Yoga guru Swami Ramdev’s aide, Acharya Balkrishna was awarded the Champions of Change Award by former President Pranab Mukherjee at the Interactive Forum on Indian Economy in New Delhi on Monday for the preservation, promotion and health services rendered through Ayurveda by Patanjali.  Acharya Balakrishna was selected for this award by the jury comprising former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court KG Balakrishnan and former Supreme Court Judge Gyan Sudha Mishra.

Receiving the award, Balkrishna said, “We are happy that Patanjali Yogpeeth, led by Swami Ramdev, with the tireless efforts of many karmayogis, dedicated volunteers and teachers, has revived and established the tradition of yoga and Ayurveda of our sages.  Great effort has been made.  This has been possible only with the cooperation and efforts of all those involved in this initiative. It is said that today any honour or award received in the name of Yoga-Ayurveda, is the result of the greatness of those sages and the hard work and effort of Patanjali’s hard-working brothers and sisters, dedicated volunteers and teachers. I also dedicate this honor to all of you.  We feel proud that god has given us the opportunity to become instruments in this great work.”

Balkrishna has made a significant contribution in reviving Ayurveda.  Whether it is the subject of research in Ayurveda or the collection and publication of ancient manuscripts or the identification and classification of medicinal Ayurvedic plants, he is said to have played a role in all these efforts. 

At the same time, the work of conservation of manuscripts and their publication is also being guided by him.  There are 3.6 lakh species of plants all over the world, but complete count of medicinal plants is not yet available.  Balkrishna did research and created a checklist according to which there are around 62,000 medicinal plants in the world.