Two Indians- Nileema Mishra & Harish Hande received Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2011

Two Indians -Nileema Mishra, a lender to the poor in Maharashtra and US-trained Indian engineer Harish Hande who revolutionized the use of solar lights were among six people to have received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2011.

The two Indians were honoured for their effort to harness technologies to empower their countrymen and create waves of progressive change across Asia.

Bangalore-based energy engineer and entrepreneur, Harish Hande runs a solar electricity firm that has lit up over 125000 households to emerge as India's leading solar technology firm.
He is a graduate from IIT Kharagpur and a PhD from the University of Massachusetts in the US. During his graduation, he visited the Dominican Republic, a leader in energy initiatives in the Caribbean. The experience he gathered there and in Sri Lanka inspired him to put up smallscale, standalone solar installations. He established the company SELCO India in Bangalore in 1995. His company provides affordable renewable energy services to poor villagers along with doorstep financing and services.

Nileema Mishra was recognized for her purpose-driven zeal to work tirelessly with villagers in Maharashtra. She stove to address both aspirations and adversities of the villagers through collective action and heightened confidence. She founded the Bhagini Nivedita Gramin Vigyan Niketan in Maharashtra's Bahadarpur village which has a population of around 10000. Mishra's gramin vigyan niketan provides rotating interest- free loans to farmers.

Other Winners

Filipino charity group Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Hasanain Juaini, who set up an Islamic school for girls in Indonesia, fellow Indonesian Tri Mumpuni who promoted micro hydropower technology and Koul Panah who toils to restore democracy in Cambodia were the other winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2011.