Three problems, three answers
Most awards of this kind recognise one project. The government's own account of Sen's work lists three, and they sit in different fields: a model for an energy-efficient skyscraper, a method for increasing the yield of barley, and a device that determines micronutrient levels using strands of hair.
The third is the most unusual in conception. Micronutrient deficiency is normally assessed through blood testing, which requires a clinic, a needle and a laboratory. A test that works from hair moves the measurement to something a person carries with them. The official record states what the device does, not how it works, so no mechanism is described here.
The award
The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar was conferred by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on 22 January 2019. Twenty-six children were honoured.
Each child received a medal, a cash prize of one lakh rupees, book vouchers worth ten thousand rupees, a certificate and a citation. The Press Information Bureau lists her as Kumari Arunima Sen, in the innovation category, from Karnataka.
How the twenty-six were chosen
The award has two arms. The Bal Shakti Puraskar goes to individual children, and the Bal Kalyan Puraskar to individuals and institutions working for children; in 2019 two individuals and three institutions received the second.
For the first, the Ministry of Women and Child Development selected 26 awardees from 783 applications, across innovation, scholastic achievement, sports, art and culture, social service and bravery. Sen's award came in the innovation category, one of six routes into a list of twenty-six children drawn from a country of more than a billion people.
The meeting at the Prime Minister's residence
Two days after the ceremony, on 24 January 2019, the award winners met the Prime Minister. Narendra Modi said the awards offer an opportunity for recognition of talented children, and serve as inspiration for others like them.
He encouraged the children to stay connected with nature. The Prime Minister's Office published its account of the interaction with a description of each winner's work, which is where the fullest public description of Sen's three projects appears.
What is documented - and what is not
This page is built from two Government of India sources: the Press Information Bureau's release on the ceremony and the Prime Minister's Office record of the meeting that followed. Between them they establish the award, the category, the state, the date, the prize and the descriptions of the work.
They do not give a birth year, an age, a school, a home town within Karnataka, a photograph or a quotation from Sen herself. Nothing in the sources used here records what happened to any of the three projects afterwards. For a child honoured by her government, the published record is the appropriate limit of a public page, and this one stops there.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Received the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar in the innovation category, Karnataka, 2019 (Press Information Bureau)
- The Prime Minister's Office describes an energy-efficient skyscraper model, a barley yield solution and a hair-based micronutrient device
- Awards conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan on 22 January 2019; 26 children honoured
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- No published birth year, age, school or home town within Karnataka
- No technical description of how any of the three devices or methods works
- No information about the projects or about her after 2019
Questions people ask about Arunima Sen
What is Arunima Sen known for?
Winning India's Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar for innovation in 2019, for an energy-efficient skyscraper model, a solution for increasing barley yield and a device that determines micronutrient levels using strands of hair.
What is the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar?
India's national child award. The Bal Shakti Puraskar honours individual children; the Bal Kalyan Puraskar honours individuals and institutions working for children.
How many children received it in 2019?
Twenty-six, selected by the Ministry of Women and Child Development from 783 applications, plus two individuals and three institutions under the Bal Kalyan Puraskar.
What does the award include?
A medal, a cash prize of one lakh rupees, book vouchers worth ten thousand rupees, a certificate and a citation.
How old is Arunima Sen?
No source used here gives an age or birth year.
Where is she from?
The Press Information Bureau lists her under Karnataka. No town or school is named in the sources used here.
Is Arunima Sen on Wikipedia?
No Wikipedia article on her was found. The record here rests on two Government of India publications.
What happened to her inventions?
Nothing in the sources used here documents what became of the three projects after 2019.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Arunima’s story?
Which award did Arunima Sen receive in 2019?
What does her micronutrient device use?
Who conferred the award?
Sources
- President of India confers 'Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar' today in New Delhi — Press Information Bureau, Government of India, 2019-01-22
- PM interacts with winners of Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2019 — Prime Minister's Office of India, 2019-01-24
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
Discover More Child Prodigies
50+ stories of contemporary young geniuses changing chess, music, science, and art.
Explore All Prodigies →
