Prez honours two Odisha boys with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar

New Delhi, Jan 23: President Ramnath Kovind Tuesday awarded Pradhan Mantri Rastriya Bal Puraskar to 26 children, including two from Odisha-Naisargik Lenka and Ayushman Tripathy, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The revamped award scheme of the Women and Child Development Ministry, is now being given in two categories.

The Bal Shakti Puraskar, which was earlier known as National Child Award, under various fields such as innovation, social service, scholastic, sports, art and culture — and bravery, latest addition to the scheme.

Naisargik and Ayushman were conferred with the award for excellence in field of innovation and scholastics respectively.

The 16-year-old Naisargik received the award for his innovative solution for remediation of contaminated soil and water using an optimized strain (Anabaena cylindrical) immobilized in polymer matrix, which will not only prevent the entry of the carcinogen into the food chain through rice crop but also increases the grain yield.

Each award carries a medal, a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000, book vouchers worth Rs 10,000, a certificate and a citation.

The 26 children will participate in the Republic Day Parade on January 26.

Apart from them, two individuals and three Institutions were awarded in the category of Bal Kalyan Puraskar, which was earlier known as National Child Welfare Award.

The award for individuals consists of a cash prize of Rs 1, 00,000, a medal, a citation and a certificate for each, while that for the institutions carries a cash prize of Rs 5,00,000, a medal, a citation and a certificate for each.

The winners were selected after a critical analysis by a committee comprising experts from varied fields such as sociology, psychology, mathematics, science, art, music and sports. The National Selection Committee, under WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi, took the final call.