Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacted with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar awardees at his official residence in Delhi and discussed issues such as tackling the stigma around mental health and the problems faced by children. He presented souvenirs to all the awardees and discussed their achievements on a one-to-one basis, which was followed by interaction with the entire group.

According to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), he engaged in an open-hearted interaction in an informal setting where children asked him questions about the challenges they face and sought his guidance on a variety of topics.

PM Modi suggested the awardees to start by solving small problems, gradually build capacity, enhance capability and develop the confidence to solve bigger problems as they go ahead in life.

“Discussing the issue of mental health and problems faced by children, he talked about tackling the stigma around the issue and the important role of the family in tackling such issues. Several other topics were also taken up by the Prime Minister during the interaction, including the benefits of playing Chess, taking up art and culture as a career, research and innovation, and spirituality, among others,” the statement reads.

The Government of India has been conferring the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) to children for their exceptional achievement in six categories namely innovation, social service, scholastic, sports, art and culture, and bravery.

This year, 11 children from across the country, under different categories of Bal Shakti Puraskar, have been selected for PMRBP.

The awardees, belonging to 11 states and UTs, include six boys and five girls — Aadithya Suresh, M Gauravi Reddy, Shreya Bhattacharjee, Sambhab Mishra, Rohan Ramchandra Bahir, Aditya Pratap Singh Chauhan, Rishi Shiv Prasanna, Anoushka Jolly, Hanaya Nisar, Kolagatla Alana Meenakshi and Shauryajit Ranjitkumar Khaire.

Here’s All About These 11 Awardees

◉ Aadithya Suresh in Art & Culture

Aadithya Suresh, who even after being diagnosed with a bone disorder since birth (osteogenesis imperfecta) transformed himself into a singer. Till now, he has performed at more than 500 singing events including those on different TV channels.

He has won the award in the field of art and culture. He hails from Kerala.

◉ Aditya Pratap Singh Chauhan in Innovation

Aditya Pratap Singh Chauhan was awarded who developed a unique technology named ‘MICROPA’ to detect and filter micro-plastics from drinking water. The detection is done through Nile Red Dye, followed by quantification using a computer algorithm.

Project ‘MICROPA’ is not just an efficient solution to micro- plastics, but is also cost-effective. He is from Chhattisgarh.

◉ Shreya Bhattacharjee in Art & Culture

Shreya Bhattacharjee, 12, is a tabla artiste who has registered a record of playing the instrument for the longest duration in India Book of Records, according to a government citation. She is from Assam.

Besides various awards, Shreya stood first in the All North-East Tabla Solo Competition, All India Pt. Rupak Kulkarni Music Competition and All India Tabla Solo Competition. She was also awarded a gold medal at the 9th Cultural Olympiad of Performing Arts.

◉ Hanaya Nisar in Sports

Hanaya has been an SQAY martial arts player for the last seven years. She represented India in the 3rd World SQAY Martial Arts Championship at Chingju, South Korea (October, 2018) at the age of 12 years and bagged a gold medal. She is from Jammu & Kashmir.

SQAY is the ancient traditional martial art of Kashmir.

◉ M.Gauravi Reddy in Art & Culture

M Gauravi Reddy was another awardee in the field who is an accomplished dancer and has performed classical dance on various platforms. She is from Telangana.

◉ Rishi Shiv Prasanna in Innovation

Another awardee in the innovation category was Rishi Shiv Prasanna who with a certified IQ level of 180 is the youngest certified android application developer, the citation said.

He is also the youngest YouTuber who runs a channel and in every episode he shares insights on science-related topics. He is from Karnataka.

◉ Rohan Ramchandra Bahir in Bravery

In the bravery category, Rohan Ramchandra Bahir was awarded for saving a woman’s life by jumping into a river. He is from Maharashtra.

◉ Anoushka Jolly in Social Service

Anoushka Jolly was awarded for her contribution in the field of Social Services, and she hails from Delhi.

◉ Shauryajit Ranjitkumar Khaire in Sports

In the field of sports, Shauryajit Ranjitkumar Khaire who is a 10-year-old national level Mallakhamb player was awarded. This youngest medalist among all sports has bagged a bronze medal in the standing Pole Open Category at the National Games 2022 held in Gujarat.

Apart from this, he has received three bronze medals at the National Level Championships conducted by the Mallakhamb Federation of India. He is from Gujarat.

◉ Sambhab Mishra in Art & Culture

Sambhab Mishra was another awardee in the Art & Culture category and is from Odisha.

◉ Kolagatla Alana Meenakshi in Sports

Kolagatla Alana Meenakshi was awarded in the category of sports and is from Andhra Pradesh.

The award is conferred on children in the age group 5-18 years for their excellence in different fields.

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