'Atma Nirbhar – Ek Challenge', a Guwahati based NGO, has won the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) Mindtree Helen Keller Award 2020 for providing employment to people with disabilities. The award ceremony was held virtually on Thursday.

Atma Nirbhar – Ek Challenge was founded by Late Kaushik Das in 1996. The NGO has been tirelessly working to provide employment to people with disabilities from across the disability spectrum. It operates a tea and grocery packaging unit in Birubari area of Guwahati, where only persons with disabilities are employed. The unit makes packages of its own brand of Nav Jeevan tea and spices and also undertakes work from other tea and grocery brands.

Currently, there are 50 disabled persons working at the unit. Apart from a monthly stipend and daily nutritious midday meal, the beneficiaries are covered under social security schemes like Provident Fund and ESIC where both the employer and employee contributions are covered by the NGO itself.

The NCPEDP Mindtree awards are given in three categories – Role Model Persons with Disabilities, Role Model Supporter of Increased Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities, and Role Model NGOs/Organisations.