This year’s SINDA Excellence Awards – which recognise the academic, arts and sports achievements of Singaporean Indian students annually – saw the highest number of awardees in the event’s 34-year history.
At the presentation ceremony held on Sept 26 at the Singapore Polytechnic Auditorium, a total of 866 recipients received awards across 18 categories.
The ceremony was held in two sessions. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah attended as the guest of honour for the first segment, while Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng was the guest of honour for the second segment. Senior Minister of State for Law and Transport Murali Pillai was also present at the event.
“The growing number of award recipients indicates that Singaporean Indian students are continuing to make steady progress. It is encouraging that 20 per cent of these students are directly involved in SINDA’s activities,” said Ms Indranee.
She emphasised that the contributions of Singaporean Indian youth are crucial to Singapore’s progress, and stressed the importance of instilling values such as community service, empathy, and integrity among them.
Students from primary school to undergraduate levels received academic awards along with cash prizes ranging from $150 to $500. Awards were also presented to youth who achieved excellence in the arts and sports at both school and national levels.
Among the award recipients, 115 had previously won awards between 2022 and 2025 and were honoured again this year. Compared to last year, the number of awardees increased across 10 categories.
Prisca Roshini Richard Ravi, 17, received an award under the Special Achievement category for creating “AI Tutor Buddy”, a specialised tutoring app designed for underprivileged students using artificial intelligence.
“Since young I faced learning difficulties. Despite putting in a lot of effort, I would get stressed when my grades didn’t improve. It occurred to me that there might be many students like me, and that prompted me to create this app for them,” she said.
She expressed confidence that the award conferred on her will greatly help bring her app to the Singaporean Indian community. Prisca is also striving to reach more students with her app through volunteer work.
Last year, she won the Global Youth Entrepreneur (Singapore) Award, and she is set to represent Singapore at the international competition in New York this coming November.
The award serves as a reminder for 21-year-old Sarthak Basak to give back to the community and help other youth attain success.
“I lost my father when I was five. Since then, the Indian community and SINDA have been major pillars of support in helping me get past the crisis and bounce back,” he said.
“I would want to engage the next generation of youths in SINDA and in the broader Indian community as well, to enable them to seek the opportunities that will allow them to succeed,” said Sarthak, who has also won the award before in 2019.
Kareen Kaur believes it is important to turn life’s obstacles into stepping stones.
As Singapore’s first female F4 race driver, she received an award under the Special Achievement category.
“During a race in Italy, I suffered a wrist injury due to an accident. I feared that my racing journey was over. However, having escaped with only a minor injury, I started preparing for races once again.
“Similarly, it is natural for challenges to arise in every youth’s life. It is essential to overcome them and move forward without losing heart,” said 16-year-old Kareen.
Anirah Khan, who received an award in the ITE Higher NITEC category, thanks to her stellar performance in the Tourism course, shared that SINDA played a crucial role in her success.
“Winning this award means more than just a recognition. It shows me that all the support and sacrifices have all been meaningful. I would tell my juniors to not let other people’s definition of success become their own, because at the end of the day, everyone has different starting points,” she said.
SINDA Chief Executive Officer Anbarasu Rajendran called on the award-winning students to reconnect with SINDA and serve the community.
“The contributions of such students will undoubtedly help the growth of other youths. By sharing their experiences and teaching skills, they can make a real difference in another student’s life,” he said.
This award ceremony began in 1992 as the SINDA Academic Excellence Awards. In 2008, to recognise the holistic development of students, it was renamed the SINDA Excellence Awards and began honouring students who excel in the arts and sports fields.
SINDA stated that last year it invested nearly $20 million in the education and development of Singaporean Indian youth, assisting 10,000 individuals through its various programs.
In the coming years, SINDA aims to continually expand its support for youth education and development to help them reach their dreams.
