The SKOCH Awards at the 110th SKOCH Summit brought together a striking range of stories: science finding new collaborators, universities preparing a new generation of child-rights professionals, a public-sector bank regaining strength and financial inclusion creating livelihoods at the last mile.
At the centre of the innovation story was MANTHAN-UTTHAN, an initiative of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
MANTHAN sought to create a national digital collaboration platform that connects government, industry and foundations with academia, startups, MSMEs and research institutions. It aggregates funding and innovation opportunities, provides structured peer review and digital collaboration tools, and tracks outcomes rather than just activity. The scale is already considerable: ₹10,017 crore in funding opportunities, 473 successful collaborations, ₹2,947 crore disbursed, 22,625 lives impacted and 28 Centres of Excellence established.
UTTHAN followed up with a different insight: access to opportunities was insufficient if smaller institutions lacked the capacity to compete. It therefore focuses on strengthening Tier-2 and Tier-3 institutions in research methodology, grant writing, technology readiness, intellectual property and applied research.
RAKSHAK, developed by the Chhattisgarh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, addresses a serious human resource gap in child protection. RAKSHAK – Recommended Action & Knowledge-based Syllabus with Holistic Awareness for Key Stakeholders – has created a one-year Post Graduate Diploma in Child Rights & Protection. Six universities, equally split between government and private institutions, are participating. Its ambition is broader than a course: to build a self-sustaining ecosystem of child-protection expertise.
The banking recognitions shared a common theme of institutional renewal. Swarup Kumar Saha, MD & CEO, Punjab & Sind Bank, received the SKOCH Challenger Award for leading a turnaround that combined stronger financials with modernisation and inclusion. Under his leadership, the bank’s business grew from about ₹1.73 lakh crore to ₹2.64 lakh crore. In FY2025-26, the bank recorded its highest-ever operating profit of ₹2,182 crore and net profit of ₹1,322 crore. Gross NPA declined from 12.17 per cent to 2.40 per cent.
For Lal Singh, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda, inclusion has been the central theme. He received the SKOCH Challenger Award for his work that shows how banking can move beyond accounts and loans to become an instrument for livelihoods and enterprise. As Chairman of the SLBC, UP, Singh has championed a “Credit Plus” approach that connects finance with skills, self-employment and entrepreneurship. Under CM YUVA, BoB financed 15,379 young entrepreneurs against a target of 11,083, achieving 139 per cent of its target.
The BC Sakhi initiative makes the story even more tangible. Nearly 40,000 women have taken banking to people’s doorsteps across Uttar Pradesh, collectively facilitating transactions worth over ₹40,000 crore.
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