Mamta Mohandas has been conferred with the vocational excellence award by the Rotary Club of Cochin Knights. The actress-singer was selected for the honour for being a "young achiever in the competitive film Industry through her sheer determination, willpower and new generation skills."

Happy about bagging the award, Mamta said, "It is a great honour. This gives me more responsibility that I should strive hard for the betterment of the society by reaching out to the needy. I will live up to the award by committing myself towards more meaningful things."

The actress spent her last birthday with 300 specially-abled children. On her fight with Hodgkin's lymphoma she said, "God needs to choose one to become special and my victory over the disease was the biggest door that opened to reveal the true value of the air I breathe and the light I see."

She adds: "With great power comes great responsibility and I find that a lot of youth today lack the desire, hunger and passion for achieving that power. I request parents to encourage their children to have a desire to make the world a better place."