Vinayak Lohani
An IIT and IIM graduate who founded Parivaar, home to 2,100 children in Bengal, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
In 2003, fresh from IIM Calcutta, Vinayak Lohani rented a small building outside Kolkata and took in three children. That was the start of Parivaar. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of social work, from West Bengal [1].
Starting with nothing
Lohani was born on 12 April 1978 [2]. He graduated from IIT Kharagpur in 2000 and IIM Calcutta in 2003 [2]. Inspired by Swami Vivekananda’s call to serve those who suffer, he founded Parivaar straight after his MBA [2]. With no money, he paid the early bills by teaching students for management entrance exams [2].
A home for 2,100 children
By the end of 2004, Parivaar had bought land for a permanent campus [2]. As of January 2024, its residential institutions in West Bengal were home to more than 2,100 children from destitute backgrounds, making it the largest free residential institution for such children in the state [2].
Into tribal India
In 2016 Parivaar expanded into Madhya Pradesh [2]. By February 2025 it was running 834 Seva Kutirs, education and nutrition centres for more than 55,000 children in tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand [2]. It also runs free ambulances, mobile clinics and eye camps that have carried out more than 73,000 free surgeries [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Vinayak Lohani — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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