AICTE-LILAVATI AWARD

What is the AICTE-Lilavati Award?

The AICTE-Lilavati Award is an annual award instituted by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), a statutory body under the Ministry of Education, on the theme of women empowerment. According to AICTE, the award recognises the efforts of AICTE-approved technical institutions to treat women with equality and fairness in all spheres of life, and to run practical interventions that improve the lives of women and girls.

The award is named after Lilavati, the classical treatise on mathematics by Bhaskaracharya, and the name is used to signify the empowerment of women through knowledge. Rather than rewarding individuals, the award celebrates teams from technical institutions who have carried out concrete social interventions; projects on women's health, literacy, self-defence, entrepreneurship, technology or legal awareness, and demonstrated real impact in their community.

This is an institutional / team recognition award. It is not a scholarship, stipend or direct welfare benefit, and individual women cannot apply for a personal payment under it.

How much prize money does the AICTE-Lilavati Award give?

According to AICTE, the award gives cash prizes to winning teams:

• Winner: Rs 1,00,000
• First runner-up; Rs 75,000
• Second runner-up — Rs 50,000

These prizes are awarded per sub-theme, so several teams win across the different focus areas in a single cycle; AICTE has recognised as many as 24 winning teams in an award year. Winners also receive a certificate and public recognition at the award ceremony. Exact prize structures and the number of sub-themes can be revised between cycles, so confirm the current details in the year's nomination notice.

Who is eligible for the AICTE-Lilavati Award?

You can apply if:

• Your team belongs to an AICTE-approved technical institution or a deemed-to-be university.
• The team is made up of students, faculty, or both.
• The team size is up to five members, with at least two women members.
• The team has carried out a women-empowerment intervention in the last two years from the date the award is announced, under one of the notified sub-themes.

You cannot apply if:

• You are an individual seeking a personal cash benefit. This is a team award, not a scholarship or welfare payment.
• Your institution is not AICTE-approved.
• The team does not include the minimum number of women members or does not meet the team-composition rules.
• The intervention was not carried out within the qualifying two-year window.

What are the sub-themes?

The award is organised around several sub-themes of women empowerment. Based on AICTE's notifications, these have included women's health, literacy, self-defence, sanitation and hygiene, entrepreneurship, digital and technological literacy, and legal awareness. A team picks the sub-theme that fits its work and showcases the intervention and its measurable impact in that area.

What documents and details are required?

How to apply for the AICTE-Lilavati Award

1. When nominations open, go to the AICTE Lilavati Award portal (lilavati.aicte-india.org) and register your team.
2. Select a sub-theme, for example health, literacy, self-defence, entrepreneurship, technology or legal awareness, that matches your work.
3. Enter the institution and team details, ensuring the team has up to five members with at least two women.
4. Upload documentation of the women-empowerment intervention carried out in the last two years, with evidence of its impact.
5. Submit the entry before the closing date; AICTE evaluates the entries and announces winners per sub-theme.

Where to get help

The award is administered by the All India Council for Technical Education under the Ministry of Education. Nomination notices, sub-themes, prize details and the portal link are published on aicte-india.org and the dedicated Lilavati Award portal. Because the sub-themes, team rules and prize structure can change between cycles, confirm the current terms from AICTE's official nomination notice before entering.