The 'Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year' award is given annually to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions in the fields of politics, medicine, industry, sports, agriculture, CSR, public service-social service, education, and administration. The nominations for the 'Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year' award were recently announced. Five people were nominated in the teacher category. Anand Anemwad (Zilla Parishad School, Dahanu, Palghar) has been chosen as the winner of the 2024 'Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year' award in the teacher category.
Anand Balaji Anemwad, who hails from the tribal area of Hivali in Nashik district, is a technophile teacher. He has created a bilingual dictionary from Katkari and Varli languages to Marathi, guiding students in the flow of education, and ensuring that students who are unfamiliar with English become multilingual. Anand Balaji Anemwad is currently active as a teacher in Pawan, Mallyan, and now Mahalpada. Upon joining a new school, he conducts surveys of the environment and students.
This approach has led to addressing issues caused by absenteeism, as he also raised funds to purchase laptops and literature for students in need, promoting technological knowledge. He built temporary hostels for migrants and resolved issues for Hindi and Tamil students. Not only in his school but across all schools in the taluka, Anand organized workshops for 100 teachers to go digital. Anemwad, familiar as a technology enthusiast, has guided 20,000 teachers through government educational programs. He has also contributed to content creation for e-learning applications and literature for the Indian government, producing over a thousand videos for the Nipun Bharat initiative. Anemwad worked on English language development through the British Council and Tata Trust's mission.
Lokmat Maharashtrian of the Year aims to celebrate the outstanding achievements of individuals who have left an indelible mark on Maharashtra and beyond. Over the years, Piyush Goyal, Nitin Gadkari, Sushil Kumar Shinde, and Nita Ambani have been a part of the jury panel. The selection process for the LMOTY awards involves editorial meetings, public voting, and evaluation by a jury.