Recipients of teh Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.
Credit: X@rashtrapatibhvn
New Delhi: Dhinidhi Desinghu, a gifted swimmer from Karnataka, Shvan Singh, a child who made supply runs to the border during Operation Sindoor, and cricket prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi were among the 20 recipients of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, conferred by President Droupadi Murmu on Friday.
The Bengaluru-based 15-year-old swimmer was awarded for becoming one of the youngest Indians to compete at the Olympics, when she participated in the 2024 Games.
Murmu, while conferring the awards, said the awards coincide with Veer Bal Diwas, the day marked to honour the sacrifice of the two sons of the tenth Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Gobind Singh -- Sahibzade Zorawar Singh and Sahibzade Fateh Singh.
The president said the greatness of a country is certain when its children are filled with patriotism and high ideals.
“I am happy to note that the children have showcased their exceptional talent in various fields such as bravery, art and culture, environment, innovation, science and technology, social service, and sports. It is because of talented children such as the seven-year-old Vaka Lakshmi Pragnika that India is considered a chess powerhouse on the world stage. Ajay Raj and Mohammed Sidan P, who saved the lives of others with their bravery and intelligence, deserve all the praise they receive,” she said.
Meanwhile, Prime minister Narendra Modi also interacted with the children.
Awards were given for excellence in Bravery, Social Service, Environment, Sports, Art & Culture and Science & Technology.
Among the awardees also include nine-year-old Vyom Priya from Coimbatore for trying to save a six-year-old child from an electrical accident, and Kamlesh Kumar from Kaimur, who rescued a child from drowning. Both the children were awarded posthumously.
Vansh Tayal (17) from Chandigarh received the award for rehabilitating children with special needs.
Arnav Anupriya Maharishi, 17, a divyang from Aurangabad, received the honour for developing an AI-based rehabilitation tool for hand paralysis.