Lucknow: The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), North India Council, hosted a seminar titled ‘Rising UP: 8 Years of Progress’ to highlight UP’s transformation. Union minister of state Jitin Prasada, deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak and minister of state (independent charge) Dinesh Pratap Singh attended the event.Several individuals and departments were honoured for their contributions to governance, industry, healthcare, education, literature and law. The animal husbandry and horticulture & food processing departments were awarded for implementing welfare schemes, with Neelam and SK Chauhan receiving the honours.Lifetime achievement awards were presented to retired IAS officers Manoj Singh and Praveer Kumar, former DGP OP Singh and principal secretary K Ravindra Naik. Dr Neelam Vinay was recognised for excellence in robotic and laparoscopic surgery. Awards were also given to theatre veteran Anil Rastogi, journalist Dharmendra Singh and eco-friendly innovator SK Agnihotri.Other awardees included Sushil Mohan Takru (saddlery), Rajkumar Singh (Hindi literature), Mayank Somani (medical innovation), Manjula Goswami (education) and Pranshu Mishra (journalism). Sanjeev Saran, Annu Awasthi, Piyush Singh Chauhan and Sanjay Sinha were also recognised. Speakers praised UP’s progress in infrastructure, agriculture and law and order. Seminar convener Mukesh Singh coordinated the event.
