Jamshedpur: Tata Steel Foundation organised the third edition of ‘Sabal Awards’ ceremony at Kudy Mahanty
Auditorium, today.
The event was a commemoration of Tata Steel Foundation’s engagement with PWD, and its message on
inclusivity to the larger society.
The Tata Steel Foundation initiated SABAL in 2017 as a participative ecosystem for persons with disability which
enables accessible infrastructure, capability development, economic independence and sensitivity as eventual
means to dignity for more than 5,000 people every year.
It also hopes to address a gap resulting from 70% plus of persons with disability in India being in rural
communities with their hindrances to access, while the bulk of solutioning in the space is for urban communities.
The SABAL Awards is a flagship effort to discover and recognize talent among persons with disability, believing
at all times that celebrating their innate spirit must not be forgotten in the pursuit of success and excellence.
The awards, this year, received more than 700 entries from 25 states and 5 UTs of India, of which 56 participants
were selected across categories by a national award winning independent jury. You will meet some of the most
humbling yet uplifting people who are accomplished singers, painters, dancers, writers and community workers –
but are also abstract photographers despite being an autistic child, survivors of bomb blasts who live with an
altered perspective, alms seekers from remote Chhatisgarh and much more. The awards are also creating their
own buzz with Shankar Mahadevan, through his academy, coming on board for a project titled ‘Make Music
Accessible’ which will provide yearlong mentorship to all participants in the musician and vocalist categories.
,Awards were given in various categories under Spirit of Expression and Spirit of Resilience. The winners included
Mahendra Das, Manas Kumar Das, Deepali Sharma, Amit Kumar (SABAL-Artist), Sudha Kujur, Atre Mayuri Hemant,
Shreya Yuvraj Gadhave, N Nzano Shitio, Basant Kewat, Balasubramaniyam Grandhi(SABAL-Vocalist), Dolly Singh,
Gurjant Singh, Wakar Yunus, Alokita, Anchal Kayat (SABAL-Wordsmith), Vishwas K S, Shivani Deshwal, Aaishwari
Devkinandan Chauhan, Mansuri Sahil, Prachi Chaudhary, Rosalinee Chaudhary (SABAL-Dancer), Sam Varghese,
Anand G Ananya Halarnkar, Anurag Bhowmick, Shreyan Chakraborty, Gopikrishnan K Varma (SABAL-Performer),
Mr. Hunny Bhagchandani, Mrs. Bijal Harkhani (Sabal Design Thinking and Innovative Solutions)
Ketoulhoutuo Zuyie, Pratham Ashok rathod, Sukriti Pal and Raghunath Nag received awards under Sabal Musical
Maestro category. 
Javed Ahmad Tak, Dr Roshan Jahan Jawad Ahmed Shaikh, Dr. Sai Kaustuv Dasgupta, Pooja Gupta, Vikram
Agnihotri, Vishwas K.S., Perila Bhupendra Sheth, Mrs. Mamta Namdev Tambe, Pranay Purushottam Burde, Rahul
Baghel received awards under Spirit of Resilience Sabal Role Model category.
Siddhant Shah, Amar Suryabhan Wadode, Apu Gayen, Asha Nair Category were awarded under Spirit of Resilience Sabal Saathi category.
Dr. Jitender Aggarwal, Dr. Malvika Iyer, Aashish Kumar, Poonam shroti, Swarnalatha J, MD Jainuddin, Tenik Kumar
Mahato were awarded under Spirit of Resilience Sabal Change Maker category.
The Sabal Awards are designed as a step forward to reach out to several exemplary persons who are engaged in
contributing to the larger cause of disability in their own unique ways.
The awardees included individuals whose journeys of relentless struggles and dauntless courage are an
inspiration for thousands of people out there who are tiring hard to overcome the societal challenges.
Tata Steel Foundation in partnership with Enable India, a leading organisation in the field of disability
empowerment, instituted Sabal – Center for Abilities in 2017 at Noamundi. Sabal is based on the principles of
creating a participative infrastructure that will allow PWDs to find a one-stop resource center for skilling,
employability and financial independence.
Sourav Roy, Chief Executive Officer Tata Steel Foundation said: “Tata Steel Foundation believes in an equitable society, and encouraging a space for a discourse on disability is an integral part of this belief. We have been on a journey with Sabal for the past two years now. The Awards represent an effort at recognising and amplifying the stories that have inspired us the most”.
Sabal presently caters the need of persons with three major disabilities – sight impairment, hearing impairment and orthopedic impairment.
