Lokmanya Tilak Award 2021

  • Businessman Cyrus Poonawalla, who is the founder-chairperson of the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), has been named as a recipient of the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award for 2021.
  • “He will be honoured for his work during the coronavirus pandemic, wherein he helped in saving many lives by manufacturing the Covishield vaccine. Under his leadership, crore of doses were made available to people in record time. Poonawalla has been at the forefront of making different vaccines at affordable prices,” Lokmanya Tilak Trust said in a statement.
  • The award comprises cash prize of ₹one lakh as well as a memento for the recipient. The award was first given in 1983. Its recipients include former Prime ministers Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh, former president Pranab Mukherjee and Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy, among others.