National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) on Friday announced the launch of its inaugural edition of 'Makers Honour', India's most prestigious recognition for engineers, developers and technologists who power the country's $224 billion tech export industry in association with GitHub, a widely used web-based platform for developers.
At a time when the nation celebrates founders, valuations, and IPOs, this initiative shines a spotlight on the unsung heroes, the builders, optimisers, and quiet revolutionaries whose work sustains the present and defines the future of technology, the IT trade association said.
The award will spotlight innovators across five foundational domains that are pivotal to building a Viksit Bharat and advancing India's digital and technological prowess.
The award spans five key categories: Innovators, Scale Builders, Open-Source Titans, AI & Deep-Tech Pioneers, and Problem Solvers. A special Jury Spotlight Award will also highlight exceptional contributions of national significance that don't fit traditional categories.
The first Makers Honour award will be presented at the Nasscom Technology & Leadership Forum 2026.
According to Nasscom, this initiative is guided by a council of India's top technologists - Nandini Harinath (Scientist, ISRO), Anand Deshpande (Founder, Persistent Systems), Kailash Nadh (CTO, Zerodha), and Ankit Mehta (CEO & Co-Founder, Ideaforge Technology Ltd).
"Some of the greatest leaps in science and society are made not in the spotlight, but in silence. The Makers Honour is an excellent initiative from Nasscom to celebrate minds who push the boundaries of possibility and bring science and technology closer to everyday life," said Nandini Harinath, Scientist, ISRO.
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GitHub, as the outreach partner, will spotlight engineering excellence across AI and DeepTech, large-scale digital infrastructure, open-source innovation, and societal impact solutions, the association stated.
Martin Woodward, VP, Developer Relations at GitHub, said, "Software is shaping the future, and with more than 18 million developers building on GitHub in India and the second-largest contributor to open source, the country is leading the charge."
(With inputs from IANS)
