The 15th annual awards, carrying a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh each, a citation and a memento, were decided after a jury headed by former Chief Justice of India M N Venkatachaliah went through over 260 nominations.
66-year-old Chiranjee Lal Bagra had been chosen for the Award For Excellence in the sphere of Non-violence & Vegetarianism while 49-year-old Sinha received award in the sphere of Medicine, a release from the city-based foundation said here today.
Bagra has been rendering notable service to vegetarianism and non-violence for many decades in West Bengal and is associated with various NGOs like Indian Federation of Ahimsa Organisations, it said.
Dr Sinha has established Devkamal Hospital at Ranchi and treated patients, mostly tribals, free of cost.
The award for Excellence in Education would be given to Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, providing free education to over 15,500 underprivileged tribal children from 62 tribes and 13 primitive tribes.
The institute which started with just 125 tribal students in 1993 has now grown into a world class university with a pass percentage of around 90 per cent, well above the state average of 69 per cent in Class 10 exams, the release said.
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The Foundation's Award For Excellence in the sphere of Community and Social Service would be received by Ramakrishna Mission Hospital at Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh.
The hospital offers free treatment to people in the remote parts of Arunachal Pradesh and neighbouring districts of Assam.