Actress Shriya Saran presents the awards at the first edition, presented by Unik Life Groups and hosted by Business Growth Strategist Venu Kalyan
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 27:81 entrepreneurs, professionals, institutions, digital creators and celebrities from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were honoured at the first edition of the Pragathi Ratna Awards 2026, Telugu Excellence Honours, held on Sunday, 25 October 2026 at PBR Convention Hall, Bandlaguda, Hyderabad. Presented by Unik Life Groups and hosted by Business Growth StrategistVenu Kalyan, the evening was built around one theme: Celebrating Telugu Progress.
Actress Shriya Saran attended the ceremony as Chief Guest and presented the awards to the winners on stage. The evening was dedicated to business owners who create jobs, serve customers and build the economy of their towns.
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The Pragathi Ratna Awards were created to close what Venu Kalyan calls the “recognition gap” in the Telugu business community.
“Cinema stars have awards. Sports persons have awards. Government officers have awards. But the owner who has run a business for 15 years and gives jobs to 40 families often has nothing on the wall to show for it,” said Venu Kalyan, Founder of Unik Life Groups. “Your customer cannot see your hard work. They can only see proof. Tonight, every winner walks home with proof that their work has been seen and respected.”
The winners came from a range of sectors in the small and medium business world: real estate developers and builders, schools and educators, hospitals, clinics and wellness brands, retail and fashion entrepreneurs, manufacturers, financial and insurance advisors, food and hospitality brands, IT and service companies, and creators and entertainers. They travelled from Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore, Eluru, Kadapa, Khammam, Kothagudem, Punganur, Bengaluru and other towns.
Highlights of the evening
Among the honours presented:
Lifetime Achievement in Education Award to Suramala Krishna Murthy of Sri Ujjaini Educational Institutions, Punganur
Telangana State Excellence in Educational Leadership Award to Dr. Matta Chennaiah Goud, Principal and Correspondent, Sri Krishnaveni High School
Pride of Kalamkari Legacy Award to Sree Lakshmi Kalamkari Works, led by Kota Durga Rao
Pioneer of Trusted Multispeciality Care to Dr. Rama Rao Hospital, Visakhapatnam
Strategic Leadership in Multi-Sector Enterprises Award to Dileep Kumar Sigilipalli
Gracious Guardian of Orphan Care Award to K. Grace
Entertainer of the Year to actor Harsha Chemudu (Viva Harsha), and Best Entertainment Couple Award to Rocking Rakesh and Sujatha
Each winner received the award from the Chief Guest on stage, with their name, photo and business presented to the audience, many of whom were the winners’ own families.
From recognition to growth
The ceremony was the closing highlight of Day 2 of Venu Kalyan’s two-day “Transform Your Life” workshop, held on 24 and 25 October at the same venue. Awardees also received VIP passes to the workshop, a professional video reel of their award moment, a social media announcement and online articles about their business.
For Venu Kalyan, the award is a starting point, not a finish line.
“An award builds trust in the market. But trust alone does not scale a business. Systems do,” he said. “Information alone does not create results. Implementation, accountability and systems create growth. My job is to help these business owners build those systems so that next year, their numbers speak even louder than their trophies.”
According to Unik Life Groups, Venu Kalyan has trained more than 25,000 business owners through his workshops and mentorship programs, and his YouTube channels have crossed 1 million subscribers. His work focuses on practical systems in marketing, sales, leadership, branding and execution for SME owners across the Telugu states.
An annual platform for Telugu excellence
Unik Life Groups has announced that the Pragathi Ratna Awards will be held every year, with the aim of building a recognition platform for Telugu business owners, professionals and institutions. The full list of 2026 winners by category follows below.
Pragathi Ratna Awards 2026: Winners
Real Estate, Construction & Interiors
Emerging Business Youth Icon Award – Ratnakar Chodapaneedi, RR Properties Consultancy
Excellence in Architecture & Interior Design Award – Gangala Harendar Reddy, Designs87 Interiors & Architects
Visionary Developer of Real Estate Award – Seelam Sreekanth, Real Wealth Projects Pvt. Ltd., Nellore & Amaravati
Icon of Customer Trust in Real Estate Award – Sridhara K.R., VS Developers, Bengaluru
Woman Icon of Real Estate & Multi-Business Excellence – K. Devika, Parvathi Parameswara Infra Developers
Young Entrepreneur Excellence in Real Estate & Construction – Madhu Yadav, Aaryan Constructions
Iconic Construction Brand of the Year – Varsha Construction (Ravi Bodasu)
Builders’ Pride of the Year Award – Samagra The Build Zone (Raghava)
Trusted Window & Facade Solutions Brand of the Year Award – Shree Lalitha Windows (Murali Volothi)
Visionary Young Entrepreneur in MEP Solutions – Anisetti Naga Vamsi, Vtech Engineers & Projects
Best Real Estate Property Developer – Velagapudi Srinivas
Education & Training
Lifetime Achievement in Education Award – Suramala Krishna Murthy, Sri Ujjaini Educational Institutions, Punganur
Telangana State Excellence in Educational Leadership Award – Dr. Matta Chennaiah Goud, Principal & Correspondent, Sri Krishnaveni High School
Visionary Educator of the Year Award – Pawar Ambika, Lotus Smart School
Excellence in Educational Innovation Award – School of Wonder Kids, Visakhapatnam (Sarvani Malla)
Pride of All-Round Student Development – Bala Academy (Madhavi Latha)
Inspiring Educator of the Nation Award – Akella Raghavendra, Motivational Speaker, Mentor & Author
Visionary Leadership in Youth Development – Sri Charan Lakkaraju, Founder & CEO, Student Tribe
AI Educator & Innovator of the Year – Nikeelu Gunda, Founder & CEO, Super AI Academy
Emerging AI Coach of the Year – Shashikanth Vanga, Founder, 1CoreHub
Healthcare, Wellness & Beauty
Pioneer of Trusted Multispeciality Care – Dr. Rama Rao Hospital, Visakhapatnam (Dr. R. Seshakumari)
Outstanding Clinical Excellence in Physiotherapy – Dr. G. Anil Chand, Physiotherapist
Wellness Business Excellence Award – J. Rupadevi, Mavin Wellness
Emerging Community Health & Lifestyle Innovator – Helevate Fit (Harish Naidu)
Rising Star of Podcasting & Social Media – Dr. Lasya Reddy, Anchor
Social Impact & Women Leadership
Gracious Guardian of Orphan Care Award – K. Grace
Champion of Humanity – Br. Shafi, Life Coach
Emerging Women Entrepreneur Award – A. Rameswari, Entrepreneur
About Venu Kalyan
Venu Kalyan is a Business Growth Strategist, Business Coach, and Motivational Speaker based in Hyderabad, and the Founder of Unik Life Groups. Through programs such as Be a Business Game Changer, Ultimate Business Mastery, and his mentorship programs, he helps small and medium business owners scale with practical, measurable systems.
About Unik Life Groups
Unik Life Groups is a Hyderabad-based business coaching and training company that runs workshops, coaching programs, and mentorship for SME owners in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Its stated mission is to help business owners grow 10X through systems, implementation, and accountability.
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