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Aishwarya Rai, leading singers to felicitate Clean India champs at Safaigiri Awards
MUMBAI: The India Today Group announces the 2 edition of the India Today Safaigiri Awards 2016 – a platform that will showcase and felicitate the pioneering efforts of those who are leading the change in cleanliness. This is in continuation to the first edition that was launched in 2015, one year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi nominated India Today Group chairman and editor in chief Aroon Purie to be a Clean India advocate.
The event will be held on 2 October, the second anniversary of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan launchand the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. India Today Safaigiri Awards and Singathon will be a daylong event and will get musicians together to celebrate the Safaigiri movement. The biggest names in music will come together to spread the “Safai ki Dhun”.
Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai and Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Information & Broadcasting union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu will be the key note speakers at the India Today Safarigiri Awards. They will also be presenting the awards to the Clean India Champions.
The event will be highlighted by the Safai Singathon with singers performing throughout the day. The singers attending the daylong event include – Mika Singh, Adnan Sami, Sukhwinder Singh, Kailash Kher, Shalmali Kholgade, Shilpa Rao, Rekha Bhardwaj, Hans Raj Hans & Himesh Reshammiya.
The winners are selected across categories through a process of online entries, field work, and selection by a jury of eminent citizens. The jury members include India Today Group chairman and editor-in-chief Aroon Purie, Indian author Chetan Bhagat, MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, actor Vidya Balan, Feedback Infrastructure Services chairman Vinayak Chatterjee, Sulabh International founder Bindeswar Pathak and Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) director and vice chairman Rajiv B Lall. Chetan Bhagat, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Vidya Balan, Vinayak Chatterjee, Bindeswar Pathak, Rajiv B Lall, Mika Singh, Adnan Sami, Sukhwinder Singh, Kailash Kher, Shalmali Kholgade, Shilpa Rao, Rekha Bhardwaj, Hans Raj Hans, Himesh Reshammiya
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Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
