Keshav Desiraju Memorial Award 2025

The 4th Keshav Desiraju Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service in Mental Health, 2025, was announced on 11 May 2025 during a virtual ceremony commemorating Mr Keshav Desiraju’s birth anniversary.

The ceremony was attended by Mr Desiraju’s friends, family and colleagues. The keynote address was delivered by Mrs Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson of Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and Co-founder and Director of EkStep Foundation. Reflections were shared by Mr Satyajit Ranganathan, Mr Desiraju’s nephew, and Dr Ravi Chellam, CEO of Metastring Foundation, Coordinator of the Biodiversity Collaborative and Professor of Coexistence Studies at the University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology, who offered moving anecdotes from their close friendship with Mr Desiraju. The event was moderated by Meera Damji, Program Lead, Media Research & Advocacy, CMHLP, ILS, Pune