President Droupadi Murmu presented the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar to 20 exceptional children on Friday, recognizing their achievements in various fields. Among the recipients are orphans who demonstrated remarkable resilience and bravery. The awards spotlight young heroes in social service, sports, and courage.
The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) is conferred annually to recognize exceptional achievements of children in six categories: Bravery, Social Service, Environment, Sports, Art & Culture, and Science & Technology. Vansh Tayal, a 17-year-old from Chandigarh, lost both parents to the Covid pandemic in 2020 at age 12. At the Snehalaya child care institute, he encountered a younger child with cerebral palsy. “Due to cerebral palsy, he doesn’t have motor skills to even feed himself. My first thought was, ‘if this child can survive and continue living, what’s stopping me’?” Vansh says. He assisted with physiotherapy, feeding, and toilet training. Even after leaving the institute months shy of 18, he plans to continue the care, get a job to support the child, and pursue clinical psychology for social work.
Yogita Mandavi, 14, from Chhattisgarh, was orphaned young and sent to a state home for girls in Kondagaon. Feeling out of place—“Mera mann nahi lagta tha (I did not feel at home)”—teachers encouraged her to try judo after she saw fellow inmate Ranjita Koreti excel. “I never thought I could excel at it. But when I won the state championship in 2023, I thought maybe I was actually good at the sport,” she says, aspiring for Olympic medals like “Ranjita didi.”
Sharvan Singh, 10, from a Punjab hamlet near the India-Pakistan border, offered tea, milk, and lassi to soldiers during Operation Sindoor earlier this year, defying stay-home orders. “I want to become an army officer when I grow up,” he shares proudly after receiving his medal.
Ajay Raj, 9, from Agra, saved his father from a crocodile in the Yamuna river by tackling it with a stick. “It was not like I was not scared for my life. At one point, the crocodile began moving towards me too… but at that moment, all that I could think of was my father,” he says. His father, still scarred, adds, “It still hurts from time to time, but I am glad my son saved me…”