Pune (Voice news service):- In a significant celebration of grassroots entrepreneurship and wealth creation, the UDYAMI Awards 2026, led by entrepreneur mentor and import-export expert Dr Omkaar Hari Maali, felicitated 350 entrepreneurs from across Maharashtra at Buntara Bhavan, Baner, Pune on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The large-scale awards ceremony recognised entrepreneurs who have built sustainable and revenue-generating businesses, reflecting the growing economic influence of regional entrepreneurs in India\u2019s business landscape.
\nAwards were presented across multiple achievement categories, including Hall of Fame , Udyami Lakhpati, Udyami Dashlakhpati, Udyami Crorepati, Udyami Warrior, and Udyami Game Changer. The Awards were presented by Dr Omkaar Hari Maali and Mrs Aakankssha Omkaar Maali.<\/p>\n
A major highlight of the evening was the Crorepati Felicitation Ceremony, celebrating entrepreneurs who have successfully crossed significant revenue benchmarks, symbolising the emergence of a new generation of Marathi wealth creators.
\nAddressing the gathering, Dr Omkaar Hari Maali emphasised the importance of entrepreneurship as a vehicle for economic empowerment and employment generation.
\n\u201cEntrepreneurship is no longer limited to metropolitan cities. Today, entrepreneurs from towns and districts across Maharashtra are building global businesses and contributing meaningfully to the nation\u2019s economy. I am so proud of all the entrepreneurs who have built businesses ranging from \u20b91 lakh to \u20b950 crore in turnover \u2014 many of them, starting with zero prior experience.\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Adding industry perspective to the event, Mr. Hanmantrao Gaikwad, Chairman and Managing Director of BVG Group, attended as the Special Speaker and shared insights on enterprise growth and nation-building through entrepreneurship.
\nThe event also marked several key announcements, including the launch of 24 chapters of the Federation of Marathi Entrepreneurs, aimed at building a structured statewide entrepreneurial ecosystem. The platform further unveiled Maharashtra Connect, an initiative designed to enable collaboration, mentorship, and market access for emerging business owners.
\nDr Omkaar Hari Maali also launched his upcoming book Marathi te Millionaire, featuring 51 entrepreneurial success stories, in the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Hanmantrao Gaikwad, his parents, and senior leaders of Udyami Maharashtra, including co-founder Mrs. Aakankssha Omkaar Maali, CEO Mrs. Dolly Ritesh Dave, and CTO Mr. Shivam Thakur.
\nThe event was also marked by another important announcement \u2014 the unveiling of a new movie banner, highlighting the movement\u2019s expanding focus on education, inspiration, and storytelling within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.<\/p>\n
Building an Entrepreneurial Movement
\nDr Omkaar Hari Maali founded Udyami Maharashtra in 2020, a movement focused on empowering Marathi entrepreneurs in the import-export sector. Since then, the initiative has trained over 10,000 youth, enabling many to establish businesses across Maharashtra and international markets including Dubai, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.
\nBeyond training, the movement supports entrepreneurs in setting up export businesses with mentorship and operational guidance, while also conducting vocational programs for women and export training for manufacturing units across the state. Its initiatives have strengthened market access for farmers and small businesses, facilitated exports generating significant economic value, and led to the establishment of India\u2019s first import-export cooperative society.<\/p>\n
Guided by the inclusive principle of \u201cTo Feed All,\u201d inspired by the vision of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Dr. Maali continues to promote entrepreneurship as a pathway to economic self-reliance across Maharashtra.
\nThe UDYAMI Awards have emerged as a prominent platform recognising business achievement within Maharashtra\u2019s regional entrepreneurial ecosystem while encouraging first-generation entrepreneurs to scale sustainable enterprises.
\nIn Dr Omkaar Hari Maali\u2019s words, \u201cOur identity is not defined by words, but by the success of the entrepreneurs we have built!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pune (Voice news service):- In a significant celebration of grassroots entrepreneurship and wealth creation, the UDYAMI Awards 2026, led by entrepreneur mentor and import-export expert Dr Omkaar Hari Maali, felicitated 350 entrepreneurs from across Maharashtra at Buntara Bhavan, Baner, Pune on Thursday. The large-scale awards ceremony recognised entrepreneurs who have built sustainable and revenue-generating businesses, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24075,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,71,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-award","category-business","category-pune"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24074"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24076,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24074\/revisions\/24076"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}