Nashik: Omkar Pawar Chosen As Only Maharashtra Recipient Of Gadkari Award

Nashik's Chief Executive Officer, Omkar Pawar, has been selected as the sole recipient of the Maharashtra S. S. Gadkari Award 2025-26. This prestigious award, presented by the Maharashtra Regional Branch of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), recognizes Pawar for his innovative projects, Navchetana Abhiyan and Poshandoot, designed to empower vulnerable women and address malnutrition among children.

Under the Navchetana Abhiyan, approximately 1.06 lakh single, widowed, deserted, divorced, and unmarried women were mapped and connected with government schemes focused on employment, education, social rehabilitation, and childcare. In contrast, the Poshandoot initiative successfully tracked 1,954 malnourished children, with 984 of them reaching a normal nutritional status. Remarkably, this achievement was accomplished without requiring any additional financial burden on the government.

The award ceremony is scheduled to take place on September 21, 2026, at 2:10 pm at the Ministry Annexe in Mumbai. It will be presented by Swadheen S. Kshatriya (Retd IAS), a former Chief Secretary of Maharashtra and the president of the IIPA Maharashtra Regional Branch.