Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust confers ‘Sat Paul Mittal National Awards’ for 2020

Ludhiana: Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust (NSKT), founded in 1983 by Late Shri Sat Paul Mittal to propagate the ideologies of India’s former Prime Minister Late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, today conferred the Sat Paul Mittal National Awards (2020) to Shri Akash Chourasiya and Mahavir International. Shri Akash Chourasiya was recognized in the ‘Individual’ category and the Award in the ‘Institutional’ category was conferred Mahavir International.
 
The Sat Paul Mittal Appreciation Awards for the year 2020 were conferred on Padma Shri Geeta Dharamrajan and Bhagirath Gramvikas Pratishthan in the Individual and Institutional category respectively.
 
The awards were given in virtual event by General V P Malik, PVSM, AVSM, (Retd) Chief of Army Staff and Shri Rakesh Bharti Mittal, President, Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust. The winners were given a total cash prize of Rs. 12 Lacs along with citations.
 
The ‘Sat Paul Mittal National Award’ and ‘Sat Paul Mittal Appreciation Award’ are given every year for outstanding service to humanity. Every year NSKT invites nominations for honouring individuals and institutions working in areas including but not limited to health, education, environment, food, shelter, poverty alleviation, art, culture, child rights, welfare of the differently abled and women empowerment.
 
Prominent past recipients of the awards include Dr. E. Sreedharan, Dr. S.S. Badrinath,  Smt. Ela R. Bhatt, Late Shri Sunil Dutt, Shri Anna Hazare,  The Akshaya Patra Foundation, SOS Children's Villages & Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, Navjyoti Delhi Police Foundation for Correction De-addiction & Rehabilitation among others. 
 
About the Awardees:
 
Sat Paul Mittal National Award winners:
The Sat Paul Mittal National Award for the year 2020 under ‘Individual Category’ has been conferred on Akash Chourasiya, a farmer from Sagar Distt, Madhya Pradesh . He is known for innovative farming techniques like organic agriculture & multi-layer agriculture.  He has invented the model which allows growing five crops simultaneously in one field. He has developed vermicompost manure consisting of cow dung and rock phosphate powder which gives better produce and works as an alternate to DAP. He has invented three systems of water conservation and prevention of soil erosion.  By this method, 4000 kgs soil can be conserved in one acre of land. He has created awareness among more than 12 Lakh farmers through seminars about bio diversity, & successfully established more than 305 agricultural entrepreneurship models in rural India. He has trained thousands of youngsters in organic farming and now they are earning between Rs.30,000/ to Rs.50,000/ per 1 acre of land. He has trained 2500 Indian army soldiers on waste management. He has also trained intellectuals from more than 25 countries on chemical free sustainable agricultural ideas. He is also recipient of many national awards for his contribution in the field of agriculture.
 
The Sat Paul Mittal National Award for the year 2020 under ‘Institutional Category’ has been conferred on Mahavir International, Ludhiana. Established as an NGO in 1976 with the mission of “Live & Let Live”. Under the banner of Mahavir Viklang Help Centre, they hold medical camps for the physically challenged persons of society, where they distribute artificial limbs, hearing machines, tri-cycles, wheel chairs etc. Mahavir International has distributed 25000 artificial limbs (including 6500 ‘Jaipur Foot’ limbs) free of cost and helped nearly 15000 people in the free camps organised by them. They also provide calipers to polio afflicted persons. They had also distributed blankets, ready food, medicines, crutches, sticks, belts etc. at the time of Gujarat floods in 2017. They publish public journals with information on health and nutrition, social evils & selfless services. Mahavir International has received many recognitions and awards from various social organisations
 
Sat Paul Mittal Appreciation Award winners:
•         The Sat Paul Mittal Appreciation Award for the year 2020 under ‘Institutional Category’ has been conferred on Bhagirath Gramvikas Pratishthan, Sindhudurg (Maharashtra). Established in 2004 as an NGO by Dr. Prasad Deodhar & his wife to cater to the holistic sustainable rural development of the Konkan Region. It has constructed more than 8000 biogas units in the last 15 years. These biogas units save 80000 kgs of firewood per day besides an annual saving of Rs. 3,20,00,000/- by way of foreign exchange outflow of the country. The saved time on account of biogas plants is utilized by women for allied agricultural activities such as pottery, piggery & dairy resulting in an income of Rs. 50 per hour. The biogas unit using bamboo frames is Bhagirath’s innovation & has been financed by NABARD under Rural Innovative Fund (RIF). The NGO is a reference agency for Sindhudurg Cooperative Bank and Saraswat Cooperative Bank, as it identifies beneficiaries & issues recommendation letters, based on which banks sanction loans to them.
 
•         The Sat Paul Mittal Appreciation Award for the year 2020 under ‘Individual Category’ has been conferred on Padma Shri Geeta Dharamrajan. She is a renowned writer, social entrepreneur & educationist. She has published more than 30 books and over 450 individual pieces in magazines and newspapers in India and abroad.  She is the founder of ‘Katha’ an organisation that works on teacher training, children’s education and literature, majorly in underprivileged areas across India. In the year 2015-16 alone, Katha managed to make a difference in the lives of 80,144 children.As a result, 26.6% of children attained grade-level reading competency and the average attendance was 70% with a complete 100% retention rate. Her learning tool ‘story pedagogy’ has helped in transforming the lives of over 3.9 million children and youths through books, school libraries and learning centers. She also devised KREAD, a unique curriculum that fosters earth caring habits in learners. She has won various national & international awards including Padma Shri Award in 2012. She was nominated five times for the world’s most coveted award in children’s literature – Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.