| Deep Joshi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 Puriyag, Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand |
| Nationality | India |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Sloan School of Management, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology |
| Occupation | social worker, activist, Executive Director, PRADAN |
| Known for | NGO/Social work, 2009 recipient of Magsaysay award & one of the recipient of 2010 Padma Shri Award. |
| Spouse | Sheela Joshi |
| Children | One son (Uday) and one daughter (Girija) |
Deep Joshi is an Indian social worker and NGO activist and the recipient of 2009 Magsaysay award.[1][2][3] He is recognized for his leadership in bringing professionalism to the NGO movement in India.[4][5] He co-founded a non-profit organisation, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) of which he was the Executive Director till 2007. He was awarded the 2009 Magsaysay award for Community Leadership for his work for "development of rural communities".[4]
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Deep Joshi was born in 1947 in village Puriyag, in a remote area of Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand in the Himalayas to Harikrishan Joshi, a farmer and was one of the seven children.
He received his early education at the local primary school, and later he took his engineering degree from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad and also holds a masters engineering degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and another on management from Sloan School, MIT.[3][6][7]
Returning to India, Deep Joshi worked with the Systems Research Institute, and as a program officer with Ford Foundation in India. In the coming decades he worked in the field of rural development and livelihood promotion. In 1983, also co-founded a non-profit organisation, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN),[8] that recruits college graduates to do community work.,[9][10] which recruits university-educated youth from campuses across India and trains them for grassroots work. Pradan was jointly awarded NGO of the Year 2006 at the first ever India NGO Award event.[11] PRADAN is involved in building Self help groups, developing land and water resource, Natural Resource Management, forest based livlihood, horticulture & agriculture etc. Pradan formed its first SHG in Alwar, Rajasthan, in 1987.
He also advises the Government of India on poverty alleviation strategies and also was a member of Working Group on Rainfed Areas for the Eleventh Five Year Planning Commission, Govt of India.[12]
In 2006, Deep received the Harmony Silver Award for his contributions to society.[13] Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF) announced Deep among others as winner of 2009 Magsaysay awards.[2][4] And, on the eve of Republic Day (26 January 2010) he was honoured with prestigious Padma Shri award, by the Govt of India.