Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust
Dr. Rukmini Banerji, CEO Pratham
Shri Justice T.S. Thakur,

Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

The Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust was established in 1985 to honour the life, and propagate the legacy, of India’s martyred Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. She was a leader of her people whose vision was a beacon of light, and a statesman renowned the world over.

Among its objective was to carry forward the many causes which were dear to her.

The Trust awards every year the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development.

Besides Peace and Disarmament, areas of activity close to Indira Gandhi’s heart were issues of Development and of Human Development. Foremost among the latter was the belief that every child has the right to a quality education.

In 1989 this prize was conferred on UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) “for its outstanding contribution in safeguarding and developing the health of the world’s children” for its assistance for the well-being of the future global community.”

This year’s prize is being awarded to PRATHAM for its multiple achievements. It recognizes its pioneering work for over a quarter of a century in seeking to ensure that every child has access to quality education, and for its innovative use of digital technology to for delivering education, for its program to provide skills to young adults, for its regular evaluation of the quality of education, and above all for its timely response in enabling children to learn during COVID-19 related school closure.

Today PRATHAM’s citizen-led initiative for universal education has a national and international network and its work has been globally appreciated.

The 2021 Prize is awarded to Pratham for its pioneering work for more than a quarter century in seeking to ensure that every child has access to quality education, for its innovative use of digital technology to deliver education, for its for its programs to provide skills to young adults, for its regular evaluation and for its timely response in enabling children to learn during the COVID-19-related school closure.