YouTuber, app developer among 11 children bagging PM Rashtriya Bal Puraskar

A boy from Odisha who is the youngest-ever in the 200-year-old history of the prestigious Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, a 13-year-old girl who invented an anti-bullying app, and a singer who overcame a bone disorder, are among the 11 awardees of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar.

President Droupadi Murmu gave the awards to children at the Vigyan Bhawan in the presence of Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani and Minister of State Mahendrabhai Munjapara. Murmu congratulated the talented children.

"Children are an invaluable treasure of our society and every step taken for their bright future betters the future of the society and country. We must make every possible effort to encourage them towards a bright future," the president said.

For innovation, awards were handed out to an 8-year old Rishi Shiv Prasanna from Karnataka whose IQ is above 180, and to 17-year-old Aditya Pratap Singh Chauhan from Chhattisgarh who invented a mechanism to detect and filter microplastics from drinking water.

The award for bravery will be given to Rohan Ramachandra Bahir, a 14-year-old boy from Maharashtra, who saved a 43-year-old woman who fell into the Domri river after she lost her balance. Bahir caught hold of her hand as she drifted away and saved her.

The WCD ministry said that nominations for the award were received online for the first time.

In all, six boys and five girls from 11 states and UTs were conferred the awards by Murmu in a function Monday evening. The award is conferred to children for exceptional achievements in the fields of art and culture (4), bravery (1), innovation (2), social service (1), and sports (3) in the age group of 5 to 18 years. Each awardee is given a medal, a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a certificate. Both PM Narendra Modi and Irani will interact with the awardees on Tuesday.

Awards were also handed out to Anoushka Jolly who invented an app to combat bullying called “Kavach”, who earned laurels for her invention at the popular show ‘Shark Tank’. For sports, Hanya Nisar, a martial arts player was awarded for winning gold at the third World SQAY Martial Arts Championship at South Korea’s Chingju at the age of 12 in 2018.