Bhubaneswar: Jagadananda, co-founder of the Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD), received the prestigious Justice A K Patnaik National Award from Honorable Justice N. Kotiswar Singh, with esteemed Justice A.K. Patnaik present at the ceremony.
Hailing from an agrarian family in coastal Odisha, Jagadananda, he has dedicated his life to uplifting marginalized communities and fortifying grassroots democracy. As the co-founder of the Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD), he has spearheaded inclusive development initiatives through village-based micro-planning, youth engagement, and community participation. His efforts have substantially advanced local self-governance, making a profound impact on the lives of countless individuals across Odisha’s tribal regions.
As State Information Commissioner of Odisha, he spearheaded efforts to promote the Right to Information Act across the state by organizing RTI camps and establishing citizen support centres and developing tribal language resources to make information accessible in remote tribal areas along with ground breaking initiatives such as Braille RTI Act.
As a member of the State Planning Board, he drove participatory planning initiatives, prioritizing a bottom-up approach to ensure inclusive and community-driven development.
As the Convenor of Odisha Development Initiative, he has been at the forefront of fostering multi-stakeholder dialogue between government, civil society, private sector and the panchayats on sustainable development practices in the State of Odisha.
He’s also made a national impact, contributing to the National Campaign for Electoral Reforms and pushing for transparency in candidate disclosures. Through Social Watch Coalition, he championed citizen-led assessments of governance institutions. He has also played a key role in fostering civil society-government collaboration, serving on high-level task forces of both the Government of Odisha and national institutions such as the erstwhile Planning Commission and NITI Aayog.
Internationally, his voice has shaped global agenda setting conversations on Pro-Poor Policies at forums such as the Commonwealth Ministerial Meetings; World Summit on Social Development; UN Conference on Financing for Development and the Millennium Summit; etc. He has also served as a Member of the Civil Society Advisory Group of the Commonwealth Foundation and a Member of the Transparency Advisory Group of the World Bank for South Asia.
For over four decades, Jagadananda has inspired countless lives through his visionary leadership, unwavering advocacy for democratic empowerment, and dedication to inclusive development.
