President Murmu Confers Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar on 17 Children

President Droupadi Murmu conferred the  Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar on 17 children -ten girls and seven boys - at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, New Delhi on 26 December 2024. The award was announced and conferred on the occasion of the Veer Baal Diwas. 

Since 2022, December 26 has been observed in the country as Veer Bal Diwas to honour and recall the sacrifice of the tenth Sikh guru Guru Gobind Singh’s youngest sons Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh.

The winner of the  Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is awarded a Medal, a Certificate, and a Cash prize of Rs. One Lakh.

Which Ministry administers the Award?

The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is administered by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development. The award was instituted by the government of India in 1996.

About the Award and its Category 

It is awarded to children aged between 5-18 years for their exceptional performance! abilities and outstanding achievements. In a year a maximum of 25 children are honoured.

Category of Award

The award is given in seven categories broadly divided into Child Bravery and Child Excellence.

The Child Excellence Award is given to children with exceptional abilities and outstanding achievements in : (i) innovation (ii) Arts & Culture (iii) Science & Technology (iv) Environment (v) Social Service (vi) Sports.

Award Winners of 2024 Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar

Following are the 17 children who were honoured with the 2024 Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.

Child Bravery 

• Kisen Wanniang (15 years old), from Meghalaya- saved four children from drowning in the Maweitksar River.
• Saurav Kumar (9 years old) Bihar -saved three young girls from drowning in the pond in Sheikhpaura, Bihar.
• Miss Karina Thapa (17 years old) from Maharashtra - rescued 36 flat residents during a fire.

Child Excellence Award

Innovation

• Miss Sindhoora Raja (15 years old) of Manguluru, Karnataka.  She  developed self-stabilizing devices for Parkinson’s patients and affordable prosthetics
• Risheek Kumar (17 years old), of Jammu and Kashmir.An entrepreneur in cybersecurity who has founded Hackers Pathshala and created the “Prarthana” app to promote cultural practices.

Sports

• Hembati Nag (15 years old) of Chhattisgarh. A judo player who won a silver medal at the 3rd Khelo India National Games in 2022.
• Priteesmita Bhoi (15 years old) of Odisha. She is a weightlifter. First Indian to set a world record in the clean and jerk category with a gold medal at the IWF World Youth Championships in 2024.
• Saanvi Sood (9 years old) of Punjab. She is the youngest Asian girl to summit Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) and to reach Everest Base Camp in Nepal. By the age of 8, she had already conquered some of the world’s most challenging peaks, including Mount Elbrus (Russia), Mount Kosciuszko (Australia), and Mount Damavand (Iran).
• Jessy Raj Mathrapu (14 years old) of Andhra Pradesh. She is an artistic skater who has won over 43 medals including a gold medal at the prestigious World Skate Oceania Artistic Championship. 
• Goldi Kumari (16 years old), of Bihar. She is a Divyang shot-put player, who excelled in national and state competitions, earning numerous top honours.
• Arav Bhardwaj (12 years old) of Delhi. He completed a 1,251 km journey from the Kargil War Memorial to India Gate to commemorate Kargil Vijay Divas in 2024 on a cycle. On a cycle, he undertook a 2,612 km ride from the INA Memorial in Manipur to Delhi in 2022.
• Anish Sarkar (3+), from West Bengal. He is the youngest FIDE-ranked chess player in the world with a rating of 1,555. 

Art and Culture 

• Keya Hatkar (14 years old) from Maharashtra. Suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) disease, she is the author of “Dancing on My Wheels” and “I’m Possible”. 
• Ayaan Sajad (12 years old) from Kashmir. He is a Sufi singer, gaining widespread popularity on YouTube and other social media.
• Janane Narayanan (14 years old) from Tamil Nadu. She is a Harikatha artist and dedicated Carnatic music student and has received the prestigious Kala Illamani Award from the Government of Tamil Nadu (2023-2024).
• Vyas Om Jignesh (17 years old) from Gujarat. Despite suffering from cerebral palsy, he has memorized over 5,000 Sanskrit shlokas, including the Sundarkand and the Bhagavad Gita. 
• Sanchi Aggarwal (8 years old) from  Maharajgang, Uttar Pradesh.  She is an expert in  Kathak, semi-classical dance, Shastri dance, and Sanskrit shlokas. She holds two international records - completing 80 rounds in 1 minute in semi-classical dance and reciting 13 Sanskrit shlokas in just 1 minute.

Also Read: Anish Sarkar Becomes Youngest-Rated FIDE Chess Player