Sat Paul Mittal School organises annual national awards ceremony

The Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust, established in 1983 by Sat Paul Mittal, presented the Sat Paul Mittal National Awards for 2024 at a ceremony held on Tuesday at the Sat Paul Mittal School. The chief guest, Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Punjab, felicitated the awardees and distributed the scholarships. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, president, Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust, was also present on the occasion.

Though the function started after a delay of almost four hours as due to smog, the Vice President of India could not land at Halwara airport, but the students were patient enough to hold the function smoothly.

The recipients of the Sat Paul Mittal National Awards 2024 were presented with a collective cash prize of Rs 20 lakhs and citations. The Sat Paul Mittal National Award 2024 (Platinum) in the individual category was presented to Dr Vandana Gopikumar, a leader in mental healthcare, co-founded The Banyan and the Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health (BALM) to support homeless individuals with mental illness. Her efforts have provided acute care to over 4,230 people, with 71% reintegrating into their families or communities. She launched the Home Again program, enabling 1,159 individuals transition to community-based living across 138 homes in ten Indian states, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

The Sat Paul Mittal National Award 2024 (Platinum)in the ‘Institutional’ category was conferred upon Goonj-Goonj has been dedicated to rural development, rehabilitation and disaster relief, channeling over 63 million kg of urban surplus to drive 96,000 grassroots initiatives across India.

The Sat Paul Mittal National Award 2024 (Gold) in the ‘individual’ category was presented to Prashant Gade, young founder of Inali Foundation, Prashant’s journey demonstrates the transformative power of technology and compassion. Inali Foundation has provided electronic prosthetics to over 10,000 individuals from marginalized communities in India, conducting fitment camps across 25 states.

The Sat Paul Mittal National Award 2024 (Gold)in the ‘Institutional’ category was conferred upon Salaam Baalak Trust: Incorporated in 1988, Salaam Balak Trust (SBT) has made remarkable strides in its 35-year journey providing comprehensive care and protection to street children through varied child-centric programmes.

SBT has been instrumental in providing safe shelter to 12,206 children, served 5 lakh meals annually.