C. Balagopal, chairman, Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) – who is founder president, TiE Kerala and former chairman, Federal Bank – was presented with The Lifetime Achievement Award under the TiE Kerala Awards 2025 held alongside the 14th TiEcon Kerala that drew to a close here on Sunday.
The awards were presented at a function in which Industries Minister P. Rajeeve was the chief guest. In his address, Mr. Rajeeve highlighted how the government’s ‘Work from Kerala’ concept has gained tremendous momentum, transforming the State into a preferred hub for professionals and start-ups seeking quality of life alongside global opportunities.
He said the Right to Service Act has strengthened transparency and efficiency while the new ease-of-doing-business laws have simplified processes for entrepreneurs. He also underlined the strength of Kerala’s new industrial policy, which the government rolled out under the motto “Nature, People, Industry.’’
Mr. Rajeeve also emphasized the encouraging trend of reverse migration, with skilled professionals returning to Kerala to build careers, enterprises, and innovation-driven ventures.
Razin Rahman C.P. (Surcash Filters Pvt. Ltd.) won the ‘Scale-Up Entrepreneur of the Year’ award, Devan Chandrasekharan (Fuselage Innovations Pvt. Ltd.) was named ‘Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year’, Sreeraj Gopi (Molecules Biolabs Pvt. Ltd.) was titled ‘Innovator of the Year’, Anoop Ambika (CEO, KSUM) bagged ‘Ecosystem Enabler of the Year’ award, Vinod Manjila (Manjila Group) was dubbed ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’, and Anju Mirium Alex (Baby Memorial Hospital) was picked as ‘Next Gen Entrepreneur’.
Vivek Krishna Govind, president, TiE Kerala; Dr. Geemon Korah, vice president, TiE Kerala; Vinay James Kynadi, chair, TiE Kerala Awards; executive director Divya Thalakkalatt, Jos Dominic, co-founder, CGH Earth; and Cicily Thomas, former president, Burger King India spoke in the award function.
Published – November 22, 2025 08:01 pm IST
