Thank you to all who participated!
We were inspired to receive so many insightful and well-researched essays, covering topics as diverse as study pressures, support for neurodivergent students, refugees, student hunger, menstruation equity, female infanticide, and more. It was difficult for the judges to narrow it down to just a few, and they extend their appreciation to all who contributed.
Competition Winners
Aneesh Gupta, India’s Invisible Children and the Fight for Recognition
High School Winner, Grade 11,, Carmel, Indiana
“Making sure that a child's birth is registered might not seem like a big deal, but it is actually one of the most transformative acts that you can do to ensure a child's future. Identity is more than just paperwork; it's access, safety, and a sense of dignity as well. One of the reasons I wrote my essay was as a call to action to make sure that every child is counted, because every child counts.”
Aneesh will be gifting his $1,000 award to CRY America. Read his essay here.
Naga Prerani Kasula, Project Shakti - Every Daughter Matters
Middle School Winner, Grade 7, Apex, NC
“Sometimes the things that affect us the most are those we could never control. Growing up, I learned that my father and his family deserted my mother and me as they didn’t want a girl child. This experience made me realize that son preference is not just an issue discussed in reports; it's a reality that judges a person’s value even before they are born.”
Prerani will be gifting her $1,000 award to XXX. Read her essay here.
Competition Runners-Up
Aneesh Agarwal,, India’s Overlooked Literacy Crisis
High School Runner-Up, Grade 10, Portland, Oregon
“The most striking thing I found when doing my research was how important English proficiency is in the corporate world. For example, only 7% of Indian Engineering graduates are employable in global jobs due to a lack of English proficiency. That is a huge economic shortfall for India. As a community, we should work on this so that people can find jobs outside of India and India’s cultural heritage can spread beyond India’s borders.”
Aneesh will be gifting his $500 award to AID India. Read his essay here.
Adhitri Sethuraghavan
Middle School Runner-Up
Grade 8,
Carmel, IN
“My cousin is just one of millions of Indian students impacted by pressures of the hypercompetitive standardized exams, but her experience really brought this tragedy home to me. Every year, students slave for exams, suffering from stress, anxiety, and mental health issues. Basic resources are often unavailable, with over 60% of schools lacking mental health professionals entirely”
Adhitri will be gifting her $500 award to XXX. Read her essay here.
Competition Finalists
Vishnu Teja Donadula, The Sad Plight of the Indian Farmer
High School Finalist, Grade 10, Plano, Texas
“Indian farmers are the backbone of the nation and deserve more for their tireless work in helping feed the world's most populous country. They sow seeds yet reap injustice for their harvests. It is crucial that we address this developmental problem by guaranteeing farmers a price for their produce and ending the exploitation of them before it starts to significantly affect the food security of the nation."
Read Vishnu’s essay here.
Maanav Chittireddy, Water’s Power to Sustain and Destroy India
High School Finalist, Grade 11, Edison, New Jersey
“As someone whose family has been extremely affected by waterborne pathogens, I thought this essay contest would be a great way to get my story out there and to really publicize the importance of waterborne pathogens. Specifically, when we used to live in India, we lived in an area that flooded a lot, and that water wound up infecting my brother with a fatal disease.”
Read Maanav’s essay here.
Sahana Srikanth, Female Literacy Is India’s Emergency
High School Finalist, Grade 12, Mason, Ohio
“When a girl is denied the ability to read and write, it isn’t just her future that suffers—it’s also the well-being of her community. Female illiteracy is India’s most pressing developmental issue because it has dangerous, detrimental consequences on both the nation and its people.”
Read Sahana’s essay here.
Ira Ahirrao, Plowing Down Farmer Suicide
High School Finalist, Grade 9, Ellicott City, Maryland
“Last summer, I attended a convention where I visited a booth of a non-profit organization that works with children who were orphaned from farmer suicide. When I was thinking about topics for the Youth Essay Competition, I found the card I got at the booth last summer. I started to look more into farmer suicide and learned it's a much bigger problem than people would think.”
Read Ira’s essay here.
Akhil Puvvada, The Silent Emergency: Child Malnutrition in India
Middle School Finalist, Grade 7, Cedar Park, TX.
“Of all the development challenges facing India today, child malnutrition is the most pressing. India currently leads the entire world in child wasting rates, with 18.7% of children under five affected, over 21 million children with dangerously low weight for their height.”
Read Akhil’s essay here.
Shakthi Sampathkumar, Broken Waste Management Chain in Rural Communities
Middle School Finalist, Grade 6, Mountain House, CA
“Imagine a young boy growing up in this village. Over time, toxic fumes spread and life struggles to thrive. Nearby plants wilt and are suffocated by trash. The water becomes toxic and nearly deadly for both natives and wildlife. One day, as the boy wanders near the river, he takes a handful of water and washes his face, unaware of the hidden danger. Who is responsible? Is it the tourists? Or the local people? The truth is, both share the responsibility.”
Read Shakthi’s essay here.
More on the Youth Essay Competition
The competition was launched in February 2020 as a vehicle to encourage philanthropic thought and action among middle and high school youth in the U.S. with ties to, or interest in, India. The competition has brought dedicated and talented youth together with leading philanthropic organizations in what we hope will be a lifelong commitment to advancing development and poverty reduction programs in India.
We are grateful to the competition’s sponsors Sarva Mangal Family Trust, Sehgal Foundation, and the Ujala Foundation. We also extend our thanks to Indiaspora for providing a terrific platform at for the winners to share their ideas.
To read the top essays from the 2024 competition, click here.
To read the top essays from the 2023 competition, click here.
To read the top essays from the 2022 competition, click here.
To read the top essays from the 2021 competition, click here.
To read the top essays from the 2020 competition, click here.
Watch for the announcement of our 7th Annual Essay Competition in the spring of 2026.
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