NEW DELHI
Ahead of its national conference from December 7 to 10 at Indraprastha Nagar, a tent city built in DDA Ground Burari, ABVP announced the selection of the “Professor Yeshwantrao Kelkar Youth Award” to Sharad Vivek Sagar, Lahri Bai Padiya, and Dr Vaibhav Bhandari. The award is given for recognising outstanding work in education, society, the environment, and science by young individuals.
The selection committee has chosen Sharad Vivek Sagar for ‘Enabling Bharatiya youth from low-income and deprived groups to receive world-class education’, ‘Millets Queen’ Lahri Bai Padiya for ‘Original work at the ground level towards conservation and enrichment of Shree-Anna (Millets)’ and Dr Vaibhav Bhandari for ‘Improving the standard of living and raising self-confidence of Divyangs’.
This award, initiated in 1991, is presented in memory of Professor Yeshwantrao Kelkar, known as the architect of ABVP. The award also includes a cash prize of Rs. one lakh, a certificate, and a memento.
One of the awardees, Sharad Vivek Sagar hails from the small village of Jeeradei in Bihar and is the founder of Dexterity Global, an initiative that aims to empower future generations through educational opportunities and training, addressing various challenges in youth education. It has connected over 7 million young citizens from remote villages and towns, bringing positive transformations to their lives. The second recipient of the award, Lahri Bai Padiya, hails from the Dindori district of Madhya Pradesh and has discovered the nutritional value of millets from her grandmother and mother, from which she got inspired to preserve millet seeds. She is actively engaged in conserving and enriching rare millet varieties and owns a seed bank of 150 nutritious millets. Popularly known as the ‘Millets Queen,’ Lahri Bai is actively working for the upliftment of traditional farming. The third recipient, Dr Vaibhav Bhandari, originally from Pali, Rajasthan, has demonstrated exceptional work in improving the quality of life for people with disabilities. Facing life-altering challenges due to muscular dystrophy in his childhood, Vaibhav did not succumb to adversity but instead showcased unwavering determination to inspire social change. His actions have brought about transformations in various aspects of society, making pathways easier for people with disabilities. Dr Vaibhav Bhandari has been at the forefront of service in various sectors. Recognising his outstanding environmental conservation efforts, the Rajasthan government’s Ministry of Forest and Environment honoured him in 2007. He has been honoured with a national award by the Honourable President, Droupadi Murmu, for his contribution to supporting people with disabilities.