India

Prashant Chaudhary Receives Fifth Rohini Nayyar Prize for Rural Development

By The Hindu Bureau

Dehradun technology educator Prashant Chaudhary was awarded the fifth Rohini Nayyar Prize for Outstanding Contribution to Rural Development on Saturday, October 31, 2026. The prize, established in memory of Ms. Nayyar—a scholar, administrator and rural development activist—has been presented annually by the Nayyar Foundation to individuals who have made significant social and economic contributions. Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant presented the award, which includes a cash prize of ₹10 lakh, a citation and a trophy. A jury comprising members of civil society, academia and government selected Chaudhary as this year’s winner.

The Foundation noted that Chaudhary founded the CodeYogi Foundation, which equips India’s underserved youth with practical AI and technology skills. The platform operates entirely on family smartphones, in Indian languages, and does not rely on computers, labs, English or trained teachers. Chaudhary, the first person from his village near Meerut, U.P., to enter an IIT (IIT Delhi, 2010), began teaching technology to local students immediately after graduation. In 2020 he committed to scaling this mission and bootstrapped CodeYogi. The program has evolved into a 30‑day applied AI fluency course that uses real AI tools for tasks relevant to students’ studies and family lives. Over the past three years, it has reached more than 350,000 students across nine states and 120 districts.