Sat Paul Mittal National Awards 2026: Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria Felicitates Awardees 

Ludhiana, 12 November 2026: The Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust, established in 1983 by Late Sat Paul Mittal, today presented the Sat Paul Mittal National Awards 2026 in Ludhiana. Held on the 137th birth anniversary of India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the ceremony also marked 34 years of the Sat Paul Mittal National Awards, recognising outstanding service to humanity. Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Punjab, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest, felicitated this year's awardees and also distributed scholarships to students. Rakesh Bharti Mittal, President, Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust, was also present on the occasion.
This year's Sat Paul Mittal National Awards recognised 4 distinguished Individuals and Institutions for outstanding service to humanity, with a cumulative cash prize of Rs. 20 lakhs presented across the Platinum and Gold categories along with citations.
The Trust continued its longstanding commitment to education through its scholarship initiatives. Since 1991, the Trust has awarded over 31,000 scholarships amounting to more than Rs. 19 crores to students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, with girls accounting for 65% of the beneficiaries. This year, the Trust will extend scholarships worth approximately Rs. 6 crores to ~2,400 students. The Trust continued to expand its support through the Satya Scholarship Programme, a merit cum means initiative launched in 2025 that provides 100% coverage of annual course fees for meritorious students. 
Addressing the gathering, Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Punjab, stated, "The awardees we honour today embody the true spirit of Seva, demonstrating that nation-building is a shared responsibility. Education, too, is fundamental to building a stronger nation, empowering young people to realise their potential and contribute meaningfully to society. I commend the Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust for carrying forward Sat Paul Mittal ji’s legacy through its commitment to recognising outstanding service to humanity and expanding educational opportunities. To the scholars and students present here, I urge you to dream big, pursue your goals with perseverance, and remember that true success lies in lifting others as you progress. Let your education be not just a pathway to personal achievement, but a force for positive and lasting change in society."
Rakesh Bharti Mittal, President, Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust said, “The true measure of a nation’s progress lies not only in its economic achievements, but in its ability to uplift people and create opportunities for every section of society. This conviction has always guided the work of the Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust. The Sat Paul Mittal National Awards celebrate individuals and institutions that have translated compassion into meaningful action, demonstrating how an enduring commitment to society can transform communities and inspire others.
As India advances towards Viksit Bharat, education and social empowerment must remain at the heart of our national development journey. Our awardees and scholars embody the spirit of an inclusive India that progresses by creating opportunities for others to thrive. I warmly congratulate all the awardees and extend my best wishes to our scholarship recipients.”
Awardees of the Sat Paul Mittal National Awards 2026
The Sat Paul Mittal National Award 2026 – Platinum under the ‘Individual Category’ is conferred upon Shalini Khanna, Director of NAB India Centre for Blind Women and Disability Studies, for her dedicated work towards empowering visually impaired and disabled women and children through skill development, livelihood opportunities, rehabilitation and lifelong support. After undertaking a study on the status of blind women in India, she started the Centre for Blind Women in Delhi with just one staff member in 2002 and has since developed initiatives encompassing professional skill building, community-based rehabilitation, personality development, counselling, residential facilities and medical support. Her work has empowered over 28,000 blind and disabled women and children, enabling them to build more independent and dignified lives. Through Discovering Hands, she has enabled visually impaired women to undertake breast cancer screening. She has also established innovative livelihood opportunities through café training and cafés operated by visually impaired people, while expanding training programmes across several Indian cities. Her sustained efforts continue to create pathways for visually impaired women and children to lead independent lives with dignity.
The Sat Paul Mittal National Award 2026 – Gold under the ‘Individual Category’ is conferred upon Nitesh Kumar Jangir, Co-founder of Coeo Labs and InnAccel, for developing affordable medical technologies that address critical neonatal, maternal and intensive-care needs. His work focuses on creating accessible healthcare solutions for settings where reliable electricity, advanced equipment and specialised medical personnel may be limited. His innovations include Saans, a neonatal breathing support system that operates without electricity, Fetal Lite, an intelligent labour-monitoring system, and VAPCare, an automated system designed to reduce the risk of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Over the past five years, these innovations have reached more than 1 million care seekers across India and other countries, with Saans and Fetal Lite together benefiting over 100,000 neonates and 900,000 mothers. Through innovation designed around real-world healthcare constraints, he continues to expand access to critical healthcare in underserved communities.
The Sat Paul Mittal National Award 2026 – Platinum under the ‘Institutional Category’ is conferred upon Foundation to Educate Girls Globally in recognition of its transformative efforts to bring out-of-school girls back into education and improve learning opportunities for children across underserved communities in India. Using technology and data-led interventions to identify areas with a high concentration of out-of-school girls, the organisation successfully completed The Audacious Project (2019–2025), enrolling 1.58 million girls, reaching over 30,000 villages and achieving 90% year-on-year retention. Its interventions have also provided remedial learning to more than 9,54,000 children, life-skills training to over 2,99,000 adolescent girls, and engaged over 4,44,000 School Management Committee members. Through extensive community mobilization and support in overcoming documentation and enrolment barriers, the Foundation has created pathways for girls to access and continue education, while strengthening learning outcomes across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The Sat Paul Mittal National Award 2026 – Gold under the ‘Institutional Category’ is conferred upon Sankara Eye Foundation, India in recognition of its exemplary contribution to making quality eye care accessible to underserved communities. Through its Gift of Vision program, the Foundation provides end-to-end eye care, from community screening and transportation to surgery, meals and postoperative follow-up, at no cost to underserved patients. Over the last five years alone, the programme has screened more than 2.34 million patients and performed over 1.02 million free vision correction surgeries through 17,958 outreach camps across 224 districts in 10 states. Since inception, it has screened over 7.85 million patients and restored sight to over 3 million individuals. Its Rainbow Program has further expanded preventive eye care among children, screening millions of children while providing spectacles, pediatric surgeries and teacher training. Through its comprehensive community-based approach, the Foundation continues to bridge critical gaps in access, availability and affordability of eye care for rural and tribal communities.
The Sat Paul Mittal National Awards are conferred annually by the Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust in recognition of outstanding service to humanity. The Trust invites nominations from individuals and institutions whose work has made a meaningful contribution to society across diverse areas. Over the years, the Awards have recognised several distinguished individuals and organisations for their contributions to social development. Past recipients include Muktaben Pankajkumar Dagli, Dr. Kiran Modi, Dr. Vandana Gopikumar, Prashant Gade, Dr. E. Sreedharan, Dr. S.S. Badrinath, Ela R. Bhatt, Late Sunil Dutt, Anna Hazare, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, Goonj, Salaam Baalak Trust, SOS Children's Villages, Humans for Humanity, Parivaar Education Society, Smile Train India and Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, among others.