Dehradun technology educator Prashant Chaudhary has been conferred the fifth Rohini Nayyar Prize, honouring his pioneering contributions to rural development through technology education. Former Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant presented the accolade to Chaudhary during a ceremony held on Saturday. The honour includes a cash award of Rs 10 lakh, a citation, and a trophy. Chaudhary established the CodeYogi Foundation, an initiative focused on equipping rural youth with functional artificial intelligence and practical technical skills.
A Device-Light Learning Framework Tailored for Villages
At the presentation ceremony, Chaudhary outlined the operational structure of his learning architecture, which operates entirely through shared family smartphones without depending on desktop computers. The system functions natively in Indian languages, sidestepping common barriers that hinder rural digital literacy. By removing dependencies on specialised computer labs, formal English fluency, and highly trained classroom instructors, the platform allows learners from remote backgrounds to access sophisticated technology instruction directly from home.
Applied 30-Day Curriculum Connecting AI to Daily Realities
CodeYogi presently conducts a 30-day applied AI fluency programme aimed at empowering rural students. Participants learn to engage with functional artificial intelligence tools to streamline their academic tasks while addressing practical day-to-day requirements in their domestic environments. Emphasising the urgency of his mission, Chaudhary remarked, "AI is evolving faster than school systems." This methodology directly addresses critical disparities created by underdeveloped rural school infrastructure and conventional curricula.
Reaching 3.5 Lakh Learners Across Nine Indian States
Chaudhary highlighted that the initiative experienced accelerated growth over the past three years. The platform has educated more than 3.5 lakh students spread across 120 districts in nine states, representing roughly 30 per cent of the geographical area of India. Building on this expansion trajectory, the foundation projects that its learning network will encompass one million learners by March 2027.
Demographic Diversity and Non-Traditional Student Profiles
The operational framework attracts participants from remarkably diverse sections of society. Among the enrolled learner base, female students account for 48.6 per cent of total participants. An overwhelming majority, approximately 95 per cent, complete their training exclusively using standard smartphones. Furthermore, 59 per cent of the advanced cohort comes from non-STEM educational backgrounds. Chaudhary himself has a notable educational path, having made history in 2010 as the first person from a village near Meerut to secure admission into an IIT.
Legacy of the Rohini Nayyar Prize and Foundation Leadership
Instituted in 2022, the Rohini Nayyar Prize commemorates the life and contributions of Dr Rohini Nayyar, an esteemed economist and administrator whose professional endeavours focused extensively on rural economic issues. Her family established the honour via the Nayyar Foundation for Social and Economic Purpose, presenting it annually to recognise transformative efforts in Indian social and economic advancement.
Past recipients of the honour reflect a history of grassroots impact across the country, beginning with Sethrichem Sangtam from Nagaland in 2022, followed by Dinanath Rajput from Chhattisgarh in 2023. Subsequent awardees were Anil Pradhan from Odisha in 2024, and Vidhya Parshuramkar from Pune in 2025. The administering foundation is guided by a board of directors comprising Deepak Nayyar, Emeritus Professor of Economics at JNU and former vice-chancellor of Delhi University, along with Dhiraj Nayyar of Vedanta Resources and Gaurav Nayyar of the World Bank.
