“Vidya Daan, Mahan Daan” — the gift of education is the greatest gift.

In today’s India, the path to higher education is becoming increasingly unequal. Nearly 85% of IIT JEE seats are captured by students from Kota or large coaching institutes. Even lower-middle-class families are stretching themselves to afford budget private schools, while domestic workers in Bangalore spend over ₹50,000 a year on their daughters’ education.

Amidst this, initiatives like Dakshana and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) have nurtured bright students from underprivileged backgrounds who went on to crack IIT JEE. To ensure these students don’t drop out at the doorstep of opportunity, EkPahal steps in — covering crucial admission and counselling fees.

So far, EkPahal has:

• Paid seat acceptance fees for 17 students across 6 states (8 IITs, 6 NITs, 2 GFTIs), with contributions ranging from ₹7,000 to ₹30,000 — a total of ₹3.5 lakhs.
• Provided partial admission support for 7 more students entering NITs, IITs, and IIITs, with contributions of ₹4,000–₹30,000.

A majority of these contributions have come from Umesh Prasad (IIT Kanpur, 2006, MME), who himself received similar support two decades ago — counselling fee help from his Physics teacher, and admission fee assistance from Lions Club Ranchi in 2001.

Now, we invite you — the community — to join this noble cause. Your contribution can help a family in poverty send their child to an IIT, NIT, or IIIT.

The impact is visible — you can see the faces and families of these students in the photos shared.

About EkPahal & Dakshana

“The educational terrain in India, especially for poor children, is very harsh – almost barren. Even a good seed will wilt away in the absence of any soil to nurture it. We should endeavour to prepare a fistful of soil every day to help these seeds germinate. Therein lies hope and this will lend meaning to our lives.”
— Padma Shri Arvind Gupta (IIT Kanpur, 1975)