Vinayak Lohani, the Founder of Parivaar, did B.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (2000) and MBA from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (2003). He did not appear for the placement process at IIM, and immediately after his MBA, started Parivaar. The normal career-path of a mainstream corporate career following degrees from two of the most prestigious institutes in India ensures a highly lucrative future, but Vinayak Lohani sacrificed this to pursue a life of humanitarian service.
He was inspired by the spiritual and humanistic ideals of Swami Vivekananda, and with just 3 children in a small rented building with almost no financial resources, Vinayak started Parivaar. As on 1st September 2020, Parivaar’s Residential Institutions has more than 2100 resident children and is considered to be a model institution for caretaking and overall development of children from destitute backgrounds in a residential setting. It is also the largest free residential institution for children from impoverished backgrounds in the whole of West Bengal.
In the year 2016 Vinayak expanded Parivaar to a new geography of Madhya Pradesh where it has started 169 Day Boarding (Meals & Education centres) for children in selected impoverished tribal and rural pockets called ‘Sri Ramakrishna Vivekananda Seva Kutir’ in Dewas, Sehore, Mandla, Sheopur, and Chhindwara districts. At these Kutirs more than 16000 children are getting nutritious meals (breakfast and dinner) along with Strongly Supplementary education along with overall child development over morning and evening shifts. Parivaar is on course to set up 250 such Kutirs in MP by December 2021. Hostels for more than 100 girls and boys in Mandla district of MP are also running since 2019. Also, a residential educational institution, modeled on lines of our Bengal institutions, is right now under construction at Sandalpur which will house 500 resident children initially, and will be gradually scaled up. In due course similar residential educational institutions in each of the districts in MP where Seva Kutirs are under operation will be developed.
Awards and Honors
- National Award for Child Welfare 2011 presented by the Hon. President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
- Sanskriti Award 2011, country’s premier award for young achievers in 2011 from the Former President of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
- CNN-IBN’s ‘Young Indian Leader of the Year Award’ for 2012.
- IIM Calcutta’s ‘Distinguished Alumnus Award’ (one of the 9 recipients selected out of 8000 alumni of the institute in last 50 years) awarded in 2011 on occasion of Institute’s Golden Jubilee.
- IIT Kharagpur’s ‘Distinguished Alumnus Award’ awarded in 2014- Youngest recipient in the history of the award.
- Sri Sathya Sai Award for Human Excellence 2018 presented by the Honourable Vice President of India.
- ‘Swami Rama Humanitarian Award 2015’ presented by Hon. Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
- Nivedita Samman 2019 presented by Hon. Governor, West Bengal.
- Vivekananda Seva Samman 2016 presented by Hon. Governor, West Bengal.
- Bhaorao Deoras Sewa Samman’ 2015 presented at Lucknow by Hon Governor, Uttar Pradesh.
- Swami Ranganathananda Memorial Humanitarian Award 2014 presented at the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture Calcutta
- Telegraph ‘Special Honour’ conferred by Telegraph Education Foundation Calcutta in 2014.
- ‘True Legends Award’ presented by ‘The Telegraph’ in association with ‘100 Pipers’ in April 2015.
- ‘Spirit of Mastek Award’ conferred by IT Company Mastek Corporation
- ‘Karmaveer Puraskar’ 2011 presented by International Confederation of NGOs
- ‘Transforming India through Transforming Indians’ felicitation from Chinmaya Mission Kolkata
- Rotary Club of Calcutta Megacity Vocational Excellence Award 2012.
- Rotary Club of Calcutta Metropolitan Vocational Excellence Award 2014.
Roles with Government of India
- Induction into Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) (2015-2019), the apex consultational forum in the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India.
- Induction into the National Committee for Promotion of Social and Economic Welfare constituted by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India (2014 onwards)
- Inducted into the Governing Board and Mangament Committee of Childline India Foundation (2014 onwards), constituted by the Ministry of Women and Child which manages 24 hour child helpline services across nearly 350 towns in India.
- Inducted as a member of the Advisory Council of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, which runs more than 1000 KV Schools all over the country.
- Induction into Government of India’s Ministry of Women and Child’s Working Group for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2011).
- Inducted as a Member of Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF) (2015 onwards), set up by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, as a funding and capacity-building institution towards accelerating sustainable action in the domain of rural livelihoods.