Sat Paul Mittal National Awards conferred

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 10

Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust (NSKT) on Saturday conferred the Sat Paul Mittal National Awards (2018) on Arunachalam Muruganantham, The Leprosy Mission Trust India (New Delhi) and Thirumalai Charity Trust, Ranipet (Tamil Nadu).

The ‘Sat Paul Mittal National Award’ and ‘Sat Paul Mittal Appreciation Award’ are given every year for outstanding service to humanity, said Mittal.

While Arunachalam was recognised in the ‘individual’ category, the award in the ‘institutional’ category was shared by The Leprosy Mission Trust India and Thirumalai Charity Trust.

The Sat Paul Mittal Appreciation Awards for the year were conferred on Dr Omesh Kumar Bharti, Shimla, and Deepalaya, New Delhi, in the two categories. The awards were given away by Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, president of Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust Rakesh Bharti Mittal at a function held at Sat Paul Mittal School, Ludhiana. The winners were given a total cash prize of Rs12 lakh along with citations. Students of various educational institutes were also honoured for their achievements.

For inventing sanitary pad-making machine

Arunachalam Muruganantham, popularly known as Pad Man, was awarded the Sat Paul Mittal National Award under ‘individual’ category for inventing low-cost sanitary pad-making machine and spreading awareness about traditional unhygienic practices around menstruation in rural India through innovative grassroots mechanisms.

For developing integrated healthcare model

Thirumalai Charity Trust (TCT) was conferred with the Sat Paul Mittal National Award under ‘institutional’ category for developing a relevant model of integrated primary and secondary healthcare by mobilising women volunteers and village communities.

For free specialised leprosy treatment

The Leprosy Mission Trust India was conferred with the Sat Paul Mittal National Award under ‘institutional’ category for providing free specialised leprosy treatment to people from marginalised communities.

For providing vocational training / skills

Deepalaya was awarded with the Sat Paul Mittal Award of Appreciation under ‘institutional’ category. According to information, Deepalaya has provided vocational training / skills to more than 13,000 men and women (mostly youth from underprivileged background) and established 1,425 self-help groups in rural and urban areas.

For developing low cost treatment of rabies

Dr Omesh Kumar Bharti was awarded the Sat Paul Mittal Award of Appreciation under ‘individual’ category for developing low cost treatment of rabies, which is about 1/10th of the prevailing cost per patient, according to the World Health Organisation.