At an awards function in New Delhi, SpeakIn recognised and honoured India’s Most Distinguished IAS Officers for administrative distinction and for excellence in speech and thought leadership. SpeakIn is Asia’s first and largest consortium of Thought Leaders, Industry Influencers, Speakers, and Subject Matter Experts.

The awardees were Amitabh Kant, 1980 batch (Kerala cadre): Lifetime Achievement Award, for his journey studded with integrity and conviction. Kant has been a key driver of the “Make in India” and “Startup India” initiatives. He also drove the “Ease of Doing Business” initiative. Anil Srivastava, 1985 batch (MP cadre) for“Excellence in Heavy Industries, Transport and Mobility”, Iqbal Singh Chahal, 1989 batch (Maharashtra cadre) for “Excellence in Crisis Management”, Sanjeev Kaushik, 1992 batch (Kerala cadre) for “Excellence in Business and Finance”, Santosh Misra, 2000 batch (Tamil Nadu Cadre) for “Excellence in Innovation and Technology”, Dr. Rakesh Gupta, 1997 batch (Haryana cadre) for “Excellence in Public Policy and Governance, Suhas Lalinakere Yathiraj, 2007 batch (UP cadre) for “Excellence in Public Policy and Governance”, Armstrong Pame, 2009 batch (Manipur cadre) for “Excellence in Public Policy and Governance”, Bhupesh Chaudhary, 2014 batch (AGMUT cadre) for “Excellence in Food, Water, Agriculture and Livelihood”, and Hari Chandana Dasari (2010 batch, Telangana Cadre) for “Excellence in ESGs, SDGs and Climate Change”.

At what is being described as India’s first and finest celebration of the contribution of civil services fraternity to governance and public administration, the IAS officers were honoured for addressing some of the biggest and most arduous challenges facing the country and helping resolve them.

Among the ten IAS awardees was Amitabh Kant, a 1980 batch IAS officer, who won the Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Kant is currently the CEO of Niti Aayog. He has been a key driver of the “Make in India” and “Startup India” initiatives. He also drove the “Ease of Doing Business” initiative. Accepting his award, Amitabh Kant said, “There is no job content anywhere in the world like the Indian Administrative Service that gives you an opportunity to transform lives. You can be a great disruptor and bring in radical changes that actually impact the lives of the people of this country. I thank SpeakIn for recognizing this diligence and to have honoured the leaders in services.”

The evening also witnessed a panel discussion on The Business of Public Service—a discussion between leaders of business and the Indian Administrative Service. The panel of speakers included Vinayak Chatterjee, Chairman of CII National Council on Infrastructure, Aditya Ghosh, known as the Indigo man and now at the helm of Akasa, Dr. Manish Kumar, MD and CEO of NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation), Dr. N.S. Kalsi, Chairman of the National Council for Vocational Education and Training, Rahul Srivastav, IPS officer, Dr. Kiran Bedi, ex IPS officer, and former Governor of Puducherry.