What is 'The Makers Honour' Launched by Nasscom to Celebrate India’s Engineers?

Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Nasscom launches 'The Makers Honour' to celebrate engineers.
- Focus on unsung heroes in technology.
- Award categories include Innovators and AI Pioneers.
- First awards presented at Nasscom Technology Forum 2026.
- Guided by renowned technologists.
New Delhi, Aug 8 (NationPress) The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) has officially unveiled the first edition of 'The Makers Honour', marking India’s foremost accolade for engineers, developers, and technologists who drive the nation’s impressive $224 billion tech export sector, in collaboration with GitHub, a prominent web platform for developers.
In a time when the nation acknowledges founders, valuations, and IPOs, this initiative highlights the unsung heroes: the builders, optimizers, and quiet revolutionaries whose contributions uphold the present and shape the future of technology, as stated by the IT trade association.
The award aims to recognize innovators across five essential categories that are crucial for creating a Viksit Bharat and enhancing India’s digital and technological capabilities.
Categories include: Innovators, Scale Builders, Open-Source Titans, AI & Deep-Tech Pioneers, and Problem Solvers. An additional Jury Spotlight Award will commend outstanding national contributions that do not fit into traditional categories.
The inaugural Makers Honour will be awarded at the Nasscom Technology & Leadership Forum 2026.
Nasscom revealed that this initiative is overseen by a council of leading technologists in India, including Nandini Harinath (Scientist at ISRO), Anand Deshpande (Founder of Persistent Systems), Kailash Nadh (CTO of Zerodha), and Ankit Mehta (CEO & Co-Founder of Ideaforge Technology Ltd).
According to Nandini Harinath, "Some of the greatest advancements in science and society occur away from the spotlight. The Makers Honour is a remarkable initiative from Nasscom to honor minds that expand the boundaries of possibility and integrate science and technology into daily life."
GitHub, serving as the outreach partner, will emphasize engineering excellence in areas such as AI and DeepTech, extensive digital infrastructure, open-source innovation, and societal impact solutions, as noted by the association.
Martin Woodward, VP of Developer Relations at GitHub, commented, "Software is shaping our future, and with over 18 million developers using GitHub in India, making it the second-largest contributor to open source, the country is at the forefront of this movement."