Introducing the recipients of YourStory India's CTO Excellence Awards 2024.

The India’s CTO Excellence Awards, organized by YourStory in partnership with Longhouse Consulting, were presented at the India Tech Leaders Conclave 2024 on June 21. During the event, Priyank Kharge, Minister for Electronics, IT/BT and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Karnataka government, highlighted the essential role of CTOs in scaling applications within Indian conditions. He emphasized the unique and fearless approaches of Indian tech leaders, which are admired globally. The awards, recognizing the country’s top 22 tech leaders, were presented by Minister Priyank Kharge and Pramod Varma, CTO of EkStep Foundation, Co-founder of FIDE, and ex-Chief Architect of Aadhaar and India Stack.

The India Tech Leaders Conclave 2024, held at Shangri-La in Bengaluru, was a gathering of the nation’s leading tech visionaries. Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, noted the importance of recognizing the contributions of tech leaders who have been instrumental in their companies' successes and in advancing India's tech sector. Anshuman Das, Co-founder and CEO of Longhouse Consulting, highlighted the crucial role of CTOs in the startup ecosystem, describing them as the backbone of startups.

The conclave brought together over 200 senior tech and product leaders, including CTOs, Chief Product Officers, Chief Data Officers, and CISOs. It provided a platform for these leaders to share their experiences and collectively envision the future of technological advancements in India. The awards were based on criteria such as years in a CTO role, impact on business growth, innovation, intellectual property contributions, leadership, mentorship, and functional responsibilities.

Among the 22 leaders honored were Jeyandran Venugopal, CPTO of Flipkart, known for his work in integrating advanced technologies like AI-powered product recommendations and voice assistants; and Phanimohan Kalagara, CTO of PineLabs, recognized for his contributions to tech innovation and expertise in virtual reality and predictive analytics.