas in the process of development of the state and to save Oriya language that is facing threat from increasing use of English” the 20 members jury that selected Dash for the award said in their citation.
“Orissa is a state where broadband Internet service was introduced much before anywhere in India.
“The government has planned to make available such facilities in local panchayat level in coming years. Odisha.com’s reach would grow playing a catalyst in the state’s development and empowering of its people” the citation said.
Winners of this years’s Manthan Award have been selected out of 400 applicants, which were screened in 15 categories by a grand jury of 20 eminent persons from various fields of the country on September 21-22 at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Board Room, PTI Building, Parliament Street, and New Delhi.
The jury members include Prof. K. Kannan, Vice Chancellor, Nagaland University, Amir Ullah Khan, Fellow, India Development Foundation, Piyush Gupta, National Institute of Smart Governance (NISG), Hyderabad, Ashish Garg, Global e-School Community Initiative (GeSCI), Manas Chakrabarti, American India Foundation.
Sajan Venniyoor, UN Solution Exchange, Madhura Chatrapathy, Asian Centre for Entrepreneurial Initiatives (ASCENT), Bangalore, Naimur Rahman, OneWord South Asia, Rufina Fernandez, NASSCOM Foundation, Rajan Varada, TFTP, Bangalore, S.N. Goswami, Media Lab Asia.
“I am dedicating the award to all the readers of odisha.com and those involved in developing its content and providing technical supports to make the site live” Dash accepting the facilitation said.
“I thank the jury for recognizing the initiative,” he said.
Odisha.in
