On Monday, 2nd October 2023 and the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the "Gandhi Sadbhavna Samman" Award 2023 was conferred on VAAGDHARA by the State Government in Jaipur, to honour their special contribution in the social sector towards adherence to the guiding principles of Mahatma Gandhi.

The state government of Rajasthan presents the ‘Gandhi Sadbhavna Sammaan’ award in Jaipur to honour special social sector activities and efforts per Mahatma Gandhi's guiding principles. After the award had previously been given solely to single individuals, this honour has now been bestowed on an organisation for the first time. The secretary of VAAGDHARA Jayesh Joshi accepted the award on behalf of the organisation from the Minister of Industry Shakuntala Rawat, the Minister of Disaster Management Govind Ram Meghwal and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shri Bhupender Yadav and was presented with a shawl, a certificate, and a cash prize of 5 lakh rupees. For over two decades, VAAGDHARA has been working to improve the livelihood and development of tribal people in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh in line with the Swaraj concept. By applying the three guiding principles of True Farming, True Childhood and True Governance, it aims to realise true Swaraj. Through its vital efforts, the organisation has already achieved some major successes in its journey towards realising farmers' self-reliance. Around 95476 tribal families have already benefited from VAAGDHARA's intervention. The availability and access to diverse and nutritious food through sustainable agricultural practices has been increased in 32659 households. In addition, 1.25 lakh farmers have adopted climate-resilient methodologies for sustainable integrated farming systems in 1000 villages. A special

focus of their work is on the tribal youth, as they will determine the future of the tribal villages. Thus, 50% of the villages are now child-friendly with all children between 6 - 14 years of age being in school, enjoying quality education, having good health and being free from forced child labour. The appreciation of the state by conferring the award towards VAAGDHARA's efforts for the community reinforces their engagement.