The Government of India has declared the names of 19 children for Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar(PMRBP) this year, among them one is from Gujarat.
Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (PMRBP) – is given to children with exceptional abilities and outstanding achievements. The awards are given to children in the age group 5 – 18 years for their excellence in seven categories for Bravery, Art & Culture, Environment, Innovation, Science & Technology, Social Service and Sports that deserve national recognition. Each awardee of PMRBP is given a medal, certificate and a citation booklet.
The awards will be conferred by the President of India at a ceremonial function to be held at Vigyan Bhawan on 22nd January, 2024. For the year Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2024, 19 children have been selected from all regions of the country for their exceptional achievements.
On 23rd January, 2024 Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi will interact with Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar awardees. The children will also participate in the Republic Day parade on 26th January, 2024.
The list of selected children comprises one child each in the categories of Bravery, Science & Technology, and Innovation; four children in the category of Social Service; five children in the category of Sports and seven children in the category of Art and Culture. The list includes 9 boys and 10 girls, who belong to 18 States and UTs.
Gujarat’s Vadodara based 13-year old girl Hetvi Khimsuriya is selected for Puraskar under Art & Culture category. Despite suffering from severe cerebral palsy (75%) and mental retardation, Hetvi does free-hand painting and solves puzzles. She is unable to walk and uses a wheelchair for daily activities. She has created 250 works of Free-hand Painting.
She has donated her monthly disability pension to the Spandan Special Child Care Institute to provide fruits, sweets, and juice to mentally challenged children. She also owns a YouTube channel named “Special Child Education Activity Hetvi Khimsuriya”.