Education is the only way to make our future brighter. The more we learn, the more we gain experience and the better we grow. With these thoughts in mind, News18 Tamil Nadu organized its first-ever Katral Awards 2021 in Chennai, on December 15, to recognize excellence in the field of education. Over the years, the state of Tamil Nadu has become the educational hub that has been creating and nurturing talents domain. Hence, an all-around celebration, acknowledgment, and push was the need of the hour. Katral means ‘learning’ in Tamil, and this initiative by the premiere media group, Network 18, will serve to further project Tamil Nadu as a premier educational destination.
Making sure a transparent and robust selection procedure is followed, a list of nominees was made by the News18 Editorial Board. A jury comprising a selected group of distinguished experts then decided on the winners on the basis of various factors. As many as 22 educational institutions, educationalists, and scholars were recognized for their achievement and contribution in the education sector. Eminent personalities who graced this special occasion include the likes of Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana and LG of Puducherry, M. Appavu, Hon’ble Speaker, TN Legislative Assembly, Ma. Subramanian, Hon’ble Minister of Health & Family Welfare, R. Vairamuthu, lyricist, Ma Foi K. Pandiarajan, Former Minister for Tamil Official Language & Culture, Mylswamy Annadurai, Former Director, ISRO Satellite Center, Dr. D. Viswanathan, Former Vice-chancellor, Anna University, Dr J Radhakrishnan IAS, Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu, Nandakumar, Indian Revenue Service (IRS), Karu. Nagarajan, State council for higher education (Former), Sarathbabu Elumalai, Entrepreneur & CEO, Food king, and Seenu Ramasamy, filmmaker.
Speaking on the first edition of the Katral Awards, Vivek Narayan, Managing Editor- South, News18 Network, says, “At this given point there are 10 lakh Indian students studying abroad. Our first aim should be to provide quality higher education so that these students don’t have to strain their resources and go out of India. By 2030, Tamil Nadu can become the educational destination of the country by bringing in the bulk of these students.”
