The Award, which carries a citation and a cash award of Rs five lakh, is being given to Mehta, also a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, for his outstanding contribution towards promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill.
In 1975, Mehta set up the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), a charity based in Jaipur that provides artificial legs for the poor.
The Jaipur Foot is a household name among people who live in the world's many war zones. From Afghanistan to Angola, the below-the-knee limb is famous for transforming the lives of thousands of land mine amputees.
Former recipients of the prestigious award include Mother Teresa, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, Sunil Dutt and Dilip Kumar.
The Award instituted by the All India Congress Committee will be presented to Mehta at a special ceremony here on August 20, birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, said Motilal Vora, Member Secretary of its Advisory Committee.
The beauty of the Jaipur Foot is its lightness and mobility - those who wear it can run, climb trees and pedal bicycles - and its low price, which is a fraction of the cost for similar prosthesis available internationally.
