Super 30 founder Anand Kumar has been selected for the prestigious Mahaveer Award. The award which carries a cash component of Rs 10 Lakh, a citation and a memento will be presented to Kumar at a function in Chennai on January 29.
Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit will be the Chief Guest at the function and will be presenting the award.
The annual award is instituted by the Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation which was established by N Sugalchand Jain in 1994 to identify, encourage and honour individuals and institutions providing selfless service for the welfare of the underprivileged and the weaker sections in the society.
Anand says these awards and honours give him the motivation to do even better. “It shows that society is sensitive to the needs of the poor and anybody making even small effort for their upliftment is recognised. That in itself is a big motivation. I hope I will continue my work with greater passion,” he adds.
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Kumar is known for running a highly innovative Super 30 programme for the last 18 years in Patna to mentor 30 students free of cost through year-long residential coaching for India’s premier IIT-JEE. The success rate has been phenomenal, with students from underprivileged sections witnessing a generational change by entering premiere institutions.
Earlier, Anand Kumar had been awarded Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award by President Ram Nath Kovind in 2017—the highest award of Bihar government in the field of education and Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Shiksha Puraskar in November 2010.
He was also awarded the Prof Yashwantrao Kelkar Yuva Puraskar, 2010 by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Bangalore.
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In April 2011, Anand Kumar was selected by European magazine Focus as "one of the global personalities who have the ability to shape exceptionally talented people”. He has also been selected by UK based magazine Monocle among the list of 20 pioneering teachers of the world.
He was also honoured by the government of British Columbia, Canada. Recently, other honours for Anand included Bank of Baroda Sunlife Achievement Award for his special teaching service for the poor, Real Hero Award and many others.
A biopic on his life starring Hrithik Roshan was also a huge success and eight Indian states made it tax-free due to the powerful messaging of the film.
